Winemaker Notes
The palate is as rich as it is intense. Superbly concentrated blackberries and cassis show on the palate, complimented by aromas of sweet spices and savory elements. The tannins are firm, but well-structured and will allow the wine to age gracefully over the next 5 – 10 years. If you just can’t bear to wait, a few hours in the decanter will go some way to helping the wine open up.
Blend: 55% Cabernet Franc, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made from a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot, the 2018 Warwick Estate Reserve (Trilogy) is firm and rustic yet juicy and offers a bold nose. The wine slowly unwinds out of the glass, offering layered oak essences atop notes of blackberry jus, caramel, sage, cherries jubilee and dusty plum blossoms. Full-bodied, the palate is precise, focused and still tannic and will need an additional year or two in the bottle to find its stride. Flavors of bitter black tea, roasted red peppers and cherries with cedar and cigar box sway across the mid-palate before ending with an evolving and elongated finish. It’s absolutely brilliant; just give it another year in bottle and then drink through the middle of the next decade. Bravo!
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James Suckling
Strawberries, plums, dried herbs, dark chocolate and allspice on the nose. Medium-to full-bodied with sleek tannins and vivid acidity. Juicy and creamy with a pretty, medium 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.
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.