Series #4 2018 (Syrah, Cinsault)

Style: 

Medium bodied. Bone dry red. Spicy, Saline and a weightless concentration. Fit for grilled meat dishes to Mediterranean tapas.

Tasting Notes:

Deep magenta to light red. This wine has again a captivating perfumyness and lingering light textured lean follow. On the nose you will get black pepper, violets, blueberries, olive and cured meat fat. The palate is lightly textured with soft, intriguing, grainy tannins yet tasty and flavourful with a long weightless follow. A well balanced, natural acidity cements a lasting flavour of red current, spice and savouriness. Elegant and refined with a Southern Rhone feel.

Background:

Lionel has a passion for creating identity with underlying abstractness in his art work. Continuing this approach into Series #4 he has decided to use two red cultivars that are identifiable with South African climate. Syrah and Cinsaut, yet perhaps in a more uconventional (abstract) approach in the making. Although both varieties are used, the Series #4 wine is still a dominant Syrah. A spice filled, lengthy, medium acidity dry red wine with good balance and pure expressed red fruits fit for food and compliments savoury red meat dishes.

Ageing Potential: 

Drink now but will age well over 8 years with careful cellaring. 

Serving temperature: 

18°-22° Celsius.

Viticulturist:

Francois Hanekom (Syrah) & Bernhard Bredell (Cinsaut)

Harvest Date:

20 & 22 February 2018

Analysis: 

Alcohol:12.7 %, pH 3.53, Acidity 5.4 g/l, Res. Sugar 1.9 g/l

Climate, Soil and Vineyard:

Both vineyards are situated in the Lower Helderberg region of Stellenbosch. This is the coolest, most Southern tip of Stellenbosch facing towards the ocean of False Bay, enjoying a more maritime microcosm and a Mediterranean macro climate with less than 650 mm per annum on average. These vineyards are the first receptors of the cooling sea winds colloquially known as the South Easterly here in the Stellenbosch Winelands. This makes an enormous temperature difference and secures good flavour development and good natural acidity levels. The soils are deep, light, well drained and sandy from withered granite off the Helderberg Mountain and Sinai Hill. The Syrah from a plot higher up on the South Western Slopes of the Helderberg and the Cinsaut on the Eastern slope of Sinai Hill.

Vinification:

Grapes were hand harvested early in the morning while the fruit was still fresh and firm. They were transported in small 18kg boxes for them not to get damaged before arriving at the winery. The Syrah was made as a cofermentation with 15% Cinsaut grapes. In total 50% of the fermentation was intact with stems to underline freshness of the Syrah and lengthening the fermentation. Handled softly and only soaked by hand over a long spontaneous fermentation by the native yeasts of the vineyard. Basket pressed into old, 4th fill, French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and undisturbed 10 month ageing on the lees before bottling and further bottle ageing for 1 year before released.

Vintage:

2018 was even more extreme dry than 2017 vintage. It came after an already dry 2017 vintage and made things very challenging in the vineyards. Fortunately, it was an overall more normal temperate vintage, but we had less night and day time temperature differences than 2017 and less winds during ripening. The grapes turned out healthy and a bit more ripe than previous vintage, although production per vine was slightly less.