Summary
| Producer | Spice Route Winery |
|---|---|
| Grape Variety | 37% Syrah, 21% Mourvedre, 18% Carignan, 10% Petite Sirah, 10% Grenache and 4% Tannat |
| Vintage | 2009 |
| Body | Medium |
| Style | Rich, spicey reds |
| Bottle Size | 0.75 l |
| Colour | Intense red-purple in the glass. |
| Maturation | 15 months in barrel |
| Wine Origin | |
| Origin | Paarl |
| Region | Western Cape |
| Country | South Africa |
Wine Makers Notes
| Winemaker | Charl du Plessis |
|---|---|
| Winemakers Approach | A larger proportion of Petite Sirah was added to the blend this year, giving the wine intense colour and structure, which will benefit the aging potential of the wine. The 2009 was a fine vintage and the red wines generally were of very high quality. |
| The Vintage | From mid February to mid March 2009 |
| The Vineyard | All vineyards are in the Swartland region and are planted on Richter 99 rootstock. Shiraz makes up the majority of the blend and is sourced from a dryland, trellised vineyard planted on Oakleaf soils. In 2009 the vineyard yielded 5.0 tons per hectare. The remainder of the grapes in the blend are from bushvine vineyards planted on Oakleaf and Koffieklip soils. The average yield for these vineyards was between 3.5 and 4.5 tons per hectare. |
| The Winemaking | Shiraz was machine harvested in the early morning. The remaining fruit was hand harvested. The grapes were all picked at between 25 and 27°B. Hand harvested grapes were destalked and lightly crushed and all fruit was fermented in open concrete fermenters ("kuipe"), using Oenoform Rouge yeasts. Manual punch downs were done twice daily during fermentation (Grenache three times daily). The wines were racked off and sent to barrel for malolactic fermentation and further ageing. The Mourvedre component was matured in 50% American oak and 50% French oak, with all the remaining components going to French oak barriques. 25% new oak was used with the remainder being 2nd to 4th fill. The components spent 15 months in barrel before being lightly filtered and bottled. This wine was bottled without fining which may result in light sediment appearing over time. |
| Analysis | |
| Alcohol | 14% |
| Residual Sugar | 3.8 g/l |
| Acidity | 5.9 g/l |
| pH | 3.59 |
Wine Makers Notes
| Tasting Notes | |
|---|---|
| Colour | Intense red-purple in the glass. |
| Bouquet | Initial smoky cloves and savoury notes give way to a plum and black cherry nose with hints of sweet oak spice. |
| Palate | Medium bodied with well-integrated oak and fruit, this wine has a smooth tannin structure and lingering spice flavours. |
| Serving and Storage |
