Elgin Vintners Mirra Semillon

W.O. Elgin

100% Semillon

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 high-profile glob ally 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-persis tent 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 th is 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 t he 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 an d complex and powerful flavours

Viticulture Semillon is easy to grow and can effortlessly produce about 15 – 20 tons of grapes per hectare. Our Semillon vineyard, GD1 clone, is only 0.5 HA and produces 4.5 tons of Semillon. This vineyard has Single Vineyard status. Semillon thrives in climates with sunny days and cool nights and that’s why we believe that Elgin Valley can make stellar Semillon

Vinification This Semillon was vinified in an Amphora 500L clay pot and in a 300L French oak barrel. One-third of the amphora was filled with whole berries and then filled up w ith pressed and settled juice. The barrel was filled with juice. The wine is naturally fermented and only yeast hulls were added to aid as yeast nutrition. The Yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) was very high in the grapes and therefore no need to have added organic nitrogen to help the yeast with fermentation. After fermentation, the wine in the amphora was left on the skins for three months, thereafter the skins were removed by hand. The wine was sulfured and left to mature for a further 6 months prior to bottling.

Recommendation Enjoy a glass of MIRRA with chicken, turkey, pork, and foie gras. This wine also goes well with all sorts of fish dishes, Asian foods, and sushi. Or as a vegetarian option spicy, roasted vegetables and salads with citrus dressings will be fantastic.

Alcohol: 12.5% Residual Sugar: 2.0 Total Acid: 6.3 pH: 3.33