Sijnn Red 2018

A vibrant deep red colour. Savoury and wild, with red berries, lavender, thyme and rosemary on the nose. It is inky and wild but has a beautiful freshness, and concentration on the mid palate. Charcuterie, entwined with rich dark spice and chocolate. It is elegantly powerful with a youthful freshness, yet a deep concentration, and a structured firm tannin profile, making sure this wine will last for many years. A beautiful lingering flavour remains on your palate, long after taking a sip. Hints of Blueberry cheesecake, a smooth and creamy texture on the palate.

Handpicked and carefully sorted in 14 kg flat trays in the cool mornings, to avoid damaging and transported back to Stellenbosch. Further sorting in Stellenbosch and 98% destemming and gentle crushing directly into small open top tanks and oak vats. Spontaneous natural yeast fermentation @ max. temp. 29°C. Time on the skins 6 – 9 days, with caps of the skins punched down (pigeage) 2 to 3 times a day. Single pressing in traditional basket press and malolactic fermentation in barrels. The wine was bottled by hand, unfined and unfiltered.

We used a mix of barrels in the first year of maturation and mostly 700ℓ in the second year of maturation. This better respects the complexity of the fruit while softening the wine sufficiently. 20% new French oak used – all 700ℓ. Time in barrel 21 months, which included 3 rackings to gradually clarify the wine and assist maturation.