Luddite Shiraz 2018 Magnum – Limited

The 2018 vintage was a continuation of the ongoing drought that has been hitting the Western Cape since 2015. These hot, dry conditions resulted in smaller berries which in turn made the crop substantially smaller. We were surprised to see that even with these hot conditions, our natural acidity levels remained stable which balanced the fruit intensity. We picked the young and the old block 6 days apart and fermented them separately. They remained separate during fermentation and maturation, only coming together in the final blend one month before bottling. We continued to experiment with adding stalks to the fermentation, up to 40% in some of the open fermenters.

We felt that the tank portions were picking up tannin very easily and therefore we pressed earlier than normal, allowing the wine to settle and finish malolactic fermentation in tank before racking to barrel. Of the total barrel selection, 20% new Oak down to 6th fill with mostly French Oak being used. After 2 years in barrel, we made up the final barrel selection before bottling.

Wine delivery takes 7 – 10 days