Winemaker Notes
Produced from four outstanding clones of Cabernet Sauvignon planted on different sites in the Stellenbosch area. Made to exude the intensity and purity of Cabernet Sauvignon varietal character and as such display typical Cabernet Sauvignon cassis and blackcurrant flavours. The wine has a fresh, minty, red berry fruit spectrum on the palate backed by mocca vanilla oak. Firm structured tannins and a long finish on the palate show good ageing potential.
Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dark berries, currants, dried herbs, earth and cedar on the nose following through to a full body with fine, firm tannins. Textured with a solid frame coating the palate and a compact, berry-loaded finish.
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Wine Spectator
This red shows some power, but the sculpted tannins are well-integrated with the lightly fleshy texture and dark core of ripe black and red currant fruit, backed by notes of singed alder, tobacco and anise. Chewy on the spice- and mineral-laced 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.