Aroma and Palate: Juicy dark berry aromas of blueberry and black berry are met with spicy notes of white pepper and white truffle. The nose is rich and meaty with subtle notes of smoked Parma ham. The palate is fruit forward with a lingering spice complementing the elegant silky tannins.

Oak: 100% of the wine was aged in French Oak (50% new oak, the remainder 2nd fill)

Ageing potential: Enjoy now or up to 10 years from harvest.

Food Pairing: Grilled lamb loin with garlic new potatoes.

Terroir:

The Shiraz grapes are sourced from 3 different sites in the Bottelary Hills which are extremely diverse in terms of terroir. A wide variety of different slopes, aspects, elevation above sea level, soils, and the influence of both the False Bay to the south, and the cold Atlantic in the west, make for a very intricate array of micro-climates. These different conditions in turn yield a diversity of fruit characters and when blended, makes a more complex wine.

The Bottelary area forms part of granitic hills and the reddish- and yellowish- brown soils are highly suited to the production of quality wine grapes. The soils are acidic, have great water retention capabilities and are well drained. Soil types include Oakleaf, Tukulu, Hutton and Clovelly. Vineyards in the Bottelary Hills are planted at varying heights from 150m to up to 400m above sea level. All these factors contribute to crafting unique, distinctive wines with a sense of place.

Vinification:

The grapes were hand harvested in small crates in the early hours of the morning to keep the grapes cool and preserve fresh fruity flavours. Grapes are cooled further overnight in our on-site cold room (3°C) and processed the following day. Bunch and berry sorting is practiced making sure only the best grapes are used in our wines. A very soft destemming action gently rolls intact berries off the stems, preventing the extraction of harsh unwanted phenolics.

The Shiraz grapes were de-stemmed to a stainless-steel tank for a maceration period of 1-2 weeks. Once spontaneous fermentation sets in, the tank is inoculated with yeast. Pump-overs were done 3 times a day during fermentation. Post Fermentation, the wine was drained off the skins and lightly pressed with our inert Nitrogen Press.

The wine was pressed to steel tank and after settling, racked to 500L French Oak Barrels where Malo-Lactic Fermentation took place. The wines were racked and returned once after MLF and then once more during the ageing period. Each block is kept separate during the vinification and ageing process and final blending takes place just before bottling.