Weather Conditions – Simonsberg, Stellenbosch
- Post 2020 harvest was dry and hot, this led to early leaf fall.
- As a result, there was poor establishment of carbohydrate reserves.
- Rain started late around end of May, this delayed cover crop establishment.
- Winter was very wet, although not cold. But we still managed to achieve enough cold units for a successful break in dormancy.
- Bud break was 14 days late due to cool early Spring conditions and cold, wet soils.
- Moderate weather over flowering and fruit set was ideal for berry and bunch formation.
- Big, lush canopies developed because of the moist soils and careful canopy management was necessary to ensure sufficient aeration and light penetration.
- The sustained cooler conditions led to veraison being 14 days later than normal.
- Ripening was also delayed by 10 – 14 days.
- A much cooler vintage, with slow, even ripening and great natural acidity.
Winemaking
Mixture of whole bunch, destemmed and submerged cap fermentations. The tanks were allowed to slowly start fermenting naturally with only two pump overs a day and then left on the skins for a couple of weeks post-ferment. Matured in older (mostly 5th and 6th fill) 500L French oak barrels for 12 months.
GRAPE VARIETIES 100% Syrah
PRODUCTION 3553 cases – 21318 bottles
ANALYSIS Alcohol: 14.08% Vol Total Acidity: 5.2 g/L pH: 3,63 Residual Sugar: 1.9 g/L
