A crucible is a porcelain dish used above a Bunsen burner for achieving chemical reactions that require heat. In figurative terms a crucible is a severe test, the overcoming of which brings about great personal change. Basically, adversity breeds character.
The hot and dry conditions under which the Cloof vineyards grow are extreme, hence the name for our Shiraz. The vineyard only produced one ton per hectare, so the total vineyard area of a little under six hectares delivered a mere 6000 bottles of 2003 Cloof Crucible Shiraz. As our shiraz supremo, winemaker Christopher van Dieren, says: "It's eating and drinking at the same time." Yes, it's massively concentrated, but it has a whole range of flavours beyond the primary ripe fruit and new oak. The key to this wine, also, is the fine natural acidity that lifts it, and prevents the richness from being cloying.
The vineyard, planted in 1998, delivered its first small harvest in 2002. The wine showed fabulous aromatics – the spicy pepperiness more usually associated with Côte Rôtie or Hermitage – but the wine’s acidity was too high for it be bottled on its own. It so happened that in 2002 our Cabernet Sauvignon was exceptionally rich and juicy, with a few grams of unfermented sugar remaining. Putting the two together was a match made in heaven, and created the 2002 Bush Vines Cabernet/Shiraz (of which we have some remaining stock).
In 2003 the birds had a field day in the Crucible Shiraz, eating a substantial portion of the crop that was already small (natural selection at work?). Christopher, who also made South Africa’s first-ever five-star shiraz (the 1998 Slaley), favours the use of a ‘cold soak’, where the juice and skins are chilled to about 7°C immediately after crushing. At this temperature fermentation cannot start, but a gentle extraction of colour, flavour and tannin can take place. Fermentation, when started, is allowed to run up to a temperature in excess of 30°C, which also assists with extraction. Due to the small volume of wine it was pressed off its skins before fermentation was completed, and was transferred to 100% new French Oak (Bernard and Nadalie cooped). Malolactic fermentation also took place in barrel. Due to the wine’s early introduction to new oak, the integration of fruit and oak was optimised.
Crucible Shiraz has been dear to our hearts since the day it went into barrel. The combination of toasty oak and intense black fruit aromas had us visiting the barrel cellar at every opportunity. With time it has also evolved a savoury spectrum of flavours, much like the 2002 that was blended with cabernet.
The 2003 hasn’t required any blending or tinkering. It is an insanely concentrated wine with dangerously seductive aromas and flavours. Clearly Christopher’s skill has played a huge part in the finished result, but he would be the first to salute the role of the vineyard. The shiraz fruit produced by Block 5 is a miracle of Nature. We cannot say with certainty why this is so, and we could probably cover the entire Darling countryside with shiraz vines without once again harvesting this kind of fruit. We can only express gratitude for Nature’s capricious bounty.
Cloof Crucible Shiraz 2003 has now become our most decorated wine. Already the recipient of a Gold medal at the Michelangelo Awards, and having been selected for South African Airways First Class (see pi