Kloof Street Swartland Rouge, 2018

The spicy perfumed nose of this South African red blend has undertones of dark fruits. Each grape variety in the blend adds balance to the wine - Tinta Barocca brings tannin, Cinsault brings perfume, Carignan brings freshness, Grenache brings fruit character, and the Syrah ties it all together.

Meet the maker: Mullineux

Region: Swartland, Coastal Region – South Africa 

Grape(s): Tinta Barroca (51%), Syrah (38%), Grenache (6%), Cinsault (4%), Carignan (1%)

14.5% ABV / 750ml / Vegetarian / Vegan

Viticulture:

A blend of eight vineyard parcels, this wine is made from sustainably farmed fruit sourced from different parts of the Swartland. The vines are aged between 12-40 years.

Two parcels of Syrah and one of Cinsault come from the stony shale and schist-based soils of Kasteelberg, which retain heat well and aid in the ripening of bold fruit.

One parcel of dry-land, bush vine Syrah, one of Carignan, one of Grenache and a single parcel of gnarly, old, dry-farmed Tinta Barocca bush vines are all grown on the decomposed granite soil of the Paardeberg. This soil promotes the production of complex wines with lifted acidity.

The final parcel is Mourvèdre grown on the rolling, iron-rich soils west of Malmesbury.

Winemaking:

The grapes were chilled in Mullineux's cold room facility, before being trnsferred to tank.

75% of the fruit was destemmed, while the remaining 25% was left as whole bunches.

Minimal sulphur was added and no other additions were made.

Daily punch downs lasted for four days, after which fermentation began with indigenous yeasts. 

After this, the cap was punched down once or twice a day.

The wine was pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation.

The different parcels were racked in spring to blend the wine, which was then returned to barrel.