Elgin Vintners Ironstone Syrah

W.O. Elgin

100% Syrah

About us Established in 2003, Elgin Vintners, situated in the cool-climate Elgin Valley, have 45 hectares of vineyards. Our main cultivars are Pinot Noir Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. We also have Merlot and Syrah. We believe in sustainability on all fronts, in our business, vineyards, and our people. Our wines continually receive numerous highprofile globally-renowned accolades and outstanding reviews from reputable wine critics. Elgin Vintners wines show exceptional poise, finesse, and elegance.

Terroir Elgin is the coolest wine region in South Africa. The benefit of cooler climates is that the grape cluster stays connected to its roots for longer, developing more characteristics and achieving physiological ripeness more gradually with lower sugar levels and consequently lower alcohols. The resultant wines leave one with an impression of delicacy, but also power and insistence over warmer-climate examples, which show bolder but less-persistent flavours. The vineyards have an altitude of 305 m, which makes this the 4th highest elevation in South Africa, considering that we are also next to the cold Atlantic ocean this has a profound influence on day/night temperatures, prevailing south-easterly winds. The South-Easter can bring a cooling respite to the vineyards of Elgin it can also bring extensive cloud cover that gets restricted by the mountains and extends back over the region, meaning that not only is sunlight blocked out but temperatures are also reduced and the ripening of grapes is slowed. In extreme cases, about four to five times a year, the wind is strong enough and the clouds thick enough to enable precipitation known locally as a Black South-Easter, dumping quite large amounts of rain often throughout the day. On top of this, on calmer warmer days, cool coastal breezes get sucked in from the sea as the warmed land air begins to rise which reduces the temperature very quickly in the afternoon and into the night. This helps maintain the acid levels in the grapes, leading to an extended ripening period on the vine with natural balance and complex and powerful flavours.

Viticulture Leaf plucking starts early in the growing season. The bunches are exposed to the morning sun (eastern side). After veraison, a green harvest takes place, where all the green bunches are then removed. During the ripening period, all leaves are removed in the bunch zones. This ensures full phenolic ripeness.

Vinification Two clones SH9 and SH22 are used in Ironstone Syrah. Whole bunch fermentation in 2 Ton open-top wooden fermenters. Natural fermentation (no commercial yeast) with punch-down only once per day. Fermentation and time on the skins took 14 days before pressing. Malo-lactic takes place in barrels, of which 20% are new 300L French oak barriques. The wine matures for 20 months in barrel before bottling.

Recommendation With its delicate flavors, lamb is a great choice for this style of Syrah. Try Lamb Shawarma or Gyros or, if youʼre preparing it yourself, play with your spice rack to magnify the natural flavors in Syrah of allspice, clove, and mint. Vegetarian option: brined and grilled eggplant.

Gilbert & Gaillard Rating 91 pts

Alcohol: 13.5% Residual Sugar: 1.2 Total Acid: 4.6 pH: 3.80