←Back to listing

First Stone Organic Red 2015

60% MERLOT / 40% CABERNET SAUVIGNON

WINEMAKER:
Johan Jordaan

ORIGIN:
Spier Wine Farm, Stellenbosch

VINEYARD AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS:
15 to 17-year-old trellised vines on Spier’s farm. The proximity to the cold Atlantic Ocean influences the conditions - cold, wet winters and sunny, warm summers with long ripening seasons ensure optimal ripeness and concentrated, yet elegantly balanced wines.

TERROIR / SOIL:
Deep, structured decomposed granite soils with a high percentage of clay ensures good water retention and minimal supplementary irrigation. Vines are grown and managed to organic specification. Foliage managed mechanically, creating favorable conditions for natural protection from disease, less use of environmentally-damaging chemicals and more sustainable growth.

WINEMAKING:
Grapes are hand-picked at optimal ripeness. After a selection to eliminate unwanted raisened or underripe berries, the fruit is crushed to stainless steel tanks. A combination of natural and cultured yeast is used to ferment the grapes over a period of 26 days. Free-run wine is barreled down for maturation in 55% new, French oak barrels and 45% second and third fill French oak. After 24 months of ageing, the wines are tasted and blended.

ANALYSIS:

Alc:	14.76 % vol	TA:	5.6 g/L
RS:	3.4 g/L	pH:	3.62

APPEARANCE:
Medium to deep ruby red with vibrant ruby hue

TASTING NOTE:
Notes of dark cherries, and abundance of cassis and fennel with hints of all spice. The palate is rich, complex and balanced with a savoury, elegant finish. This wine will benefit from ageing.

SERVE WITH:
Beef entrecote with truffle mushroom and roasted vegetables.

From Our Blog

MEET THE WINEMAKER: TANIA KLEINTJES

Tania Kleintjes joined Spier in 2007 as assistant red wine winemaker, and has been responsible for crafting Spier’s range of organic wines since 2016.

MEET THE TEAM: ORLANDO FILANDER

Spier is home to a diverse bunch of passionate people, doing what they love, and committed to making a difference every day. Orlando Filander, Spier's farm manager, has worked on the farm for 16 years, playing a key role in its attainment of organic certification in 2015. A trained viticulturist, he oversees all aspects of the farm’s wellbeing, including the rejuvenation of the soil and the replanting and rehabilitation of indigenous vegetation.