Cape Granite Red Blend

The grapes are from our Estate vineyards on the upper slopes of Paarl mountain, grown on decomposed granite soils with supplementary drip irrigation. The Grenache is planted as bush vines and the Shiraz and Tempranillo vineyards are trellised. The vines undergo summer canopy management practices such as suckering and tipping to ensure sufficient sunlight penetrates the canopy. The grapes were picked by hand very early in the morning, which allowed for the grapes to be delivered cold to the cellar, where they were destalked and gently crushed. The fermentation took place on the skins in stainless steel tanks for 10 days with pumpovers 3 times a day. After fermentation the skins were pressed and the wine was allowed to mature in a combination of French and American 225 litre oak barrels (10% new) for 12 months before blending and bottling.