Boschendal Grande Syrah 2017

Syrah or Shiraz is the work horse Red varietal in the Boschendal range and the Grande Syrah epitomises the best of what we can do with Syrah. It comes from a very special vineyard of weathered granite soils on the south-facing slopes in the helderberg, Stellenbosch. The vines are unirrigated and farmed for seriously premium quality grapes, which includes amongst others a strict pruning regime and bunch removal to ensure that only the finest grapes are selected for vinification. The grapes are hand picked and hand sorted on arrival at the cellar. The fermentation takes place in stainless steel and the wine is made using a specially selected Rhône-style yeast with the fermentation temperature between 24-26°C. Regular pump-overs every 8 hours allowed the extraction of tannins and colour. The Grande Syrah was aged for 14 months in 1st to 4th fill french oak 300L and 500L barrels (30% new). The Grande Syrah was blended in a 2500L Foudre to age and integrate for a further 6 months