News from London is that the 2004 vintage of our Crucible Shiraz was awarded the Regional Trophy in the 2006 Decanter Wine Awards. To be selected the Best Rhône Varietal red wine from South Africa – by this panel – is high praise indeed. Decanter is not only the UK's leading wine magazine; it is also one of the finest wine publications in the world.

The 2003 Crucible was one of only three South African red wines to win gold medals in the 2005 Decanter Wine Awards.

The 2004 vintage of Crucible was made in very much the same manner, except that we used 100% Nadalie barrels (the 2003 had some Bernard barrels, too). In style, the wine is powerful, yet more restrained at a 'mere' 14.5% alcohol. Sadly, volumes were down by over 20% in this vintage, so we'll have fewer than 400 cases to satisfy the entire world's requirements