There 4 products in this category
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Tesselaarsdal
Berene Sauls has a very unique story. Growing up in a small village in the Overberg, Berene admits that she came from a beer-drinking community, and wine was never really on her radar. Her first exposure was at the age of 19, when she began working for the trailblazing Hamilton Russell family as an au pair. Lasting only a month, her talents at childcare aside, Anthony Hamilton Russell recognised her drive and thought a job working in the winery office would better suit her. Thrown in at the deep end knowing really nothing about wine, she was soon exposed to every side of the business - assisting with exports, bottling and labelling, driving forklifts and picking during harvest too, as well as on the side, "growing and developing a palate that wasn't there!" Her curiosity kept her rising through the ranks, and fifteen years after starting her career, Anthony offered her the opportunity to make her first wine, aided by proficient head winemaker Emul Ross. She leapt at the opportunity, and the rest is history. She named her business Tesselaarsdal for the small village that she grew up in, and if you look closely at the label, you can make out two people walking across the mountain. This is Berene and her grandmother. From unirrigated vineyards on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, and this is just her third release! Crisp acidity and lean minerality underpin notes of melon and tangerine fruit and accents of lime blossom. A triumphant expression of terroir, this medium-bodied, cool climate wine is both silky and fresh and boasts a long, elegant finish.
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Savage
Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus. From Duncan Savage: Grapes sourced from the Langverwagt farm in Kuils River on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. Decomposed granite soils overlooking Table Bay and False Bay, a perfect home for maritime Stellenbosch Syrah. Three parcels of vines, all trellised but farmed as a sprawl canopy - a trellised bush vine of sorts. Soils are poor, vigour is low and grapes are scarce, all a perfect recipe for classically styled Syrah. All the fruit is sorted as whole bunches before spontaneous fermentation in conical foudre and open top fermenters. 30% of the fruit is fermented as submerged cap with regular aeration, the balance as a normal fermentation with 2-4 aerated pump overs per day. 2-3 weeks on skins is followed by basket pressing and aging in old 500L barrels for 13 months. The wine then spends a further 10 months in foudre prior to bottling. 2021 is a classic vintage. Obviously I’m slightly biased, but I do feel that this wine may be one of the best Savage Reds we have made to date. Plums, lavender, cola, violets and the characteristic Langverwagt white pepper. The palate is taught and focused compliments of the granitic soil tannin structure and a classic vintage. A wine that will drink well for the next 10-15 years
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Savage
Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus. From Duncan Savage: Cinsault from a 41 year old dry farmed bush vine vineyard in Darling. The vines are grown in decomposed granite on a south facing slope which gets battered by the prevailing south east wind off the cold Atlantic. We have worked with this vineyard since 2011 and the level of consistency and purity never ceases to amaze. Grapes are meticulously sorted in both vineyard and winery, more so in 2022 due to the extreme vintage. 20% of the fruit was discarded to ensure only the best bunches were processed. 50% whole bunch spontaneous fermentation with gentle extraction and 2 weeks on the skins. Basket pressing is followed by a year in older foudre, amphora and old 500L barrels before bottling. Follow the Line always displays aromatic purity, strawberries, cherries, rose petals and violets. The 2022 vintage showcases all of this with a little more texture and richness courtesy of the warmer vintage. The vines adapted incredibly to the challenges and have yielded an extremely complex wine with the characteristic freshness of granitic soils. Follow the Line drinks beautifully young but will age well up to 10 years
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A A Badenhorst
A delightful, but serious 100% Mourvedre Rose. You pick up the delightful hints of cranberry, redcurrants and wild roses. A beautiful drink. Delicious with a vegetable tart, salad, bbq fish and chicken. While you don't want to overthink rose, this one is actually quite sophisticated, with its texture, quite a gastronomic example of rose and a good one for drinking in the cooler months. The elegance of the fruit and texture makes us think of a rather stylish white wine as it floats in the mouth, and then you get the delicious notes of cranberry cut in.