Kershaw Syrah Elgin Clonal Selection 2017

	Fenomenale wijn van handgeplukte druiven
	Romig zacht
	Elegant en intens
	Heerlijk bij verfijnd gevogelte, wild of rundvlees

Syrah Zuid Afrika

Fraaie rode wijn met een helderrode tint en een fraai aroma van rijp fruit en milde kruiden. De smaak zet soepel en zacht in en ontwikkelt een geurige evenwichtige afdronk met een licht gerijpte nuance.

Richard Kershaw Elgin Clonal

Engelsman Richard Kershaw begon met het prestigieuze Master of Wine diploma op zak een boutique winery in Elgin. Sinds 2012 produceert hij van tientallen kleine percelen - elk met een perfecte match tussen klimaat, bodemsoort en druivenras - fenomenale wijnen. Voor een optimale wijngaardexpressie gebruikt Kershaw uitsluitend gebiedspecifieke syrah klonen. Tijdens de oogst worden de druiven met de hand geplukt en streng geselecteerd. Voor het transport van druiven en sap werkt Kershaw uitsluitend met zwaartekracht in de kelder, dus zonder schadelijke pompen.

De Clonal Selection Syrah is geen blockbuster, maar heel precies en puur met fijn rood fruit, een romige zachtheid en fraaie toastgeuren van de rijping in eikenhouten vaten. Kenmerkend is ook de compacte structuur die verwant is aan de betere Noord-Rhône wijnen. Prachtig! Productie is beperkt tot slechts 8.000 flessen. 

HISTORY:

In 2011, owner Richard Kershaw MW established Richard Kershaw Wines (RKW) to create clonally selected, site-specific, cool climate wine paradigms from apposite noble grapes i.e. ones with the ability to produce world-class examples. SA’s coolest wine district, Elgin Valley, reflected these principles benefitting from higher altitude, ocean proximity, specific cloud cover sequencing, high cold units and a large diurnal range, enabling the germane grapes, Chardonnay and Syrah, to show a sense of place.

SEASON:

2012 was a stand out vintage with a combination of cool spring weather giving the shoots plenty of time to break buds and the absence of strong wind resulting in less shoot damage and good flowering. High cold units from cooler winter temperatures also allowed proper vine dormancy. Despite some heat surges in January, Elgin was tempered from the highs experienced elsewhere and, importantly, peak temperatures were only achieved for short periods as the night-time temps were cool and the soils took time to warm up. The extraordinary cool nights experienced in February meant that fruit aromas were preserved and acids retained. Fine weather in March accompanied by very cool mornings allowed the phenolic ripeness to proceed steadily without higher sugars. At first sight, 2012 seems an exciting and potentially excellent vintage for Syrah with low pH, tempered alcohol levels, and fine tannin frames.

WINEMAKING:

The grapes were handpicked under autumnal skies into small lug baskets and then manually sorted on a conveyor before the stems were removed. The destemmed berries fell onto a vibrating table in order to remove jacks and substandard berries before dropping into a small 500kg conical hopper and forklifted into open-topped fermenters. The grapes underwent a 3-day maceration before spontaneous fermentation began. A gentle pigeage program was charted and the grapes remained on skins for 23 days. The wine was then racked to barrel using gravity flow (no pumps were used at all) and the pomace basket pressed. Malolactic then proceeded in barrel followed by a light sulphuring and 15 month maturation. No finings were necessary and the wine was racked, blended and bottled with each bottle bearing a unique reference number.

BARREL SELECTION:

A small number of artisanal coopers were selected from Burgundy and Rhone, with only French oak chosen. 50% of the oak was new with the remainder split into 2nd and 3rd fill barrels.