2018 Bekkers, McLaren Vale Syrah

Our quest to create a fine wine beacon for McLaren Vale means attention to the smallest details. Vineyard parcels are selected from our ‘artist’s palette’- the landscape of McLaren Vale- to capture aromatic spice, elegance and soft, silky texture; all underpinned by the generous flavours of McLaren Vale.
A blend of three vineyards. In the cellar, an average of 25% whole bunches are added to the fermenter and the remaining fruit is gently destemmed (not crushed) and sorted to remove any shrivelled berries. Cold soaked for 5 days prior to the beginning of natural fermentation (no yeast added.) Gentle, cool fermentation minimises over-extraction. Basket pressed to oak after 15-20 days fermentation. Matured in a mixture of new (58%) and older (42%) French oak puncheons (500L). Aged on fine lees with minimal sulphur additions.
Bottled December 2019 sans filtration.
Screw cap | 14.0% abv.
Wine style objective: Soft, fine, silky texture. Dark/red fruit flavour profile accompanied by attreactive spice. Purposefully made to avoid overt, syrupy concentration or oversue of oak. Capture McLaren Vale intensity; tempered by silky texture, elegance and spice characters.

2018 BEKKERS McLaren Vale Syrah.
Variety: 100% Syrah (Shiraz)
Price: RRP $120 per bottle
For Release: August 2019
Distribution: Primarily via the Bekkers mailing list. Also selected premier restaurants and independent wine merchants.

Subregions:48% Clarendon (2 parcels) and 52% Seaview (1 parcel).

Geology: Clarendon- Burra Group, Saddleworth Formation: Laminated, dark grey and green siltstone. C. 750 million years old. Seaview- Umberatana group, Reynella siltstone member: Massive siltstone and small rock fragments. C. 650 million years old.

Soil: Clarendon- Red clay loam over siltstone, clay and gravel. Seaview- Shallow grey/brown sandy loam over calcrete and base rock.

Elevation: Clarendon-194-242m. Seaview- 102-110m.

Distance from coast: Clarendon- 14.6km. Seaview- 4km.

Viticulture: Hand pruned. Shoot thinned. Crop thinned. Yield: 2.5 tonnes per acre.

Winemaking: Harvested 23rdFebruary; 14th and 6th March, 2018. 0% to 50% whole bunches added to the fermenter depending on the parcel. Total whole bunch percentage 25%. Remaining fruit de-stemmed (not crushed) and machine-sorted to remove shrivelled berries. Cold soaked for 3 to 5 days prior to the beginning of natural fermentation (no yeast added). Gentle pump overs (no plunging) to minimise over-extraction of aggressive tannin. Basket pressed to oak after 15 to 20 days in fermenter. Mixture of new (58%) and older (42%) French oak puncheons (500L). All parcels aged separately on fine lees with minimal sulphur additions. Blended and bottled December 2019. Unfiltered. Screw cap. 14.0% alc.

Vintage Conditions. 2018
A dry growing season. The season commenced with soils fully recharged with 2017 winter rainfall. From then on, the story of 2018 was a return to drier conditions. Small vine canopies and average yields were the result of a very dry spring and summer. Many vineyards recorded just 60-80% of their average growing season rainfall. The well-exposed fruit ripened under moderate conditions and the resulting wines show excellent intensity of colour and density.

Wine style objective: SSoft, fine, silky texture.
Dark/red fruit flavour profile accompanied by attractive spice. Purposefully made to avoid overt, syrupy concentration or dominating oak aromas. Capture McLaren Vale intensity; tempered by silky texture, elegance and spice characters. The Seaview parcels bring generosity and density; Clarendon is less dense but imparts aromatics and spice.

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