Winemaker Notes
Blend: 95% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose is wonderful from the outset, offering blackberries, cassis, plums, treacle and hints of licorice and açaí berries. Some fresh herbs. The palate is very refined and balanced with succulent acidity and a long finish. Hard to resist now, but best in 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Family Cabernet Franc (formerly just "Cabernet Franc") comes from the two best and oldest vineyards, matured for 18 months in barrel with around 20% new oak. It has a well defined, red berry, star anis and oregano-scented bouquet that is very well defined, gradually unfurling in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin matched by perfectly judged acidity. It is supremely well focused, and classic in style with hints of tobacco and black pepper towards the finish. There is huge potential here.
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Wine Spectator
Nicely detailed, with mouthwatering tobacco leaf notes leading the way, followed by bitter cherry, dark currant and singed bay flavors. Reveals a whiff of black tea through the finish, accompanied by a sanguine echo. Loire fans will dig this.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
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.