Fairview - 'Cyril Back' Red Blend, Coastal Region - 2017 (750ml)

Wine Composition

74% Shiraz, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemakers Comments

Cyril Back is a selection of the best barrels from the vintage. The 2017 vintage is made from a rigorous selection of their best Shiraz with Cabernet Sauvignon adding gravitas and aging potential. Intense dark garnet color with rich notes of blackberry complimented by layers of plum and spice with suggestions of sweet tobacco on the nose. This elegant red brims with a black-fruited core on the palate with lingering oak spice and surprisingly fresh acidity. The wine is robustly structured with age-worthy fine tannin. Aging potential 8- 10 years in the bottle under ideal storage conditions.

Awards

John Platter | 93 points

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage 

14.75%

TA

6 g/l

pH 

3.54

RS

2.7 g/l

Cellar Techniques

All the fruit was handpicked at 24.5 degrees balling. The bunches were destalked and berry selection was carefully carried out over sorting tables. The grapes from the different vineyard sites were fermented as separate batches in open oak fermenters (foudres), with fermentation allowed to start naturally. Manual punch downs (pigeage) are done twice a day. The Darling Shiraz had a few days of extended skin contact after fermentation. The skins were gently basket pressed and the wine was sent to French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. Once completed, the wine was racked and returned to 225L French Oak barrels. The selection of the final components were 80% new French oak barrels matured for 29 months of maturation. The Cyril Back 2017 was blended and bottled unfined, with a very light filtration. Only 5 barrels were produced in this vintage. 

Winemaker

Name: Anthony de Jager

Winery

The Fairview winery at the foothills of the Paarl Mountains was one of the very first wineries to be founded at the Cape in 1693. Just six years later, the first wine was produced. After a turbulent history, Charles Back, grand-father of today's owner with the same name, purchased the farm in 1937 and gave it a new lease of life. Since that time, the estate has been run by the third generation of the Back family - quite successfully. True to the motto 'Go where the terroir is', Charles Back revised the concept of Fairview in the 1980s and experimented with lesser-known grape varieties. This does not only allow a larger variety of wines and optimal conditions for the ripening time of the grapes, but also innovative wine creations which are closely linked with tradition. 

The combination of innovation and tradition also mirrored in the unusual crest of the winery. The goat has become the estate's mascot long ago and has become part of Fairview's identity. A legend goes that some errant members of Fairview's long-established goatherd once escaped from their paddock into the Fairview vineyards after Charles Back's young son Jason accidentally left the gate open. The little group happily roamed among the vineyards, showing rare discernment by selecting some of the ripest berries from the vines. Those berries have been used to make this white blend, a light, bright green, medium-bodied wine with aromas of apricots and pear and zesty acidity.