Winemaker Notes
Seriously Old Dirt 2021 displays a bright garnet-red color. This Cabernet Sauvignon lead blend initially greets with a vibrant expression of fruit. Unfolding with fresh plum, black raspberry, mulberry and ripe strawberry. These fruits are beautifully intertwined with subtle spicy notes of shaved nutmeg and dried sage. Palate entry is smooth, luxuriously coating with a silky texture from the fore-palate, broadening on the mid-palate and finishing with layered richness. A line of fresh acidity adds energy to this medium bodied wine. Soft, silky tannins are well integrated, allowing immediate enjoyment, while balanced structure will allow gracious cellaring.
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a perfumed nose of violets, mint chocolate, blackcurrants, paprika, cassis and ground coriander. Some salty black olives on the palate. Full-bodied, with polished, creamy and broad tannins. Lovely weight in the mid palate. 88% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot and 2% cabernet franc and 2% malbec.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made from mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 8% Merlot and 2% each of Malbec and Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Seriously Old Dirt is ripe, herbal and spicy with notions of turned earth, dark cherry and spiced plum. Medium-bodied, the red blend has a savory and fresh palate, overdelivering at its price point and punching above its weight class
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Wine Spectator
A suave red, with a sense of poise to the integration of ripe black currant, black cherry, Earl Grey tea leaf and dried mint flavors, backed by limber tannins and a subtle, minerally underpinning of smoke and loamy earth that echoes on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2031. 15,000 cases made, 1,500 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.
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.