Starke Conde
Three Pines Syrah
2018

R3,900.00

R650.00 per bottle
W.O Stellenbosch

92 in stock

On our Three Pines Syrah we always focus on the texture - “mouthfeel”- and the fine balance between power and elegance. It is not an “in your face” style: it shows pretty floral notes with slight pepperiness and the palate is smooth and polished with a long elegant finish- what one critic described as “having the texture of crushed violets”

Additional information

Weight 1.25 kg
Dimensions 7 × 7 × 26 cm

Technical Analysis

Varietal: 100% Syrah

Clone: Sh21A

Rootstock: Richeter 110,99

Fruit source: Our Oude Nektar vineyards in Jonkershoek

Yield: 4 tons/hectare

B at harvest: 24-25

Alcohol: 14.0%

Total Acid: 5.4

Residual Sugar: 2.0

Total extract: 28.0 g/L

Age of vines: 29 years at harvest

Trellis: 5-wire vsp

Irrigation: supplemental drip irrigation

Vineyard elevation: 300-310m

Slope: South Westerly

Total production: 3330 bottles

Vinification and Oaking

This is a single-vineyard wine from our highest elevation Syrah vineyard, a small block contiguous to our single-vineyard Cabernet. The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested in late February. After being cooled overnight to 14 degrees C., they were carefully hand-sorted and crushed into small open fermentation vats and allowed to cold-soak for several days. 

A small portion (10%) was left whole bunch and uncrushed. Natural yeast fermentation. Regular, vigorous punchdowns were given every 4-6 hours for the very first half of fermentation, then every 6-8 hours thereafter. At dryness, the wine was basket pressed and racked directly to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation and subsequent barrel maturation. A mix of coppers was used, all French oak, all 300 litre, mainly second-fill and about 15% new. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered after 20 months barrel maturation.

Winemakers comments

This is the fourth vintage of this wine after re-planting the vineyard. Our idea has always been to make what is basically a single-vine-yard Cabernet Sauvignon from this unique vineyard- although it is not a true single- vineyard in that we have blended in barrel selections of the best of our other vineyards. The Cabernet has a very intense cassis aroma with unique citrus-rind notes. It has a firmer tannin structure than many of our wines, but still with the elegance for which Jonkershoek Valley wines are known.

 

Oude Nektar is the historical name for our farm. This wine is based around the highest elevation vine-yard on the farm- at about 550 meters arguably one of Stellenbosch’s highest Cabernet vineyards. Originally planted in 2003, it burned down I 2009 and was re-planted. It is an ideal combination of soil and site. It has a very stoney decomposed granite soil with a clay subsoil and it has an almost perfect aspect towards the afternoon sun. this aspect and elevation means that the vineyard receives almost 45 minutes more direct sunlight than Stellenbosch average.

Previous Vintages

2015: Six-nations Trophy for Blended WhIte

2017: Platter 5-star

2018: Decanter Gold, 95 pts.

2019: 91 pts, Tim Atkin SA Report 2020

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Starke Conde
Three Pines Syrah
2018”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TOP RATED WINES

WINES

CULTIVAR

VINTAGE