Stellenzicht Golden Triangle Shiraz 2001

Gold Medal - SÃ©lections Mondiales des Vins Canada 2007
Veritas 2003 - Double Gold
Intense, rich ruby hues with a distinct, youthful purple tinge dominate the colour. On the nose, a rich complexity of aromas of mocha and dark-chocolate combine with the spicey sweetness of ripe plums and roasted almonds. On the palate, the wine is full and succulent with firm, yet soft tannins. The ripeness of fruit results in a mouth-filling experience of true Shiraz.

The full-bodied character of this wine makes it a great partner to most red meats (especially game) as well as to firm, grilled game fish. An excellent red for enjoying on its own too.

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variety : Shiraz [ 100% Shiraz ]

winery : Stellenzicht Vineyards

winemaker : Guy Webber

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 14.7 % vol rs : 3.0 g/l pH : 3.46 ta : 6.2 g/l va : 0.63 g/l so2 : 108 mg/l fso2 : 42 mg/l

type : Red wooded

pack : Bottle

AWARDS

Gold Medal - SÃ©lections Mondiales des Vins Canada 2007
Veritas 2003 - Double Gold

ageing : The wine is very easily enjoyed at this stage, but will gain in complexity and character with further cellaring for five to eight years.

in the vineyard : The Golden Triangle range of wines takes its name from the prime viticultural area from which its fruit originates. This imaginary triangle is formed when an overhead view is taken of the area bordered by the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountains to the east and south respectively and the R44 road between Stellenbosch and Somerset West to the north-west. The name â€œGolden Triangleâ€ is loosely used by the local residents in describing the area and stems from its reputation for producing premium wines on a regular basis.
With Stellenzicht being situated at the center of this â€œGolden Triangleâ€, only wines of distinctive quality, which portray the characteristics of the area and its people, will be able to bear the name â€œStellenzicht Golden Triangleâ€.

Planted between 1989 and 1991, the vineyards bearing the grapes used to craft this wine are grown on slopes facing west and north-west and on soils originating from decomposed granite and Table Mountain sandstone. The vines are all grafted onto nematode-resistant rootstocks of Richter 110 and 101-14 and are trellised on six-wire â€œfenceâ€ systems. The vines received two supplementary overhead irrigations during the ripening stage to limit the amount of moisture-stress they were subjected to. The yield from the vineyard was restricted to an average of 5.1 Tonnes per hectare to further enhance the quality of the fruit.
The climatic conditions for this vintage were characterized by above-average temperatures (maximum and minimum) both during the preceding winter months as well as during the vintage months from January to March. Rainfall during the preceding winter was also below average but good rains at the start of the growing season (September) helped to give the vines a good start.
Overall, the quality of the vintage was very healthy with good concentration in the fruit and stunning colours.

about the harvest: All of the grapes for this wine were harvested by hand between 21 February and 5 March and reached the winery at an average of 24.4 degrees Balling with average acidities and phâ€™s of 6.92 g/l and 3.38 respectively.

in the cellar : After destalking and crushing, the mash was fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected, pure yeast cultures (NT50, NT 112 & N96) with the juice being removed from the skins after five days. Fermentation temperatures averaged out at around 28 degrees Celsius.

Once the fermentation was complete, the wine was drained off the primary lees and transferred to a â€œrestingâ€ tank. Malolactic fermentation and a brief settling period preceded the transfer of the wine to 300 litre Oak barrels for their maturation phase which lasted for 19 months. Oak components of the final blend comprised 53% New French Oak, 7% new American Oak, 1% new Hungarian Oak, 24% second-fill French Oak, 13% second-fill American Oak and 2% fourth-fill French Oak. Final bottling took place on 13 March 2003 with a total of 3715 cases (12 x 750ml) being produced.

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