Leonardslee Shiraz / Merlot 2015
Description
This Shiraz / Merlot shows aroma of five spice, cherry, violets and black pepper on the nose. Displaying typical characters of a cool climate, maritime style Shiraz. Elegant in style with wild strawberry fruit, black olive and savory notes on the palate which is complemented by the velvety tannin structure which makes for a seamless, soft finish.
Winemaking Notes
The grapes were harvested at optimal ripeness and sorted in the cellar to ensure only the best fruit was used for fermentation. A portion of the blend was fermented as whole berries. The wine fermented naturally and alcoholic fermentation lasted approximately six days. During this time it was pumped over every few hours to ensure perfect colour, flavour and tannin extraction.The wine was pressed off the skins before alcoholic fermentation was completed to prevent the extraction of hard and dry tannins. Malolactic fermentation lasted three weeks in barrel after which the wine was matured for 12 months using 100% French oak.
Growing Conditions
The Leonardslee Shiraz / Merlot 2015 is a blend of vineyard blocks planted on the north facing slopes of our estate. While cool climate viticulture is the name of the game, the final product also benefits from the use of various Shiraz clones grown on shale, iron laterites, chalk and quartz stone rich soils making for layers of aroma and complexity.
