Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A lovely nose of blackberries, pipe tobacco, rosemary stem, lead pencil and oolong. Medium- to full-bodied with silky tannins. Very expressive and vibrant with driving acidity and fruit soaked tannins. Structured with fine-tuned intensity and very good depth. Sustainable.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a well-structured spicy wine with fresh acidity and lots of fruit. It opens with aromas of meaty red fruit, green bell pepper and peppercorn. Chalky tannins support similar notes of spices and herbs on the palate. A core of plum and blackberry adds to its complexity. It finishes with sweet notes of fruit and tobacco.
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Wine Spectator
A lively red, medium- to full-bodied, boasting briary hints of cured tobacco and cigar box that lace concentrated blackberry and black currant fruit flavors, with a subtle base note of smoke and graphite. Features fine, chalky tannins and a fresh, lingering finish.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.