Cloof Crucible Shiraz 2003

his wine entered our lives on 17 February 2003 when 5.84 tons of Shiraz grapes (cropped at a little more than one ton per hectare from unirrigated bush vines) came into our cellar.

Due to the small volume of wine (only 5000 litres) it was taken to barrels immediately after pressing, where it completed alcoholic fermentation and then continued with malolactic fermentation. We used a combination of new Bernard and Nadalie barrels for its 15-month maturation.

Early introduction to new barrels meant that fruit-oak integration was optimised. The more savoury notes characterising Shiraz have developed with time, but its extreme fruit concentration have remained a constant.

This singular wine is a product of the hot and dry circumstances under which the vines grow. Adversity that is a literal and figurative crucible.

VINEYARD INFORMATION

Age of Vines:

Vineyard planted in 1998

Trellising:

None (bush vines)

Irrigation:

None

Soil:

Decomposed granite and Oakleaf

Position:

East facing slope and flat

CELLAR INFORMATION

Harvest date:

February 19, 2003

Harvest Sugar:

27ºB

Yield:

1.15 Ton/Ha

Fermentation:

Grapes were de-stemmed and cold-macerated for 48 hours before being inoculated with yeast. The grapes spent 6 days on skins and were pressed to new French oak barrels when almost dry. Fermentation temperature reached 31ºC.

Maturation:

Malolactic fermentation, in the barrel, was finished on March 10. The wine was racked and transferred back to the same barrels, where it matured for a further 15 months.

Bottling date:

Aug 2004

Alc:

15.54 %

RS:

5.60 g/l

Extr:

38.80 g/l

pH:

3.98

TA:

6.9 g/l