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Ernie Els Big Easy Rosé 2017

The light-bodied Big Easy Rose is pale Salmon in colour, but rich in character and elegant in composure. Produced predominantly from Cinsaut, it offers beautiful fragrance, delicate fruit and a savoury edge. Juicy citrus and dried strawberry lines the palate with and a dash of spice from the Shiraz component making for intriguing and yet uncomplicated drinking. Vibrant, fruity and almost saline, the finish is clean and lip-smackingly fresh.

Beautifully dry, delicious and refined, this is classic rose that can be enjoyed with or without food.

variety : Cinsaut [ 25% Shiraz, 75% Cinsaut ]
winery : Ernie Els Wines
winemaker : Louis Strydom
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 13.03 % vol  rs : 2.8 g/l  pH : 3.4  ta : 6.0 g/l  
type : Rose  style : Dry  body : Light  taste : Fruity  
pack : Bottle  size : 750ml  closure : Screwcap  

in the vineyard : The 2017 vintage
The previous growing season had its challenges, which seemed to roll over into the 2016/2017 growing season with the continuation of the drought. Winter 2016 was quite dry with even less rain than the previous year. Spring was an illusion as we basically went straight into warmer summer days. Bud burst was good due to sufficient soil moisture, but with the warmer spring/summer weather the soil started losing moisture quickly which naturally reduced shoot growth.  The vineyard then naturally focuses its energy on developing and ripening the small bunches.  Smaller berries led to more concentrated colour and flavour. The dry conditions also led to the vineyards and grapes being very healthy overall.


With moderate, but warm days during December and January we saw the start of harvest return to its normal date. The uninterrupted warmth during harvest also helped the bunches reach optimal ripeness while the berries steadily developed its flavours over a slightly longer period of time. The rosé from the 2017 vintage appear astoundingly good, with great structure and good flavours

About the vineyard
The Shiraz grapes were harvested from individually selected, low yielding trellised vines from northwest-facing vineyards within the Stellenbosch appellation.  The Cinsaut grapes were harvested from 24 year old bush vine from Perdeberg appellation.

about the harvest: The grapes were hand-picked in the cool of early morning.
Harvest: February & March 2017. 22.5° Brix average sugar at harvest

in the cellar : On the sorting table, all excess stalks and inferior berries were carefully removed. Grape bunches were gently de-stemmed with a de-stalker and lightly crushed. The wine was left in a separator for one hour and racked-off into a settling tank. The following day fermentation was initiated at low temperatures (12° - 14° C) in stainless steel tanks with Vin13 yeast. This took place over a two week period. Working very reductively in the cellar after both crushing and de-stemming, post fermentation wine was stabilized prior to bottling. This wine is crafted in a fresh style without any oak component.

Production: 6 200 x 6 x 750ml cases
Sustainability Initiative: I.P.W. (Integrated Production of Wine) Certified.

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OTHER VINTAGES

Shiraz
Cinsaut
Shiraz