Cabernet sauvignon

Vintage 2019

WINEMAKING

The fruit was carefully selected and hand-picked in the cool early hours of the morning into lug-boxes, and placed into a cold-room at 5˚C and left overnight. The next day the bunches were de-stemmed and crushed into open fermentation tanks and covered with CO2 to cold-soak for 12 hours. The following day the juice was inoculated with yeast and alcoholic fermentation took place at 25˚C for the next 6 days, with regular punch-downs of 4 to 6 times per day. At 1˚Balling the wine was carefully racked into a tank while the skins were lightly pressed for gentle juice extraction. The wine was then transferred into barrels for malolactic fermentation and thereafter aged for 18 months in 33% new, 33% 2nd-fill and 33% 3rd-fill French oak barrels.

TASTING NOTES

A deep dark colour with strong, dark fruit on the nose. The intense fruit character of the wine is a true indication of the weather conditions leading up to the 2019 harvest after three consecutive dry winters (2015–2017) in southwestern South Africa resulted in a drought in 2018. The nose shows an abundance of ripe black fruit, black cherries and blackcurrant. The palate further displays these juicy black fruits and delicate spicy notes that have perfectly integrated with the firm expressive tannins of our carefully selected French oak barrels, leading to a long and satisfying finish that promises great ageing potential.