Description
Five centuries ago the ancient mariners braved uncharted seas to round the Cape of Good Hope in search of exotic spices. Their nerve and dash inspire the Spice Route philosophy. We have found our signature wine style in the rolling hills along the Cape’s West Coast, where unirrigated vines produce grapes with small thick skinned berries – ripe fruit that is dense, rich and full flavoured. A passionate dedication to exceptional quality and traditional hand crafting captures the essence of this fruit in the wines of the Spice Route.
IN THE VINEYARD
All vineyards are in the Swartland region and are planted on Richter 99 rootstock. Shiraz makes up the majority of the blend and is sourced from a dryland, trellised vineyard planted on Oakleaf soils. In 2011 the vineyard yielded 6 tons per hectare. The remainder of the grapes in the blend are from bushvine vineyards planted on Oakleaf and Koffieklip soils. The average yield for these vineyards was between 3.5 and 4.5 tons per hectare.
HARVEST DATE
From mid February to end of March 2011.
WINEMAKING
Shiraz was machine harvested in the early morning. The remaining fruit was hand harvested. The grapes were all picked at between 25 and 27°B. Hand harvested grapes were destalked and lightly crushed and all fruit was fermented in open concrete fermenters (‘kuipe’), using Oenoform Rouge yeasts. Manual punch downs were done twice daily during fermentation (Grenache three times daily). The wines were racked off and sent to barrel for malolactic fermentation and further ageing. The wine matured individually in a combination of French and American oak for about 18 months before the blend was made.
TASTING NOTE
Intense red-purple in the glass. Initial smoky cloves and savoury notes give way to a plum and black cherry nose with hints of sweet oak spice. Medium bodied with well-integrated oak and fruit, this wine has a smooth tannin structure and lingering spice flavours.
