2008 Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year     2010 International Wine Challenge - Silver Medal     2009 Michaelangelo Wine Awards - Silver Medal     2007 SA Young Wine Show - Gold Medal

The 2007 Vintage

Despite a few heat waves early in the season, the nights remained cool enough to evenly ripen our Shiraz.

In the Vineyard

This was the first harvest from a 3 year old Shiraz block on La Vigne Estate, SH9 clone on R99 and USVIT 8-7 rootstocks in a north-west facing slope with red, rocky and well drained soil. The vines are on a 5 wire vertical trellis system with moveable foliage wires.
Gentle irrigation just before flowering and regular sampling to insure that the grapes was harvested at optimum ripeness. Early morning harvesting, to ensure cool grapes in cellar and keeping the oxidation to a minimum, was done in 2 batches, at 24.5 and 25.4º Balling respectively.
Handpicked into 20 kg lug boxes. Yield; 3,5 ton per Ha.

In the Cellar

Gentle crushing into mash pump where mash was pumped to selected stainless steel tanks and open fermenters. Different yeast strains were used and the temperature was kept relatively low, never exceeding 28º Celsius.
Punch-downs / pump-overs every four hours during fermentation with one delastage per day in active fermenting period. Wine pumped to barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation.
30% new French oak and 10% new American oak from various cooperages. Wine matured in barrels for 16 months to the music of W.A Mozart and with rackings every six months. Wine bottled by hand, unfiltered and unfined, the 20th of August 2008.

Tasting Notes

An essential and spicy Shiraz character with appealing juicy berry flavours and a well structured and smooth finish. Would show it's fully potential by being enjoyed at a serving temperature of 18ºC and accompanied by classical music, preferable the wonderful music of W.A. Mozart.

Analysis

Alc; 14.5% RS; 2,9g/l VA: 0.59g/l pH; 3.54 TA; 6.0g/l

 

OUR FOCUS ON HEALTH
All our wines are laboratory tested before release from the cellar.
Our wines do not contain any pesticide residues. Any content of heavy metals
like Copper, Iron, Potassium, Calcium, Manganese, Zink, Nickel, Chromium
and Lead is below the threshold of safe levels.