LourensfordCase of Limited Release Shiraz, Mourvedre, Viognier 2014 (6 Bottles, R175 per Bottle)

About

The wine has a brilliant colour – deep, dark, intense and bright. Aromas of concentrated dark plums with ripe red cherries and wild spices greet you on the nose along with subtle hints of cigar box. The palate is dense, structured and powerful. Firm fruit tannins are beautifully balanced by well integrated soft oak flavours which promise age-ability, and gives structure and length. Very well rounded and supported with a smooth, silky elegance and upfront flavours of juicy, savoury wild berry, plums, cocoa and red cherry with hints of cinnamon spice.

Product Features

• 6 Bottles
• Varietal: 94% Shiraz, 3% Mourvedre, 3% Viognier
• Type : Red
• Style : Dry
• Body : Full
• Taste : Fragrant
• Winemaker: Hannes Nel
• Main Variety : Shiraz
• Alcohol : 14.5 %vol
• pH : 3.5
• RS : 2.5 g/l
• Total Acid : 5.9 g/l
• Appellation : Stellenbosch

Food Suggestions

This wine will pair well with game dishes ranging from pan-fried kudu or ostrich steak, roasted springbok haunch and venison pie to stuffed quail and roast duck. It will love grilled, braaied or barbecued foods as it latches on to the pronounced ‘browning’ flavours that develop with these cooking methods and it will not mind a rack of braaied spareribs with a sweet, spicy or sharp basting sauce. The SMV will also work with sweeter sauces, cranberry jellies and relishes that accompany many savoury dishes. It also goes with everyday dishes such as cottage pie, bangers and mash or mushrooms on toast. Serve between 15 and 18°C.

In The Vineyard

Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Altitude: 100-300m above sea level
Age of vines: 7-14 years
Rootstock: 101-14 Mgt Clones: SH09, MT01, VI642
Slopes: Situated on Western facing slopes
Row direction: North-South Soil type: Situated on Tukulu, Oakleaf and decomposed granite soil

About The Harvest

A cool and wet winter allowed vines to go into proper dormancy. We experienced severe winds at the end of November and extreme heat wave conditions at the end of December. Luckily this did not affect the sensitive flowering and ripening stages too much. We experienced a cool summer with the highest rainfall for February in many years. This resulted in slower ripening and the ability to harvest at lower sugar levels. This in turn resulted in refined wines with elegance and good natural acidity. The Shiraz and the Mourvèdre were hand - picked from separate single vineyards into 5 ton fermenters with regular, manual punch downs.

The harvest dates were March – April 2014.

In The Cellar

The grapes were pressed and transferred to barrels for malo-lactic fermentation and ageing. The cultivars were vinified separately and blended before bottling. Wood: The wine spent 15 months in 300 liter French oak barrels of which 36% were new and 64% older barrels.

Ageing Potential

This vintage can be enjoyed up to 2021, but will reach its best drinking potential towards the end of 2017 and with optimum cellaring will peak only towards the end of 2018.

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