Waterkloof Syrah 2023

Waterkloof, teknisk ark/fact sheet (waterkloofwines.co.za – linket fra waterkloofwines.co.za, hentet 2026-10-18): 2023 Waterkloof Waterkloof Syrah; druer: Syrah; alkohol 14%. Producentens noter (engelsk): Fact sheet: THE JOURNEY We make a wine under the Waterkloof label, only when one of our vineyard blocks on The Schapenberg offers up something extraordinary. We made our first in 2005 – a Sauvignon Blanc. Finally, seventeen years later our best block of Chenin made the grade and so a second was borne from the outstanding white wine vintage of 2021. We waited all that time for Waterkloof wine number two and then, hot on its heels came number three and four. The first two red wines under the Waterkloof label from the beautiful red wine vintage of 2020: Waterkloof BOREAS and Waterkloof Syrah. Only made in exceptional years, we are delighted to make the second release of Waterkloof Syrah, this time from the beautiful 2023 vintage. Since taking over as winemaker in 2013, having previously been assistant since 2009, Nadia Langenegger and her team have really begun to get the best out of our red grapes. We believe in evolution rather than revolution and a few modifications were implemented, notably foot-treading to extract the juice and tannin more gently. Hard work indeed, but also quite fun… well at least the first couple each year are. We have 30 wooden fermenters to get through! The changes have really paid off, even throughout the challenging drought vintages of 2017-2019. Testament to this was a first Platter’s 5 Star Award for not just one but two of our red wines in 2021 - Circle of Life Red 2019 and The Last of The First Pinotage 2020. While Waterkloof Syrah 2023 will offer great enjoyment in its youth- just like the other three wines in our flagship range- this wines journey has more to come and will certainly reward cellaring for a decade…or more. THE VINEYARD THE CELLAR Ocean Proximity: 4.5km Hand-picked and hand-sorted Altitude: 260m Whole bunch wild yeast ferment in an old open-top French oak fermenter Exposure: South East Foot-treading and manual punch-downs Windspeed: Wild 24 months ageing in old 600l French oak barrels Soil: Decomposed Granite No additions other than sulphur Farming: Regenerative. No irrigation. 5295 bottles made Vine Training: Trellised (for support in wind) Yield: Grapes - 3.5tons/hectare Wine - 25hl/hectare THE NUMBERS Alc: 14% RS: 1.89 g/L : pH: 3.82 TA: 4.57 g/L VA: 0.7 TSO2: 82 NADIA LANGENEGGER’S TASTING NOTE A beautifully elegant wine well deserving of the name Syrah. […]