Technical details
Vinification & maturation
Hand-harvested grapes7-day fermentationStainless or concreteFined before bottlingFiltered before bottlingLight oak maturationOlder or neutral casks
Grapes
SyrahCinsaultGrenacheMourvedre
Soils
Shale
Producer
Essay
South Africa
Essay is a South African producer based in the Agter-Paarl region of the Western Cape, owned and operated by José Conde and Tyrrel Myburgh under the MAN Family Wines label. Its vineyards are certified sustainable, predominantly dry-farmed without irrigation, and rooted in old Malmesbury shale soils. These low-yielding vineyards are intended to produce fruit with concentrated flavour. Head winemaker Riaan Möller works alongside Conde and Myburgh, creating blends from Cape Coast vineyards. Essay’s philosophy is to identify varieties suited to the region and combine them into wines intended to be greater than the sum of their parts. The wines are made using sustainable, vegan-friendly practices.