Another goal for Stellenbosch Shiraz, bragging rights to Kleine Zalze
IF THE QUALITY isn’t up to spec, Kleine Zalze won’t bottle their top-of-the-range Family Reserve. There wasn’t a 2011 Shiraz, nor a 2014, but after the current-release 2013 comes the 2015 Family Reserve Shiraz, which will go on sale already highly recommended by panels of experts at first the International Wine Challenge, then the International Wine & Spirit Competition (also of the UK) and then the Michelangelo Awards, where it was judged to be best wine overall. And there’s nothing ‘all of a sudden’ about this, one of the Top 10 Shiraz in the SA Wine Classification. Kudos to Kleine Zalze proprietor Kobus Basson and the team, whose second-tier Vineyard Selection Shiraz 2015 is also highly rated and going for less than half the price.
KLEINE ZALZE FAMILY RESERVE SHIRAZ 2015
WO Stellenbosch. Grapes from Groote Zalze. No supplementary irrigation. Hand-harvested, early morning. Combination of open and closed fermenters and 19 months maturation in French oak barrels (70% new).
Alc 14.5 | RS 4.5 | TA 6.3 | pH 3.4
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Intense aromas of bramble berries give way to notes of plum and scrub herbs. Bold entry of ripe fruit backed by dense, fine-grained tannin structure. Should reward careful cellaring for up to 10 years after vintage.
IWC Tasting Notes: Deep cedar with a plummy black berry style. Bramble and damson fruit, and rich mocha chocolate oak finish.
IWSC Tasting Notes: Exotic spice, coconut, dark plums and plush fruit. Bold, with a long savoury, saline finish.
R365 pb at the cellar door, Stellenbosch.
