TASTING NOTE
ABV: 14.5%
Region: Paarl-Simonsberg, South Africa
Grape: 100% Shiraz
Closure: Cork
Winemaker: Charlenes Coetzee
Tasting Notes
Aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, ripe fruit, a little dustiness and fragrant violets. Matured in French oak, this delicious Shiraz has a fresh mid-palate with dark cherry and soft prune flavours and a hint of spice. The mouth-feel is rich and velvety and the finish long and pleasing. A firm favourite of ours.
Producer Details
Babylonstoren wines are produced in a state-of-the-art winery and are made to showcase the soils and climate where its grapes are grown. We have 88 hectares (217 acres) under vine and produce 13 different grape varieties with our highest vines – pinot noir and chardonnay – lying against Simonsberg at some 600 metres above sea level.
Some of the vines on the farm were planted by the farm’s previous owners, the Louw family, who lived here for four generations. The Louws were grape growers for the former Simondium Co-operative Winery and other large wineries in the area. Our wines are best exemplified by the Babylonstoren logo, which consists of the pipe (representing the farmer), the flower (representing the garden) and the bird (representing nature).
It is a combination of the very essence of Babylonstoren – keeping things simple and as true to the earth as possible. "It is this that we strive to achieve in our wine," says Charl Coetzee. "Truth to the area we are situated in on the slopes of Simonsberg, and simplicity by making elegant and balanced wines as natural as possible.
Vineyard
On the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain between the wine growing areas of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa.
Winery
Fermentation takes place on the skins for about seven days, after which it gets an extended maceration period of about one week. The wine then gets pressed into a combination of 70% new and 30% second-fill 300 litre French oak barrels. After malolactic fermentation the wine gets racked and is then returned to the barrels for another 18 months before bottling
Food Recommendations
Any venison or game dish with a berry sauce.