Peacock Wild Ferment Syrah 2015
A complex wine with sublte hints of black pepper, red and sour cherries on the nose. The light, elegant flavours are perfectly balanced with fresh acidity and present but not overpowering tannins.
Enjoy this wine on its own or with some Mediterranean-inspired tapas or Margherita pizza.
variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Nadia Barnard
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 13 % vol rs : 1.6 g/l pH : 3.5 ta : 6.1 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Medium taste : Fruity
pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Screwcap
ageing : Drink within 5 years.
in the vineyard : Syrah is the red wine varietal that rules the Northern Rhône Valley. There are a number of legends associated with the origins of Syrah, which all add a touch of romance to the grape and today it ranks as the 6th most planted grape in the world. It is a very versatile variety which adapts well to a wide range of regions and expresses a true sense of terroir. The grapes for our Peacock Wild Ferment Syrah stem from the slopes of the Schapenberg, which forms part of the cooler ‘Golden Triangle’ of the Helderberg region on the coastal outskirts of Stellenbosch. Deep red soils provide moisture and nutrients, which give our Syrah its supple, spicy characters. Our Peacock Wild Ferment range is named after the brightly plumed birds conspicuous in and around Waterkloof’s vineyards and if you are lucky you might just spot the albino Peacock from which the label gets its inspiration.
about the harvest: The Stellenbosch area experienced a good winter with sufficient rain to fill the dams and provide enough cold units in July to have the vines in full dormancy. From August the temperatures started to rise slowly and spring arrived early with flowering occurring under ideal conditions. This ensured even ripeness, which contributed to excellent grape quality. During this stage we also experienced windy conditions which led to looser bunches and a naturally lower yield, packed with concentration Rainfall fell off dramatically from September with warm, dry weather and less severe winds than usual. Throughout the growing season, temperatures remained moderate, with intermittent hot days. Veraison (the onset of ripening) started about 2 weeks earlier than usual. During the rest of the growing season we saw little rain, which resulted in very low disease pressure. Even though the days were warm, we noticed that the evenings cooled down favourably. The 2015 harvest was the earliest to date at Waterkloof. We started picking 2 weeks earlier than usual due to the early spring, but hang time was sufficient to allow phenolic ripeness. The quality of the fruit was exceptional - low pH, high acidity and clean fruit with little to no rot.
in the cellar : We follow a ‘less is more’, minimal intervention winemaking philosophy for all our wines: Grapes are tasted at regular intervals to determine the optimal ripeness level. Harvesting takes place by hand after which the whole bunches are placed via gravity into our open top wooden fermenters. The juice is then fermented spontaneously with “wild yeasts”, which allows for the true flavours and character of the vineyard to be expressed in the finished wine. Soft punch downs by feet are used to gently extract the tannins during fermentation. To ensure soft tannins, the wine is left on the skins for approximately 30 days. After this, the wine is drained via gravity and the skins are pressed by using a basket press. The Peacock Wild Ferment Syrah was aged in a combination of old 600L French oak barrels for 24 months after which it only underwent a light filtration. A small dosage of sulphur (and only sulphur) was added before it was finally bottled. No other additions such as tartaric acid or enzymes were allowed.
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