The Fledge & Co Syrah 2019

Leon informs me:

"Philosophy – Sometimes what one thinks is the familiar, is the unfamiliar. Syrah, or Shiraz, is a grape very much open to interpretation of site, viticulture & viniculture while stubbornly showcasing its inherent traits. Our aim is to craft a reflection of site, vintage & of what we enjoy drinking.

Vineyard – A small site of clone SH-99 Syrah is wedged in among extremely shale rich soil with a top layer of chunky decomposed sandstone shale, quartz & clay in near perfect continental climatic conditions. The neighbouring site of Viognier is also super shale rich, but with more decomposition & higher content of brown-red clay. After 7 years of being tempted by this little block we took the plunge & are now co-farming this plot of vines.. Quite possibly the most tempestuous vintage in the Cape – super low winter rainfall, early spring, hot summer, heat waves & erratic weather – though this site was spared a bit, it resulted in earlier harvesting & a more lean, linear wine.

Vinification – The last fruit of the vintage harvested the 3rd week of March, picked solely on taste & a half a bin of ripe ‘n rich Viognier from the adjacent vineyard was added for good measure. Crushed into a small open-top cement fermenter, allowed a day & a half cold soak prior to inoculation with a Pinot-specific yeast strain, gently pigeaged over the week long slow cold ferment, gently pressed & racked off into three third-fill 500L French oak puncheons and a single old 300L French oak hogshead to complete ferment & 9 month barrel maturation. The wine spent a further two months in a stainless-steel tank in cold storage at -5⁰C prior to bottling unfined & unfiltered. Only yeast & small amounts of sulphur are added during the process.

Wine – This vintage is compact, svelte & slow to unfurl, with an unmistakable underlying Syrah-ness wrapped up in tart red berries, pomegranate & tea leaf with mouth-whetting acidity and long savoury finish which will become more prominent with bottle maturation. Deserving of accompaniment by rustic country fare – slow roast leg of lamb, waterblommetjiebredie with sweet potato mash, char-grilled T-bone or sirloin on the bone with Hollandaise ‘n shoe-string fries or simply a selection of charcuterie, fine fromage - good company & much cheer. Decant in youth or cellar to experience its full potential in the decade to come."