Erasmus Family Reserve

Vintage: 2021

Grape variety

Only twelve 225 litre casks were produced. Five barrels of Carignan, four barrels of Shiraz, two barrels of Petit Syrah and one barrel of Grenache Noir were used for blending.

Vineyard

These predominantly unirrigated bush vines are all planted in deep, iron rich Koffieklip and Oakleaf soils. The average yield was between 2.5 and 4.5 tons per hectare. Each variety was selected for its suitability to the Swartland’s harsh growing conditions and blended to express the region’s unique terroir. All cultivars were fermented separately in open top concrete fermenters after which it matured in 100% French Oak barrels for 6months. Only 12 barrels produced making a total of 3600 Bottles.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand-harvested, destalked and lightly crushed, where after it was fermented in open con-crete fermenters (‘kuipe’). Manual punch downs were done during fermentation. The wines were then racked off and sent to barrel for malolactic fermentation and further ageing. Each wine component for the blend was matured in seasoned French oak for 12 months before blending occurred. Post blending, the final wine was returned to the same old oak barrels for further maturation.

Food pairing

The perfect food wine. Can hold up to the intense South African flavours of slow-roasted meat, especially barbequed pork. Even Asian inspired dishes with plum sauce will add to the fruitiness in the wine.

Analytics

Alc: 13,85%
RS:    3,1g/l
TA:    5.9g/l
PH:   3,5