| Winemaker |
Anthony de Jager |
| Winemakers Approach |
Caldera has developed a unique style over the past years. This is a wine that shows lovely deep fruit and evolved tannins and typical southern Rhône character. There is depth and concentration, but it is not overly showy. This is one of my favourite wines at Fairview, and is made to be appreciated, savoured and enjoyed. |
| The Vintage |
Harvest dates: Shiraz – mid February 2007, Mourvèdre and Grenache – mid March 2007 |
| The Vineyard |
Caldera is a blend of three varietals from vineyards in the Swartland region. The Grenache is predominantly from the 65 year old Kalmoes vineyard. These gnarled old bushvines vines grow on Malmesbury shale and Koffieklip soils and yield very little fruit. The Mourvèdre and Shiraz vines are grafted onto Richter 99 rootstock. These are from dryland, untrelissed vineyards, between 8 and 10 years old, and are grown mainly on Koffieklip soils. |
| The Winemaking |
The fruit was hand harvested in the early morning. The yield on the old Grenache vineyard was below 2 tons per hectare, and on the Shiraz and Mourvèdre between 4.5 and 5 tons per hectare. The Grenache berries were hand sorted and fermented in 2000 litre open top French oak vats (stukvate) using Rhône yeasts. Hand punching was done twice daily and the wine was basket pressed. The Shiraz and Mourvèdre were fermented in open concrete ‘kuipe’ (fermenters), with hand punching daily. The individual components were matured separately in 2nd to 4th fill French oak barrels for 12 months, then blended and bottled unfined and with a very light filtration. |
| Analysis |
|
| Alcohol |
14.5% |
| Residual Sugar |
2.6 g/l |
| Acidity |
5.7 g/l |
| pH |
3.48 |
