Shiraz

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Shiraz 2004
Warm and spicy, with a chance of chocolate and occasional berries.

Style:

A rich and pepper-spiced fusion combine with soft savoury notes on the nose. Dark berries and violet with just a hint of organic earthiness is also subtly present. Black and white peppers carry through from the nose to a palate further enhanced by a game & ‘fynbos’ spice. The dark berries and violet become dark chocolate, achieved through a subtle, crafted blend of oak and tannins. A mineral follow through from the earthiness in the nose reflects the wine’s unique terroir. Altogether subtle, soft and round with good aging potential.

Origin:

The Wedderwill Estate grapes for our Shiraz are selected from the Watersedge blocks and from the House block. These blocks, in clones of SH22B, 1A & 9C, were planted between 1999 and 2001, and are situated on top of the eastern Schaapenberg Ridge. The soils are deep and are made up of Oakleaf, Clovelly, Villafontes & Cartref, and the climate is primarily cooler temperatures with strong winds.

Season:

In every vintage, there’s something new
We’ve had a warm, dry autumn with an early winter and good rainfall towards the end. The critical flowering and berry set stages went off well with some initial uneven shoot growth (autumn). A warm Jan and Feb with some rainfall was followed by a cooler Mar. Winds were moderate – all in all resulting in a stunning season.

Vinification:

A challenge to meet…
We harvested the grapes at 24.6 balling then crushed and fermented in a closed tank. Skins and juice were left together for 12 days after which the wine was pressed and barrelled for 18 months. We proceeded into a late bottling in November 2006. The wine is now bottle maturing for six months before release.

Composition:

Made from the best 100% Shiraz from the blocks: WE1, WE2, WE3, WE5

Our approach to achieving a balance:

With the managing of our cover crop and the revitalization of our microbial life and soil activity we believe that we shall achieve an optimal medium for our roots to grow in. This will give us healthy and strong plants with high activity.
The positioning, thinning out and gaining young shoot growth, in other words good canopy management together with scientific water measurement and sophisticated irrigation management will develop grapes that are well balanced in their acids and sugars.
Our terroir with its relatively cool climate due to the altitude, slope form, and proximity to the Atlantic ocean give us phenolic ripeness that are earlier and different to many other farms. Through a dedicated and focused management we strive to achieve the ripeness to be at an optimum level when the sugars, acids and phenolics are just right for harvest.