Very smart varietal Syrah, savoury but polished and seriously appealing. Dark garnet with a violet rim. Fresh lifted berry fruit that draws you in! Full yet elegant with bramble fruit aromas, cassis and black cherry flavours on the palate and a touch of white pepper spice (more in the northern Rhone mould than Barossa brawn) - structure provided by fine tannins with a long rich, ripe finish. In recent years Shiraz has been seen by many as embodying the future for South African wine at the highest level. Intensive viticultural research revealing that the area of Paarl was superbly suited for Shiraz, complemented their own findings, having been active in the area since 1994. With an average summer temperature of 28 degrees Celcius, the areas climate is often compared to the Rhone Valley in Southern France. The deep soils are high in clay content, which is excellent for water retention. It seems that the remark “the best soils are the worst soils” holds true as these gravel based vineyards restrict the variety’s natural vigour. The wet, cold winters and warm dry summers ensures that Shiraz vines have enough water available to ripen the grapes without being too vigorous.