Ironstone Syrah 2020 Case
R2184,00
Spicy nose with red berry and cherry. Soft and elegant palate with a smoky and toasty note. Cranberry and cherry on the elegant and well-integrated finish.
100% Syrah
W.O. Elgin
Elgin Vintners, established in 2003, farms 45 hectares of vineyards in the cool-climate Elgin Valley. Our main cultivars are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. We also have Merlot and Syrah. We practise sustainability in business, vineyards, and our people. Critics have awarded our wines top global accolades. Elgin Vintners crafts wines of exceptional poise, finesse, and elegance.
Elgin is South Africa’s coolest wine region. Cooler climates keep grape clusters connected to their roots for longer. They develop more characteristics and achieve physiological ripeness more gradually with lower sugar levels and consequently lower alcohols. The resultant wines leave one with an impression of delicacy, but also power and insistence over warmer-climate examples, which show bolder but less persistent flavours.
Elgin vineyards sit at 305 m, the fourth highest in South Africa. The cold Atlantic lies close; this has a profound influence on day/night temperatures and prevailing south-easterly winds. The South-Easter can bring a cooling respite to the vineyards but can also carry extensive cloud cover, which the mountains trap and push back over the region. This blocks out sunlight, reduces temperatures and slows the ripening of the grapes. In extreme cases, about four or five times yearly, the wind is strong enough and the clouds thick enough to enable precipitation known locally as a Black South-Easter. This consequently dumps quite large amounts of rain throughout the day.
On calmer, warmer days, the rising warm air over the land gradually draws in cool coastal breezes from the sea. This reduces the temperature very quickly in the afternoon and into the night and helps maintain the acid levels in the grapes. As a result, by slowing ripening on the vine, this extended cool period produces naturally balanced grapes with complex, powerful flavours.
Leaf plucking starts early in the growing season. The bunches are exposed to the morning sun (eastern side). After véraison, a green harvest takes place, where all the green bunches are removed. During the ripening period, all leaves are removed in the bunch zones. This ensures full phenolic ripeness.
Two clones, SH9 and SH22, are used in Ironstone Syrah. Whole-bunch fermentation in 2-ton open-top wooden fermenters. Natural fermentation (no commercial yeast) with punch-down only once per day. Fermentation and time on the skins took 14 days before pressing. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, of which 20% are new 300 L French oak barriques. The wine matures for 20 months in barrel before bottling.
With its delicate flavours, lamb is a great choice for this style of Syrah. Try lamb shawarma or gyros or, if you’re preparing it yourself, play with your spice rack to magnify the natural flavours in Syrah of allspice, clove, and mint. Vegetarian option: brined and grilled eggplant.
Gilbert & Gaillard Rating 91 pts
Alc:12% • RS:1.4• TA:4.9 • pH:3.5 • FSO2:23 • TSO2:116
