Full, dark and fresh with juicy red fruit flavours. Just as good as,if not better, than Australian versions at this level.

Shiraz adapts well to various climate conditions and can thus be grown in numerous regions of the word, resulting in a diverse spectrum of styles. False Bay Vineyards look for vineyard sites that could produce wines with notable elegance and freshness, allied with a fine texture. The grapes are sourced from the Swartland and Paardeberg regions. The Swartland region is well known for its shale soils which allow for good drainage. This encourages the roots to go digging for moisture and ensures a naturally lower yield. These wines have a great tannin structure and supple fruit. To add to the blend, a site on the mountain slopes of the Paardeberg was selected as it was higher up and rooted in decomposed granite soils, which lend an elegant side to our wine combined with lovely fruit acidity.

False Bay Vineyards believe in working gently with their precious crop and for this reason all the grapes were handpicked. Grapes were harvested according to their taste profile in the vineyards. After de-stemming, fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks without the addition of cultured yeast. The skins and juice were mixed through a combination of delestage * and pump-overs. Towards the end of fermentation, the number of pump-overs was reduced to ensure that no harsh, dry tannins were extracted. Fermentation took place at temperatures of 26 to 30 degrees Celsius at the height of fermentation. The wine was drained from the skins after fermentation was completed. No press juice was added to the wine. Their Shiraz wines are aged in large wooden vats for at least 6 months before bottling though the oak doesn't show.

* Delestage is a fermentation and maceration technique that gently extracts phenolic compounds by oxygenating the juice to produce softer, less astringent red wines exhibiting more fruit character.