Wine Maker's Tasting Notes

Deep purple, big nose of freshly ground white pepper with hints of mixed spices and game. A smooth, hearty Shiraz packed with ripe berry fruit, good density of flavours and a refreshingly long finish.

An ecellent stable mate to the 4 1/2 star 2006 vintage.

Food Accompaniment  notes.

This big wine goes well with any meat and game, also pasta and pizza, in fact anything with a bit of spice and zest.

It is also very enjoyable on its own. We suggest drinking it slightly chilled (about 18C) and opening the bottle as far in advance as practical. Decanting is also a benefit for bringing out aromas.

 Wine maker's notes.

Phenolically ripe grapes are hand picked, cooled before a gentle crushing, Open fermented in 600 Kg lots with hand punching down 3 times daily, transfered to barrels at 5 Balling with use of a basket press, for final fermentation in barrel. The wine is racked 3 times before bottling a year later and is bottle aged for at least another year before release.

We feel we have a special site and our goal is to bottle what comes from the vineyard with as little interference as possible, just as much as necessary. The result is a terroir driven wine that is drinkable now as well as able to mature further in the bottle.

Chemical Analysis.

Alcohol  14.5%, pH  3.7, Total Acid  6.0

Viticultural Notes.

Black Pearl Vineyards is a single unirrigated vineyard on the slopes of Paarl Mountain.  The 4.5 hectares of Shiraz (planted 1998) and 3 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon (planted 1999) thrive on deep, well-drained Oakleaf soil.  The high trellising system, severe pruning and canopy management are all managed to ensure low-yielding, stress free, phenolically ripe fruit.  The adjoining land, we have made into a nature conservation area to preserve the last 4% of remaining renosterveld in the world, so being environmentally friendly is of utmost importance for us.  Pest control is monitored rather than spraying chemicals, and our spray program for mildews uses chemicals with the least negative impact on the earth.