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Samora Biko Shiraz 2010
T
he release of the first wine of the Samora Biko Private Reserve brand, a partnership between the Jonker family of Jonkheer Private Cellar in Bonnievale, Breede River and Samora Biko, the son of Steve Biko, the founder of the South African Black Consciousness Movement. The wine symbolises the business venture and friendship that have developed between the Jonker and Biko families since their first meeting on the golf course near Bonnievale where they discovered a mutual love of wine (and golf). The 2010 Shiraz, blended from barrel selections of Shiraz wines produced in the top terroir area of the Western Cape, is a Limited Edition release. Wine maker and marketing director, Dirk Jonker, describes the wine as intense and spicy with dark mulberry, cassis and roasted mocha flavours resulting from a combination of French and American oak. This complex wine will cellar well. "Because the range carries the personal insignia of Samora Biko, we want it to be exceptional without fail," says Dirk Jonker. “The
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Samora Biko Shiraz expresses a unique quality that it draws from the fact that we took a no boundaries approach. Only the best 20 barrels from various special terroir selections have been bottled to express the complexity that makes this wine a masterpiece.” For the next vintage, special vineyard selections will be identified and nurtured by the various wine makers. Samora Biko says that “the maiden vintage of the Samora Biko range, fills me with great anticipation that is akin to the excitement I feel awaiting the birth of my daughter. You need to be patient but simultaneously there is a bit of anxiety in trying to anticipate the unknown.” Jonkheer Africa, which also takes care of the cellar's other wine labels, Jonkheer and Bakenkop, is officially a joint venture between the Jonker Family Trust and the Samora Biko Family Trust (not to be confused with the Steve Biko Foundation). A community training centre in Bonnievale will also benefit from money raised by the company. In addition to this, farm workers and employees receive a percentage of its profits.
Samora Biko Shiraz 2010 Contact the cellar door for your nearest retailer 021-882 9386/7. R200 www.jonkheer.co.za
The Page 19 - December 2012
Wine Show