This is the fourth release of a Syrah Reserve, and its the best yet...
Tim Atkin MW
Reserve Syrah, DeMorgenzon
The vineyards for DeMorgenzon's Reserve Syrah are situated on the estate's farm in Stellenbosch, first planted in 2004.
Deep, purple core. Rich, berry fruit nose with lots of ripe red plum and whiffs of white pepper. Some floral notes in the background, including violets, lavender and spring blossoms. Full in the mouth with tremendous youthful vigour, this displays layers of berry fruit with developing spices of pepper, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Gentle oak integration shows and supports the elegance and roundness at this early age.
Technical analysis
ALCOHOL
14.5 %
RESIDUAL SUGAR
2.2 g/L
pH
3.82
ACIDITY
4.8 g/L
ORIGIN
South Africa
WINEMAKER
Carl van der Merwe
VARIETY
Shiraz (Syrah)
TIME IN OAK
20 months
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
Yes
CLOSURE
Cork
BOTTLE SIZE
75cl
REGION
Stellenbosch
VEGETARIAN
Yes
VEGAN
Yes
Vintage conditions
2017 was another hot and dry vintage in the Cape. Although the day time temperatures were warm, evening temperatures were much cooler than normal resulting in wines with incredible weight and texture, yet with great acidity and length. The dryness of the season resulted in minimal disease pressure with fruit arriving at the winery in very good condition. The grapes were handpicked and selected in the early morning at between 23.5º and 24.5º balling.
Vinification details
The Syrah was manually harvested and destalked into stainless steel fermentation tanks. A small percentage of bunches were fermented without destalking. Natural fermentation followed with a slight extended maceration on the skins to stabilise the colour and give the wine palate length. Fermentation temperatures were managed between 24°C and 30°C with a combination of punch downs and gentle pumpovers to extract colour and flavour from the skins. After fermentation, the wine was pressed off the skins and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel. The wine spent 10 months in 300L French oak barrels and a further 10 months in 3000L foudre barrels. After final blending the wine was transferred to 300L barrels for settling, after which it was racked and bottled without filtration.
Awards
Tim Atkin MW: 95 pts
IWC: Gold
Platter: 4.5*
DWWA: Silver
Green credentials
Accredited Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) estate.
Contact us to discuss
A very fragrant and finely spiced syrah with notes of pressed dried violets, jasmine and eucalyptus.
JamesSuckling.comReserve Syrah, DeMorgenzon
The vineyards for DeMorgenzon's Reserve Syrah are situated on the estate's farm in Stellenbosch, first planted in 2004.
Deep, purple core. Rich, berry fruit nose with lots of ripe red plum and whiffs of white pepper. Some floral notes in the background, including violets, lavender and spring blossoms. Full in the mouth with tremendous youthful vigour, this displays layers of berry fruit with developing spices of pepper, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Gentle oak integration shows and supports the elegance and roundness at this early age.
Technical analysis
ALCOHOL
14.3 %
RESIDUAL SUGAR
1.6 g/L
pH
3.61
ACIDITY
5.6 g/L
ORIGIN
South Africa
WINEMAKER
Carl van der Merwe
VARIETY
Shiraz (Syrah)
FINED USING
Egg white
TIME IN OAK
20 months
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
Yes
CLOSURE
Cork
BOTTLE SIZE
75cl
REGION
Stellenbosch
VEGETARIAN
Yes
VEGAN
No
Vintage conditions
2015 was one of the earliest vintages on record and careful attention had to be paid in the vineyards to ensure ripe fruit was harvested. This was achieved through effective crop thinning and selective harvest. Soil moisture levels had to be managed to extend the ripening as late as possible. Disease pressure was low and fruit health and fruit concentration was excellent. The earlier vintage resulted in more prominent tannins, hence the extraction in the winery was adjusted accordingly.
Vinification details
The Syrah was manually harvested and destalked into stainless steel fermentation tanks. A small percentage of bunches were fermented without destalking. Natural fermentation followed with a slight extended maceration on the skins to stabilise the colour and give the wine palate length. Fermentation temperatures were managed between 24°C and 30°C with a combination of punch downs and gentle pumpovers to extract colour and flavour from the skins. After fermentation, the wine was pressed off the skins and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel. The wine spent 10 months in 300L French oak barrels and a further 10 months in 3000L Foudre barrels and cement tanks (total 25% new wood).
Awards
JamesSuckling.com: 93 pts
Tim Atkin MW: 93 pts
Vinous: 93 pts
IWSC 2018: Silver Outstanding
IWC 2018: Silver
Platter: 4.5*
Green credentials
Accredited Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) estate.
Contact us to discuss
The palate is sweet and supple on the entry with white pepper tinged black fruit, a keen line of acidity and quite a structured, dense finish that offloads plenty of spicy, white pepper character, almost garrigue-like in style.
Neal Martin, eRobertParker.comReserve Syrah, DeMorgenzon
The vineyards for DeMorgenzon's Reserve Syrah are situated on the estate's farm in Stellenbosch, first planted in 2004.
Deep, purple core. Rich, berry fruit nose with lots of ripe red plum and whiffs of white pepper. Some floral notes in the background, including violets, lavender and spring blossoms. Full in the mouth with tremendous youthful vigour, this displays layers of berry fruit with developing spices of pepper, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Gentle oak integration shows and supports the elegance and roundness at this early age.
Technical analysis
ALCOHOL
14.3 %
RESIDUAL SUGAR
2.4 g/L
pH
3.55
ACIDITY
5.5 g/L
ORIGIN
South Africa
WINEMAKER
Carl van der Merwe
VARIETY
Shiraz (Syrah)
FINED USING
Egg white
TIME IN OAK
20 months
SULPHUR
Total: 60 Free: 30
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
Yes
CLOSURE
Cork
BOTTLE SIZE
75cl
REGION
Stellenbosch
Vintage conditions
2014 was a difficult year in that early season rains persisted throughout the spring and early summer. Disease pressure was high and vigilance was needed to ensure fruit health. The higher moisture levels in the soils allowed for a longer ripening period, and together with cooler temperatures resulted in elegant wines with very soft tannin. Removing leaves in the fruit zone allowed for sufficient sunlight penetration and good flavour development.
Vinification details
The Syrah was manually harvested and destalked into stainless steel fermentation tanks (a small percentage of bunches were fermented without destalking). Natural fermentation followed with a slight extended maceration on the skins to stabilize the colour and give the wine palate length. Fermentation temperatures were managed between 24°C and 30°C with a combination of punch downs and gentle pump overs to extract colour and flavour from the skins. After fermentation the wine was pressed off the skins and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel. The wine spent 10 months in 300L French oak barrels and a further 10 months in 3000L foudre barrels and cement tanks (total 25% new wood).
Awards
Tim Atkin MW: 92 pts
eRobertParker.com: 92 pts
IWC 2017: Silver
Green credentials
Accredited Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) estate.
Contact us to discuss
Very suave and serious. Dry savoury finish. Classy and accomplished.
Jancis RobinsonReserve Syrah, DeMorgenzon
The vineyards for DeMorgenzon's Reserve Syrah are situated on the estate's farm in Stellenbosch, first planted in 2004.
Deep, purple core. Rich, berry fruit nose with lots of ripe red plum and whiffs of white pepper. Some floral notes in the background, including violets, lavender and spring blossoms. Full in the mouth with tremendous youthful vigour, this displays layers of berry fruit with developing spices of pepper, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Gentle oak integration shows and supports the elegance and roundness at this early age.
Technical analysis
ALCOHOL
14.5 %
RESIDUAL SUGAR
1.4 g/L
pH
3.58
ACIDITY
5.3 g/L
ORIGIN
South Africa
WINEMAKER
Carl van der Merwe
VARIETY
Shiraz (Syrah)
FINED USING
Egg white
TIME IN OAK
20 months
SULPHUR
Total: 60 Free: 30
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
Yes
CLOSURE
Cork
BOTTLE SIZE
75cl
REGION
Stellenbosch
Vintage conditions
2012 was an outstanding year for Syrah at DeMorgenzon. Vines entered the growing season with excellent potential for growth following good winter rains. Weather conditions during the ripening season were hot and dry, resulting in concentrated wines with depth and complexity.
Vinification details
The Syrah was manually harvested and destalked into stainless steel fermentation tanks (a small percentage of bunches were fermented without destalking). Natural fermentation followed with a slight extended maceration on the skins to stabilize the colour and give the wine palate length. Fermentation temperatures were managed between 24°C and 30°C with a combination of punch downs and gentle pump overs to extract colour and flavour from the skins. After fermentation the wine was pressed off the skins and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel. The wine spent 10 months in 300L French oak barrels and a further 10 months in 3000L foudre barrels and cement tanks (total 25% new wood).
Awards
IWSC 2014: Silver Outstanding
IWC 2014: Silver
Decanter 2015: Silver
Tim Atkin MW: 93 pts
Platter: 4.5*
Jancis Robinson: 17/20
Tanzer: 90 pts
Green credentials
Accredited Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) estate.
Contact us to discuss