2021 Setiono 'Flaxman' Syrah

V21 in Eden Valley was a mild and long season with plenty of rainfall and cool summer temperatures which resulted in rich and intense, aromatic wines.

The fruit for this wine was sourced from Christa and Leon Deans’ Naimanya vineyard in Flaxman Valley. Their vineyard is believed to be the highest shiraz site in SA, sitting at an elevation of 525m. The vines are over 30 years old with granitic loam soils that were formed from impact with a meteorite.

Two picks were made; an earlier pick for bright, natural acidity and a later pick for complex flavours and tannin. Separate ferments of 75% whole bunch and 25% destemmed fruit were wild fermented to convey a genuine expression of the vineyard. A long, cool fermentation with four weeks on skins, provided the time for flavours to develop and colour to deepen. The components were gently basket-pressed into 75% old oak and 25% new French oak hogsheads then aged on full lees for about a year. Bottling took place on site without filtration or fining and all movements were done by gravity to retain aromatics, with no additions besides a touch of sulphur.

Production – 1,631 bottles

The label background was painted by Angela Oemcke and was created to mimic the waterways underneath the vineyard.