Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Syrah 2020
R495,00
A great example of what this cultivar is capable of in Stellenbosch. A fragrant fresh bouquet with lively fruits and hints of pepper. This wine is full-bodied with great depth balanced by an elegant velvety finish. The intense but finer tannins lend itself to a variety of meat-based dishes. A bouquet of ripe red fruits is underpinned savoury notes and hints of black pepper. These flavours follow on the palate, which is intense and powerful upfront, with a well-rounded mouthfeel.
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Specifications
In the cellar
Grapes were hand harvested early in the morning, de-stemmed and sorted before being transferred to stainless steel tank for fermentation. The 2020 vintage is the culmination in many years of experimentation to facilitate a style shift from a wine labelled as Shiraz, to Syrah. This was achieved by incorporating whole bunch fermentation or addition of ripe stems in to the ferments on certain vineyards and a move away from heavily toasted new oak. 65% new French oak is used, with the remaining 35% made up of 2nd and 3rd fill barrels. The superb structure was achieved through a combination of open and closed pump overs and careful monitoring to ensure a balanced wine.
In the vineyard
The grapes for this wine were sourced from the farm at Kleine Zalze and a touch of fruit from their Faure farm was used too. In 2017 we had a very dry winter season and warm dry conditions early in the growing season but slightly cooler weather in the run up to harvest. The drier than usual conditions resulted in smaller berries and with the cool weather in the later stages of ripening led to good balance of fruit concentration and elegance with very little intervention required.
Cultivar
Shiraz
Food Pairing
With both savoury and fruit notes this wine is a very versatile wine to enjoy with food, but be assured the mouth filling. Great with grilled meats, barbecue. Salty cheese such as pecorino, Grana padano, halloumi or gorgonzola.
About the Wine Estate
The grapes for this wine were sourced from 2 different areas within Stellenbosch – namely the Helderberg mountain and Faure, a region close to False Bay. An exceptionally warm and dry spring led to increased root activity, resulting in vigorous and even growth at the start of the season. The end of October brought a timely rain spell that contributed to better flowering and berry set than preceding vintages. Increased vigour meant our viticulture team had to pay careful attention to canopy management making sure the fruit stays healthy and to ensure even ripening throughout the season. The harvest itself started earlier than previous years and was also quite compressed with several red varieties ripening earlier than usual. The grapes were healthy at harvest and had an intense concentration of flavours, promising great wines.
