Lock, stock and wine barrel: Avondale Samsara Decade Edition

A decade of perfection – that’s quite an accolade, yet Avondale is showcasing the ageing potential of biodynamic and organic wines with the limited-release of its Avondale Samsara 2009 Decade Edition.

“South African wines as a whole, and specifically organic wines, are often perceived as not being suitable for ageing,” says Avondale’s Johnathan Grieve.

“We want to show that wines produced with care, following organic and biodynamic principles, can improve with age just as well – and perhaps better – than their conventional counterparts.”

Organic wines shouldn’t be placed outside of the box, and Samsara shows the importance of ethical wines as an investment.

Grieve’s pioneering BioLogic approach to viticulture and winemaking is a bold testament that soil is life and the Samsara Syrah 2009 proves it. The 100% Syrah is a perfect reflection of the terroir of Avondale, and the principles followed in the vineyards and cellar.

Fruit for Samsara is harvested from the farm’s low vigour vineyards, with soil types ranging from red sand to decomposed granite to “koffieklip” ferricrete.

In some vineyards the ground is up to 80% rock, but these low yields – as little as three tons per hectare – and farming in accordance with Grieve’s BioLogic principles, deliver a perfect combination of flavour concentration and fully ripened tannins in the fruit.

Ten years later, Avondale Samsara 2009 Decade Edition reveals a decadent side to organic winemaking.

The Decade Edition is available for about R350.

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