Syrah 45%, Cinsault 55%
The vineyards are situated on Hercules Pillar and Klipdam farms in the south-western part of the Paarl wine region. Locals call the area Muldersvlei. Soils are a combination of decomposed granite and clay shale. Winters are cold and wet, and the summer months are relatively dry and warm. Proximity to the ocean is about 30km and this has a positive, moderating effect on the temperatures in the months leading up to harvest. The vineyards are low yielding, dry-farmed and trained as bush vines.
Grapes were hand-picked and were partially (50%) de-stemmed. Fermentation took place in small, open-topped tanks and special care was put into limiting excessive extraction. The resulting wine was transferred to seasoned oak barrels (61%) and stainless steel tanks (39%). After 10 months of maturation, the various components were blended and bottled. The wine was subject to a minimal amount of filtration and stabilisation to maintain as much purity as possible. A small, natural and harmless deposit might form in the bottle over time.
