OVERVIEW

‘Falkirk’, Scotland is from where the Newton family originated, meaning ‘speckled church’ for the stone structure that has stood there since the 6th century. The name represents the 1½ hectare vineyard site of deep deposits of stone and rock where the only Rhône wine varieties are to be found on the farm. Bushvines of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre were planted to discover the contrasting nuances these vines produce from this Granite -derived soil.

TASTING NOTES

A wine with startling evolution, at first with grape stems and herbaceous fynbos that expand to deep plum fruit, Christmas cake and varied spices of clove and white pepper. The palate is voluptuous and juicy with tension in the tannins to hold the flavour in to the finish.

ANALYSIS

Alcohol by volume 13,8 %

Total Acidity 5.26 g/l

pH 3.58

Residual sugar 1.7 g/l

LOCATION & CLIMATE

This vineyard lies on a plateau on the lowest slope of Newton Johnson, at an altitude of 220m, in the porphyritic Granite soils of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. This appellation ranges from 4 to 8 km in proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is cool and temperate, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly oceangoing winds through the appellation during the summer. These southerly winds in turn create regular sea mists and overcast conditions, moderating the temperatures in the valley. The annual rainfall is 910mm, with 50% falling in the winter months (May – August).

APPELLATION: Wine of Origin UPPER HEMEL-EN-AARDE VALLEY

BLENDED VARIETIES: 100% Syrah

SOIL: Stone fragments and decomposed granite on iron-rich clay

ASPECT: North-West facing. Slopes of 10-12%.

TRELISSING: Staked vines (Echalas).

AGE OF VINES: 16 years

PRUNING: Bushvine (Goblet)

VINES PER Ha: 5020

AVERAGE YIELD: 4,5 tons/Ha (30 hl/Ha)

2 0 2 1  VINTAGE

Growing Season & Harvesting A cool, long-ripening and healthy vintage. The preceding winter was late to start and crept in to September, delivering good rains and the best cold units for the last 5 years. The budburst throughout the cold conditions of September was gradual, delaying the growth to late in the season. Some late, cold front systems lashing the coast caused some wind damage and crop loss during flowering in early November, setting the tone for one of the coldest spring seasons in 10 years. The generous Spring rains contrasted with one of the driest, though coolest, summers on record. Only 12 hours of temperature over 30°C was re corded for the whole summer, culminating in an average ripening period of 105 days from flowering to harvest for both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Most of these vineyards were harvested in March, indicating a distinctly late season. This Syrah vineyard from Falkirk was harvested on 9 t h March.

Winemaking

The grapes are hand-picked and packed in to large-surface area crates to limit pressure on the bunches. The day’s harvest is cooled down overnight to 8ºC in the winery’s refrigerated cold room. The bunches are sorted on a conveyor, destemmed, and fall directly to the fermenter. No sulphur is used in the winemaking until after malolactic fermentation, allowing diverse microorganisms from the grape itself to flourish unrestrained in the spontaneous fermentation. This cuvée also contains 50% of whole bunches. Cold maceration ensues for 5 to 7 days at 8 to 10°C. All parcels are fermented with indigenous yeasts, and only pigeage (punching down) applied for extraction. The wine spends approximately 25 days on the skins before pressing. After pressing the wine is racked and left to complete its malolactic ‘fermentation’ and maturation in barrel on its lees.

Maturation

Matured for 12 months in older 500L barrels produced in Burgundy . Tighter grained oak is preferred for subtle flavour, with longer seasoning and slower, lower temperature toasting. The wine is racked and blended to 900L foudre for another 6 months of élevage. No fining and filtration before bottling.

BOTTLES PRODUCED: 1791 x 750ml

BOTTLING DATE:  7 November 2022

BEST DRINKING:  Now – 15 years

Data Sheet:

https://newtonjohnson.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2021-NJFalkSY.pdf