Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Pretty nose of blackcurrants, sage, blackberry leaves and nutmeg. Firm and well-framed, with a full body and solid tannin structure. Excellent freshness, too. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon follows the trend of previous vintages. The wine begins with a dusty and firm profile with broad shoulders and a tight tannic grip. It is softly herbal and spicy, featuring hints of mint, granite and pencil lead, culminating in a still-tight finish. This bottle would benefit from some additional years of aging. After the wine aged for 22 months in 60% new French oak, 34,474 bottles were filled. This promises to evolve beautifully with patience.
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.