Blueberry Hill Shiraz

​Harvested from a 34 year old block of Shiraz planted to clay soils in the Bottelary. A small arid patch inside this vineyard has been replanted yearly for stokkies dying but without success – the last lone survivors in the murderous clay soil have now been honoured by a separate harvest delivering low yields with intense blueberry perfume – so we sing to them: I found my thrill!!! On Blueberry Hill!!! ……Louis Armstrong – o yeah!!!

Grapes are picked between 24-25 balling. 58% of it is whole bunch fermented and the rest crushed into open tank for 6 days skin contact with manual punch downs. Soft basket pressing with 17% fresh stalks allows gentle extraction of dense dark flavours before 12 months barrel maturation in older 500l French oak barrels. Minimal intervention allows for a true expression of the grape.

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The wine shows a dense dark core of crushed blueberry and white pepper on the nose. Violets and perfumed blueberry essence invigorate a dense but bright palate of textured fruit and soft tannins.

Food pairing:  A great accompaniment to slow braised pork chops or roasted rack of lamb with parmesan mash and crisp garden veggies.