Description
This Cabernet Sauvignon from the Western Cape of South Africa, displays ripe blackcurrant and dried herb characters on the nose, which are backed up with some spicy oak notes. The palate is smooth and soft, with beautiful ripe tannins and a long finish. With the blackcurrant and dried herb character it’s a spot-on choice to pare a juicy medium rare sirloin steak.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted variety on the Excelsior Estate making up 43% of all plantings. The soil is mainly limestone based, although a small portion comes from shale. The goal of the wine is to make wine that shows lots of fruit flavours, as well as soft tannins, whilst maintaining a good structure. This is achieved using very strict canopy management to prevent shaded fruit and harvesting at optimal ripeness. The grapes are harvested by hand for greater quality control. The wines are immediately stemmed but not crushed. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks for a period of 7 days at a temperature of between 28 and 32° Celsius. Aerated racking was done twice daily to ensure a clean ferment and soft tannins. The grapes are gently pressed in a bladder press, after which malo-lactic fermentation is completed in the tank. 40% of the total wine was aged in a mixture of French and American oak for a period of 9-months, whilst the remaining wine was tank aged. All terroir units were aged separately and then combined at blending.
