Wonderfully expressive Cabernet from the Cape's blowy Atlantic coast.

Tasting Notes

Nicely expressive Cabernet from the Western Cape with good concentration of cassis and red berry fruit. Taut and leafy but also brambly, ripe and succulent with ripe tannins.

Production

The grapes for this Cabernet Sauvignon are sourced from vineyards that border the warm Swartland/Wellington area and also the Breede Rivier Valley. The vast variety of soils gives the final wine an interesting complexity. As the vines are over 25+ years old, lower yields of 6-8 tonnes/ha help to deliver flavoursome, concentrated fruit, and the berries are picked when fully phenologically ripe. The grapes are destemmed and crushed, with a slow start to fermentation at a low-temperature 17C then gradually increasing after three days to 22 - 24C for full fermentation. Pump-over takes place twice daily to wet the cap and aerate the fermenting wine. Wine is fermented down to 5 g/litre residual sugar and pressed before being pumped back into stainless steel tanks. This ensures soft tannins and no-over extraction of any harsh tannins. Malolactic fermentation follows and the wine is kept on the lees until bottling.

Producer

Boutinot South Africa is driven by our passion for discovery and desire to capture the real essence of South Africa in every bottle. It was the simple love of Loire Chenin Blanc that first led us to South Africa in 1994, where we pioneered the wild ferment style that has now been adopted by many producers in this region.

Since then we have been exploring the country's amazing vineyards to make fabulous wines from specific sites and plots that scream location, location, and terroir. Our home-grown South African winemaking team of JD Rossouw and Ryno Booysen drive the energy and enthusiasm for expressing the loveliest wines from their country, along with Samantha Bailey's expertise in finesse. The key is knowing the characteristics of each plot, understanding the benefits each cultivar can bring, breaking rules and pushing boundaries. We use a combination of knowledge, a love of nature and science to create versatile, expressive, and food-friendly wines from a country that has been making wine for 360 years.

Specifications

Winery

The 2019 Paul Wallace Brave Heart Pinot Noir is our seventh vintage. The name is a tribute to William Wallace, a man of great principle and heart, who we would like to believe is one of our ancestors. It is also a play on the Pinot Noir cultivar’s nickname – the Heart Break grape. Fortunately, our 2019 Pinot Noir offering has once again captured our hearts and is anything but a disappointment. Production was very limited – only 10 barrels / 2400 liters of this vintage were vinified.

Pristine grapes (Clone PN115, Guyot pruned) selected from three different slopes on our farm Wallovale Vineyards, were vinified with much love and gentle attention at the Almenkerk Wine Estate. Whole berry fermented in open fermenters, basket pressed and taken to barrel where it completes malolactic fermentation. After 10 months on wood (20% new wood, 45% second fill, 35% third and fourth fill), the wine was prepared for bottling. Bottling date: 7th February 2020.

Accolade

• National Wine Challenge 2020 - Double Silver
• IWSC 2020 - Bronze Medal
• Michelangelo International Wine Awards – Bronze
• Platter Wine Guide 2021 – 4*

Specifications

Mourvèdre is perfect for Waterkloof, with its head in the sun and feet in the sea, and is the most planted red grape on this biodynamic farm. The outstanding 2020 may be the best vintage yet!

Tasting notes

An elegant rendition of this often unruly varietal. Ripe, dark fruit with graphite notes on the nose with wild herb and lifted red berry aromas. Robust and concentrated with the dense yet fine tannins typical of the variety and with a freshness and lightness of touch, thanks to high natural acidity and moderate alcohol.

Tasting Notes 

Aromas of raspberry, cherry and a hint of eucalyptus. The palate is full, fresh and lively with a subtle and well-balanced tannin structure.

History

Dornier is a family owned winery situated in The Golden Triangle area of the upper Blaauwklippen Valley Stellenbosch. The primary focus at Dornier lies in the production of premium quality wines with minimal intervention which are expressive of the unique terroir of The Golden Triangle whilst showcasing the complexity and finesse of the noble grape varieties planted at Dornier. Reverence for tradition is salient at Dornier as is difference where it leads to improvement.

Dornier Wine Estate is located on 3 different farms in the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley namely Groenkloof, Heldemeer and Stellenrust (Homestead) the latter of which includes a historic Sir Herbert Baker designed homestead and one of the first wine cellars ever built in Stellenbosch in the late 1600s.

Dornier proudly boasts an A rating with IPW (Integrity and Sustainability) given its ongoing efforts incorporated and devotion towards sustainable farming practises with integrity. 

Dornier also holds an A Rating with WIETA - a pro-active world-class and sustainable ethical trade programme for the South African wine industry and aligned sectors. given its efforts incorporated and devotion towards facilitating fair working conditions and sustainable ethical trade within the wine industry and its aligned sectors.

Fermentation & Aging

All components of this blend were fermented separately in vineyard specific batches with pump-overs for colour and tannin extraction being performed five times daily. The wine was barrel matured for 12 months in French oak barrels and a small un-oaked component was used to provide a fresh and lively character.

Vintage Conditions

The vines are planted on our Groenkloof farm on the slopes of the Stellenbosch Mountain. The soil is composed of coffee coloured decomposed granite. The vines get full sun which allows for optimum development of rich berry characters in the grapes.

Accolades

• 4.5 John Platter Stars
• TOP 100 SA Wines
• Veritas Silver Outstanding

Specifications

Tasting Notes 

Intense black cherry colour with a full bouquet of cassis, blackberries, cigar box, pencil shavings and subtle oak with a hint of mint to ensure freshness. The palate has density and concentrated flavours of dark fruit with elegant tannins to create a well-balanced wine with a long finish. Concentrated fruit, great structure and the ability to age well.

About the Harvest

Although very dry, the ripening season leading up to the 2018 harvest provided exce lent conditions for optimal ripeness and flavour development that resulted in exceptional fruit concentration and elegance in the wines of this vintage.

In the Cellar

This wine was fermented in open tanks with pump overs and punch downs being performed four times daily to extract all possible flavours from the berries. After alcoholic fermentation the wines underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel followed by 18 months ageing in 30% new French oak barrels.

History

Dornier is a family owned winery situated in The Golden Triangle area of the upper Blaauwklippen Valley Stellenbosch. The primary focus at Dornier lies in the production of premium quality wines with minimal intervention which are expressive of the unique terroir of The Golden Triangle whilst showcasing the complexity and finesse of the noble grape varieties planted at Dornier. Reverence for tradition is salient at Dornier as is difference where it leads to improvement.

Dornier Wine Estate is located on 3 different farms in the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley namely Groenkloof, Heldemeer and Stellenrust (Homestead) the latter of which includes a historic Sir Herbert Baker designed homestead and one of the first wine cellars ever built in Stellenbosch in the late 1600s.

Dornier proudly boasts an A rating with IPW (Integrity and Sustainability) given its ongoing efforts incorporated and devotion towards sustainable farming practises with integrity. 

Dornier also holds an A Rating with WIETA - a pro-active world-class and sustainable ethical trade programme for the South African wine industry and aligned sectors. given its efforts incorporated and devotion towards facilitating fair working conditions and sustainable ethical trade within the wine industry and its aligned sectors.

Accolades

• Dornier Equanimity Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 TOP 100 SA Wine

• 91 Points Winemag | "This is a gorgeous cabernet sauvignon from Dornier in South Africa. Located in the 'Golden Triangle' area of the upper Blaauwklippen Valley Stellenbosch. The primary focus at Dornier lies in the production of premium quality wines with minimal intervention. Their Equanimity Cabernet Sauvignon has an exuberance of concentrated fruit, intense black cherry colour with a full bouquet of cassis, black berries, cigar box, pencil shavings and subtle oak and a hint of mint to ensure freshness. Stunning value at under £20."
• The 2018 vintage of Dornier Equanimity Cabernet has received abundant local and international recognition having thus far received a Gold Medal from Mundus Vini Germany in 2022, 93 Points & Double Gold from Gilbert & Gaillard and now Top 100 Wine Status from the National Wine Challenge.

Specifications

A fine, distinctive blend of 90% Syrah with 10% Cabernet Franc, each from a single vineyard parcel in the Franschhoek valley. A natural approach to winemaking gives a fresh, expressive style with attractively wild berry fruit characters.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Warm and spicy on the nose, aromas of fresh crushed raspberries and black cherry mingle with black pepper, allspice and woodsmoke. 

Palate

The palate has breadth and natural juiciness combining fresh cranberry and red berry fruit with spicy, peppercorn flavours. Best served at cool room temperature.

Production

Wildeberg is our small farm in Franschhoek. Only 10ha can be planted to vines, the rest is wild. The fruit for the Wildeberg wines comes from the Franschhoek Valley only, hand-harvested, naturally-fermented and gently matured in our mountain barrel hall on the farm. A blend of roughly 90% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Franc, both parcels of fruit were hand-harvested then allowed to macerate carbonically without press. These wild ferments were left to themselves with just one daily manual punchdown followed by 12 months ageing in 600 ltr French oak barrels.

Producer

The Earth’s mantle thrusts up above the gentle town of Franschhoek, a wild slice of untamed mountain on which sits a farm named Wildeberg. An established wine region for some 350 years, sensible generations never thought to plant a vine here until a happy band of idealists recently craned their necks up at this hillside and, dizzy with hope, decided to give it a go. Franschhoek is on the very edge of the south-eastern corner of the Cape’s venerable Coastal Region, indeed Wildeberg’s property border runs over the top of the mountain where the Coastal Region gives way to the baboon-strewn road to Grabouw and the wider Western Cape.

The Wildeberg wines express the most captivating Franschhoek Valley fruit. In our Wildeberg Terroirs bottlings we look beyond our home to a clutch of exceptional sites of other origin.

A mountain rich in metaphor with the visual heft to flatter any wine, releases of Wildeberg and Terroirs express our continued purpose – exceptional wines of place, however humble the origin. If the abiding memory of our wines remains a textural sense of place then we are portraying the Cape as hoped.

Sustainability

Wildeberg is a 144ha wine farm set against the backdrop of the dramatic Franschhoek mountains, on the very edge of viticultural possibilities. To farm here you have to be in tune with nature, respecting the earth and the elements, creating wines which truly express the terroir with minimal intervention.

This special area is home to 4 endangered Fynbos species, and a key mission of Wildeberg is to conserve this vegetation type as they are critical to the biodiversity of the Western Cape. This work entails clearing invasive alien trees which can overwhelm the Fynbos and contribute to the threat of forest fires. Fynbos covered mountains like those at Wildeberg are thought to be responsible for delivering one glass of water in five in South Africa, due to the plants allowing up to 80% of rainwater to run off into rivers and reservoirs rather than being absorbed into the soil.

Water is precious in South Africa, and waste water from the winery passes through a natural wetland with indigenous reeds and plants before being pumped into our irrigation dam. We then use this water to irrigate the vines.

All Wildeberg wines are certified as part of South Africa’s sustainability accreditation, the ‘Integrated Production of Wine’ (IPW) system. The IPW scheme, started in 1998, consists of a set of audited guidelines specifying agricultural practices, manufacturing practices and bottling activities.

Wildeberg is also a proud member of the Cape’s Old Vine Project (OVP), which preserves blocks of vines which are 35 years and older. The project encourages producers to farm as close to nature as possible whilst raising awareness of the inherent potential of old vines to produce outstanding and expressive wines.

Specifications

Tasting Notes 

Megan van der Merwe, the brilliant young winemaker at Beau Constantia, set out to make the Stella with ‘the absolute intention to preserve the site that grew the fruit’. The Syrah and Viognier for this wine grow side by side on one of the farm’s lower lying slopes – both varietals are picked together, when the Syrah is ripe, meaning that the Viognier hangs on the vine until it is a little raisined, adding a rich honey-like component to the wine. 18 months in French oak (only 28% new) adds complexity to the wine.

Floral notes of violet, spicy black pepper, dried herbs and fresh red fruit – cherry and pomegranate – are held together by savoury fine tannin. Epic! 

Winery

Some two decades ago, raging wildfires swept through an area of forest high up on Constantia Nek, leaving the slopes scorched and bare. When the fire had subsided, what was left was a brilliant and unique spot for planting a vineyard; 350 metres above sea level, with cooling ocean breezes and steep sun-bathed hills and so, like a phoenix, Beau Constantia rose from the ashes.

Sensing opportunity, Pierre and Cecily Du Preez acquired the 22-hectare property in 2002. With thorough soil analysis guiding their efforts, the inaugural vineyards were planted in 2003 under the careful guidance of farm manager, Japie Bronn.

The journey to establish vineyards on these challenging slopes demanded patience and unwavering commitment. Today, Beau Constantia proudly boasts 11.47 hectares under vine, a testament to the perseverance and dedication of all involved. Within these vineyards thrive a diverse range of varietals, including Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Shiraz, and Petit Verdot, each meticulously nurtured to capture the unique essence of this extraordinary landscape.

This boutique wine farm with just over 11 hectares under vine has utterly spectacular views over the peninsula. Megan van der Merwe is the Head Winemaker, having taken over from Justin Van Wyk in 2021, after serving as Assistant Winemaker during his successful tenure. Megan believes in 'farming to perfection - just don't stuff it up in the cellar!'. This very talented winemaker is certainly one to watch.

Each of their releases is a tribute to a member of the family.

Accolades & Awards

• 93pts | Platter's 2023
• Tim Atkin 90pts

“Stella is a Côte Rôtie style co-fermentation of Syrah with 0.05% (yes, really) Viognier and 52% whole bunches. Very much a cool climate style, it has aromas of dried herbs and white pepper, savoury tannins, perfumed 28% new wood and bright red cherry and pomegranate fruit.”

Specifications