Winemaker Notes
A great accompaniment to meat casseroles, steak, roasts and a selection of well-matured cheeses.
Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 17% Cabernet Franc and 7% Merlot, the 2017 Paul Sauer offers a juicy, red-fruited nose with heady floral aromas and oak tones of cinnamon, vanilla and sweet cedar. Medium to full-bodied, flavors of red plum skin and dark cherry juice cover the palate with rosewater elements before gripping tannins expresses on the tongue. The wine lingers with a richness and robustness with vibrant, juicy flavors of currant and cassis, ending with a long, succulent finish. This shares many of the same similarities in style with its 2015 bottling and should age just as gracefully.
-
Wine Spectator
A rich and toasty full-bodied red, displaying mouthwatering acidity, a backbone for the melted licorice- and dried sage-infused flavors of sappy blackberry coulis and crème de cassis fruit. Amped up and expressive in all the right ways, with just enough restraint and definition to keep it from being flamboyant. Sculpted tannins firm the well-spiced finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Drink now through 2030. 3,500 cases made, 120 cases imported.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.