False Bay Old School Syrah 2017

ageing : 

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The Cape did not experience a very cold winter in 2015, with near perfect days lingering at 20ºC. The evenings were cold but not excessively so. We also experienced the driest winter to date with half the normal rainfall. Budburst occurred at the beginning of September, which was definitely earlier than usual. It was a proper spring with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures. The ripening season showed moderate to warm temperatures. Our first grapes were picked a week earlier than last year (which was already early). A lot of the Stellenbosch/Helderberg producers were significantly down on yield. With the berries being remarkably small this year the flavours were fantastic.

We believe in working gently with our precious crop and therefore all the grapes were handpicked. This was a partial whole-bunch fermentation which took place in stainless steel tanks as well as wooden fermenters without the addition of cultured yeast. The skins and juice were mixed through a combination of delestage, punch downs and also pump overs. Towards the end of fermentation, the number of pump overs was reduced to ensure that no harsh, dry tannins were extracted. Fermentation took place at temperatures of 26°C to 30°C (at the height of fermentation). The wine was drained from the skins after fermentation was completed. No press juice was added to the wine. Our Shiraz wines are aged in large wooden vats for at least 6 months before bottling.