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De Trafford Elevation 393 2004 75cl
6 x Bottle (75cl)
Retail Price What is retail price?
£191.95
Bottle Price: £31.99
Colour
Red
Vintage
2004
Producer
De Trafford
Country
SOUTH AFRICA
Region
WESTERN CAPE
Sub Region
STELLENBOSCH
Alcohol
14.8%
Product code
13DET12B2004
Availability
1 case
Grape Variety
42% Cab Sauv, 33% Merlot, 17% Shiraz, 8% Cab Franc
Tasting Notes
Impressive deep red to purple colour. Lush blackberry and spicy fruitcake aromas. Dense tannins and intense cassis fruit provide a rich, supple, almost thick texture. This is a wine with a long life ahead of it.
Vinification Details.
A selection of De Trafford's finest barrels. All the grapes were handpicked before 100% destemming and gentle crushing directly into open top fermenters. Spontaneous natural yeast fermentation at a maximum temperature of 31C - 33C. Total time on skins was between 9 - 11 days, with the cap of skins punched down 1 - 2 times a day. The wine was drained directly to barrels together with single pressing from traditional basket press and underwent malolactic fermentation in the barrel to help integrate the new oak and fix colour and flavour compounds. It was aged for 21 months in barrel, which included several rackings to gradually clarify the wine and assist maturation.
Producer Information
Self-taught winemaker and former architect David Trafford's small but stellar production is regularly cited as being among the Cape's very best. David's winemaking philosophy is deceptively simple: to make the best possible wine he can whilst retaining a sense of place. To do this he embraces Stellenbosch's warm, sunny climate and rich, clay soils, noting that his vines are not planted on "the shagged out alluvial plains of the Medoc with their miserable climate". The wines tend to agree with him. They have rich fruit and a juicy ripeness but they are crisply pressed and structured too. His ability to blend New World innovation and Old World methodology can perhaps be best seen in his sweet Straw Wine, which has quickly become one of the Cape's most fiercely sought after wines.
Regional info.
The Mont Fleur vineyard - at 393m above sea level - is the jewel in the De Trafford crown and the source for all the grapes for this Reserve wine. It is located between Stellenbosch and Helderberg, on an eastern facing slope with deep red decomposed granite soils.
The historical town of Stellenbosch, which features some of the finest examples of Cape Dutch architecture, boasts a winemaking tradition which stretches back to the end of the 17th-century. The mountainous terrain, good rainfall, deep well-drained soils and diversity of terroirs make this a sought-after viticultural area. The rapidly increasing number of wine estates and producers (in excess of 160) includes some of the most famous names in Cape wine. The district, with its mix of historic estates and contemporary wineries, produces excellent examples of almost all the noble grape varieties and is known for the quality of its blended reds.
Stellenbosch, the 'town of oaks', is also the educational and research centre of the winelands. Stellenbosch University is the only university in South Africa which offers a degree in viticulture and oenology, and it has many of the country's most successful winemakers as alumni. The Elsenburg School of Agriculture is also near Stellenbosch, as is the Nietvoorbij Institute of Viticulture and Oenology. This organisation has one of the most modern experimental wineries in the world and, at its experimental farms (situated in several winegrowing districts), important research into new varietals, clones and rootstocks is undertaken.
The intensively farmed Stellenbosch district has been divided up into several smaller viticultural pockets including Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch.
More information
food match
Seared fillet of Aberdeen Angus with aged balsamic vinegar
total acidity
5.7g/l
wine ph
3.68
makers name
David Trafford
vegans
Yes
organic
No
vegetarians
Yes
residual sugar
1.7g/l
vineyard name
Mont Fleur Vineyard
