2003 Black Pearl Shiraz - 92 pts Wine Enthusiast December 2006

Tasting Notes

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Deep purple, big nose of freshly ground white pepper followed with hints of mixed spices and game. A smooth, hearty shiraz packed with ripe berry fruit. High toned and downright exotic with good density of flavors and a refreshingly long finish.

Food Accompaniments

Food Accompaniments: BOLD & VERSATILE: An enhancing companion to anything from filet mignon to curry. Our favorite: Steak & kidney pie.

Awards, Reviews and other Notes

92pts. Wine Wnthusiast. December 15,2006
"An exciting and explosive wine, this packs a punch with syrupy flavors of cassis, plum and a touch of coffee. Full-bodied, with sweet tannins and smokey notes to the cassis-laden nose, this highly pleasurable wine can be drunk over the next five years."

4 Stars John Platter's Guide to South African Wines 2007
- "Restrained red-fruit aromas don't prepare you for an explosion of dark fruit & spicy black pepper on 04. Big (14.5% alc) & powerful, it's 60% new oak fused into dense core of liquorice tinged fruit. Long, juicy farewell with wafts of smoky veld fire. Quite and experience!"

88pts, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Mar/Apr 05, #119 Full, deep medium ruby. Fruity bitter chocolate, eucalyptus and exotic oak on the nose, with hints of white fruits and coconut. High-toned and downright exotic, with good density of flavor and sound framing acidity. Finishes persistent and wild.

Winemaker Notes

Viticultural practices:
Yields per acre: Average 3 tons per hectare
Cases produced: 550 x 12
Appellation: Paarl
Filtration and fining: None
Varietal composition: 89% Shiraz; 11% Cabernet Sauvignon
Wood treatment: 100% Barrel matured; 50% new Nadalie French Oak, 10% new Nadalie American Oak.
Length of barrel maturation: 12 Months
Other 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. 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.
Winemaker's notes: Phenolically ripe grapes are handpicked, cooled before a gentle crushing, open fermented in 600kg lots, hand punched down three times daily, and put into the barrel at 5 degrees Balling to finish fermentation in barrel. The wine is racked three times before bottling a year later and is further aged in bottle for at least a year before release. We feel we have a special site and our goal is to bottle what comes from the vineyard. We add only yeast and minimal sulfur to the wine and take nothing out (i.e. unfined and unfiltered). Our goal is a limited edition, terroir driven wine that is drinkable now as well as able to mature further in the bottle.

Chemical Analysis

6 Bottle price

Price

SKU

Varietal

Alcohol: 14.5 %
pH: 3.7
Total Acid: 6.9
Residual Sugar: 2.2
Free/Total Sulfur: 30/70

$17.99

$29.99

5398

Shiraz