Straw Wine

Delicious with hard cheese, pate’, biscotti, lemon and orange rind cake, various nuts and slightly tart fruit desserts. Or a dessert all on its own - a real treat after the meal!

A small family winery at the end of the Upper Blaauwklippen Road in the mountains above Stellenbosch South Africa. Established in 1992 by architect David Trafford & artist wife Rita with the focus on high end red wines of great intensity & longevity using minimal intervention production methods.

A late, but above average rainfall winter and spring ensured the soil profile was saturated contributing to a good growing season. Intermittent rain meant fungal disease pressure was quite high and we had to be on our toes with the spray programme. There were enough cold units for good even budbreak. A relatively cool growing season and ripening period meant ripening was slow and steady leading to one of the most exceptional vintages we’ve experienced. Good acidity and pHs.

Fermented with natural yeasts and matured for 19 months using 50% new 225L French oak barrels. Racked while in barrel to remove heavy sediment

The grapes were picked at optimum ripeness and laid out on drying racks in 70% shade for about 3 weeks. This allows the grapes to concentrate sugars, acids and flavours, before re-harvesting in the cool mornings.