Winemaker Notes
This sensuous wine embodies a refined style and dignified elegance. A Malbec and Merlot dominant blend, opulent in nature, with a defining structure of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Blend: 43% Merlot, 37% Malbec, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of generously layered, ripe, juicy fruit with spicy oak essences and spiced plum skin waft out of the glass of the 2020 Series M Big. Bold and juicy flavors of black raspberry appear in a medium to full-bodied frame before offering firmly structured tannins with soft oak essences. Give it a few more years for the oak and fruit to absorb one another and begin drinking in 2025. Just under 19,000 bottles were filled after aging for 22 months in a mix of 12% new, 31% second-fill and 57% older French oak barrique.
Rating: 95+ -
James Suckling
Inviting aromas of red cherry, cocoa powder, sweet paprika, grated nutmeg and rosemary stem. Medium- to full-bodied with fine, silky tannins. Pretty and elegant on the palate, with steady intensity and very appealing clarity. Transparent, too. Rather refined. A total delight.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant red, with deep, dark fruit notes of blackberry paste and black currant, plus pretty aromatics of bay leaf, violet and ground anise. Finely knit, with supple, creamy tannins and a fresh, iron- and stone-laced finish.
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.