Wine Composition

100% Shiraz

Winemakers Comments

Medium deep, bright red colour. Fresh dark red berry fruit nose with black and white pepper and fynbos (herbal) notes. Fresh, juicy, but refined, lively palate packed with intense red berry fruit and a spicy, peppery overlay. Expected best between 2017 and 2022. 

Awards

Tim Atkins | 94 points

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage 

14.6%

TA 

5.7g/l

pH 

3.71

RS

2.0 g/l

Cellar Techniques

Handpicking into 20 kg lugboxes. Destemming and gentle crushing directly into small 2 ton open top fermentation tanks. Spontaneous natural yeast fermentation @ max. 33 deg. with the cap of skins punched down manually 2 – 3 times a day for an average of 16 days. Wine drained directly to barrels together with single pressing from traditional basket press.
All our red wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in the barrel. Time in barrel 22 months with no new wood and only two rackings. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered by hand.

Winemaker

Name - David Trafford

Winery

De Trafford Winery is situated on the beautiful Mont Fleur farm set at the top of a dramatic valley above Stellenbosch, 380m up between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountains, right at the end of the Blaauwklip road, between Stellenbosch and Somerset West.

The history of wine growing on this mountain farm started with the purchase of the property in 1976 by the Trafford family as inaccessible grazing land. Many of the high altitude slopes were deemed suitable for high quality red grape varieties. Unfortunately, due to the absurd quota restrictions, planting a commercial vineyard had to wait 18 years. In 1983 a small vineyard was established to produce experimental wines – consumed by family and friends! These were our learning curve years ( 1984 – 1991 ), which included lots of help and advice from local winemakers and working experience in France, particularly in the Bordeaux area.