Mont Rochelle Syrah 2018

ageing : With 12 months bottle ageing in our Bottle Maturation Cellar, the wine is now ready for drinking but will most definitely reward careful cellaring for at least 10 years from Vintage.

Our Syrah, named such due to the ‘old-world’ style of winemaking utilised, is far more traditional than our “New World” location would suggested with spice, herbs, pepper and black fruit dominating in the wines profile. The Shiraz vineyards on Mont Rochelle range from 200m above sea level to 450m above sea level with an incredibly steep gradient ensuring that we have a diverse flavour profile from the fruit produced. This translates into a Syrah wine with abundant layers of fruit flavours and complexity.

The 2018 harvest season was really challenging, due to a prolonged drought which some believe to be the worst in 100 years and accompanied by water restrictions and frost damage in some areas,” Winter arrived late, but was cold enough to break dormancy. Day temperatures were notably warmer and night temperatures colder than usual due to the dry conditions. Bud burst started later due to cooler weather extending into August and September. Uneven flowering and berry set was common due to windy conditions, cold periods and precipitation. The dry weather throughout the season did have its advantages as vines were healthy, with little or no pests and diseases being recorded. The number of grape bunches looked promising at first, but the berries were much smaller than usual, which affected the total tonnage. “Smaller berries usually have good colour and flavour intensity and this, along with cooler weather during harvest time relieved some pressure on vines and bode well for quality. Harvest time kicked off seven to 14 days later than usual, and much later than usual. Most cultivars were harvested in their common order, which meant that cellar space wasn’t under pressure.