Lammershoek Syrah 2010

The wine is fresh with great fruit purity and length, garrigue-like elements on the nose and a general lightness of touch. More Cornas than Swartland. Very different in style from what went before.


variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]
winemaker : Craig Hawkins
wine of origin : Swartland
analysis : alc : 13.0 % vol  rs : 1.1 g/l  pH : 3.66  ta : 7.1 g/l  
type : Red  style : Dry  taste : Fruity   wooded
pack : Bottle  size : 750ml  closure : Cork  

ageing : 10+ yearsbr /

in the vineyard : Farmed dry-land, thus not irrigated. There are 9 different Syrah vineyards on the farm; this wine is a selection of 3 different vineyard sites. All the vineyards consist of decomposed Lammershoek granite, (Lammershoek being the classified granite type), with varying amounts of available water being allowed through the different clay types which exist below the soil surface. This difference is transmitted into the grape and ultimately determines our selection of which vineyard will go where in the cellar, as varying amounts of 'stress' and minerals in the soil provide varying amounts of depth and perceived minerality (for us acidity) in the grape and wine. The vines are farmed organically; the ultimate goal is to use biodynamic principles that work for us on our specific soils/climate.

about the harvest: 2010 was a very cool growing season dominated by high rainfall in late October. It was an extremely good grape growing year and acids were naturally very high because of the cool temperatures leading up to harvest. Picked on taste, the grapes came in at a potential alcohol of 13.5%. Like all the grapes on the farm they were harvested by hand in small 20kg lug boxes. Yields of between 3 - 4tons/ha were achieved.

in the cellar : Grapes were hand-sorted for any 'under ripe' bunches then placed into wooden foudre for fermentation. They were partially whole-bunch fermented (naturally) and extraction was kept a minimum. Like all our reds it was never pumped over and a maximum of 3-4 pigeages was done over its entire skin maceration. Matured in 2000 litre old wooden foudre for 24 months. No additions apart from SO2. Bottled un-fined and unfiltered.

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