Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is serious. Wonderfully fresh blackcurrants, brambleberries, smoke, tobacco, cedar, dried herbs, iodine and graphite. Full body, tight and grainy tannins, and a chewy finish. Drink in 2020. A blend of 44% cabernet sauvignon, 29% shiraz, 15% malbec and 12% petit verdot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Estate Red Blend comprises 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Shiraz, 13% Petit Verdot and 7% Malbec (the Cabernet Franc and Merlot having been pulled out). Deep in color, it has a very composed bouquet, the 40% new oak neatly integrated with luscious blueberry and black cherry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with lush tannin, a keen line of acidity, blackberry, boysenberry with a touch of soy. It is modern in style perhaps, yet well balanced and with the substance to suggest a long ageing potential. This is very promising.
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Wine Spectator
This has depth and weight but is subtle and refined, with light sage and menthol threads amid a core of gently mulled black currant and plum fruit. Tobacco and singed cedar notes underscore the finish, with the fruit lingering. Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
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.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.