Sacred Syrah Sites of South Africa | ORWC Pepper Wine Syrah 2020 | HanDrinksSolo Video

VIDEO CHAPTER INDEX:
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00:00 - DID YOU KNOW...SACRED SITES OF SYRAH
01:04 - AN INTRO TO THE OLD ROAD WINE COMPANY
02:05 - INTO THE ARCHIVES: FRANSCHHOEK'S SOUTHERN RIM
02:51 - WHERE DOES THE PEPPER WIND SYRAH COME FROM?
03:14 - ROTUNDONES AND THE MYTH OF THE PEPPER WIND
04:01 - WHAT DOES THE PEPPER WIND SYRAH TASTE LIKE?
05:05 - HOW WAS THE WINE MADE?
05:44 - SOME ANECDOTAL INSIGHTS FROM SYRAH LEGENDS...
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The Old Road Wine Company is a Sleeping Giant waiting to explode. With the financial backing of a powerhouse like DGB, a supremely sharp viticultural team, access to some enormously exciting vineyards, and a winemaking with the proficiency and focus of a man like Ryan Puttick, and you'd be a fool to ignore them.
ORWC have - for a few years now - been raking in awards for their Grand-Mere Old Vine Semillon - made with fruit from the famed La Colline Vineyards, but more recently Puttick has shown that he is no one-trick by also earning the Best Shiraz award for his 12Mile Swartland Syrah at the Investec Trophy Wine Show 2023.
And while these two wines are both enormously exciting wines in their own right, there is something supremely special about quality and style of the Wine of Origin Franschhoek PepperWind Syrah, made from elevated Syrah vines planted at 380m ASL in the much sought-after Franschhoek Southern Rim.
Now, obviously, if you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you'll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But in the interim, I discuss this wine in length during the video, and I have also left my tasting notes and some technical specs to whet your appetite.
TASTING NOTES
👃🏼 Blackberry, sweeter black plum, white pepper, star anise. On backing vocals there is a hint of salty black Olive and oak.
👄 Concentrated and structured. The wine is big, but with impressively articulate blackberry fruit and brighter pomegranate. These fruit elements are immediately complicated by a really pronounced pepper element, which seems even more prominent on the palate than it was on the nose.
At every point, the savoury olive element underpins the fruit, giving it a delightful sense of power and seriousness - despite showcasing a wall-like wave of fresh blackberries. TECHNICAL SPECS
🔬Wine of Origin Franschhoek. 100% Shiraz. Fruits harvested from South-facing vineyards at an altitude of 380m ASL. SH1 Shiraz Vineyards were planted in 2003 into weathered Granite soils. Yields of 4-6 tonnes per hectare.
| Alc 14.0% | Acid 5.8g | RS 2.8g | pH 3.6 |
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HanDrinksSolo is South Africa's most adventurous wine club. Each month subscribers receive a mixed case of 2, 4, or 6 bottles, packed with limited wines, undiscovered gems, natural wines, and weird cultivars (without neglecting the classics). Each bottle also comes with a QR code linked to an educational video on that wine. The videos are packed full of wine trivia, wine science, and fun facts. You know, for those awkward silences at dinner parties. Everyone loves a know-it-all!
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[@ThaboHermanus]

Love the creative blend with the science to tell the story

[@handrinkssolowineclub]

Thanks Thabo! Yeah, it’s fascinating how the clouds make that airflow visible, and illuminate the whole process. The study of rotundone enhancing factors is something that really excites me!

[@user-ps2hr2gu6s]

Great content! Always something to learn from! Keep it up dude ! 🔥

[@handrinkssolowineclub]

Margaux! Lovely to hear from you! And thanks for the encouragement! See you soon hopefully!