Sam
The Family
Sam
2021
This wine is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot from carefully selected vineyards around Stellenbosch to provide the perfect expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch.
The wine displays an intense deep garnet colour with a plum red rim.
The nose has brooding aromas of cassis, blueberries, blackberries, tobacco leaf and cedar wood, with a light violet floral lift.
The palate has compact dense dark fruit on the entry competing with flavours of dried herbs, tobacco spice, fresh vanilla and cedar. This all leads to a powerful mid-palate and a lingering finish with firm dry tannins which will enable the wine to age.
Food Pairing
A perfect accompaniment to the perfect cut of grilled beef or vegetarian options such as melanzane parmigiana or a tomato ragu.
R1,065.00
This wine is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot from carefully selected vineyards around Stellenbosch to provide the perfect expression of Cabernet sauvignon from Stellenbosch.
The 2021 vintage in Stellenbosch has been lauded as a great vintage with regards to the quality. After a better than average rainfall over the preceding winter and good cold units, the cooler wet weather extended into spring and resulted in delayed bud break. We had reasonably good conditions through flowering resulting in good berry set and a larger than usual crop which required extra attention during crop management. The cooler weather persisted throughout the growing and ripening season. This delayed ripening and having a more drawn-out harvest resulted in perfect conditions for flavour and tannin development. This resulted in a much later harvest but near perfect fruit. The resultant wines are tight yet powerful with great fruit expression. The wines from this harvest should have the ability to age for a long time.
The vineyards are specially selected according to their age and site from various parts of Stellenbosch, mostly unirrigated and all low yielding (3 to 8 t/ha). This gives a pure expression of its environment in the wine. The grapes are ripened to peak maturity (between 23- and 25-degrees brix) before being hand harvested and delivered to the cellar and placed into a cold store overnight at 4 degrees Celsius.
The grapes were bunch sorted, destemmed, berry sorted and then partially crushed to small wooden upright fermenters. There is an initial cold maceration until the fermentation begins spontaneously.
Post fermentation maceration is dependent on the ripeness of the fruit at picking and tannin development in the wine. The wine is then drained off and pressed in a vertical basket press.
Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel after which the wine is racked and returned to barrel for further maturation. Maturation takes place in small 225-liter French barriques of which 40% is new and the balance 2nd fill barrels. Total maturation is for 22 months with regular racking’s. The wine received no fining or filtration before bottling.
Bottling
The wine was bottled in January 2023.
1881 bottles were produced
- pH: 3.56
- TA: 5.4 g/l
- RS: 2.9 g/l
- Alc: 14.0% by vol.
This wine can be enjoyed immediately after release but will improve with cellaring for up to 15 years from harvest.
Cabernet Sauvignon - Polkadraai Hills (Cairgnorm) Stellenbosch
| AREA: | POLKADRAAI HILLS CAIRGNORM, STELLENBOSCH |
| ALTITUDE: | 160 metres above sea level |
| ASPECT: | East |
| ROW DIRECTION: | North - South |
| YEAR PLANTED: | 2001 |
| SOIL TYPE: |
Sandy Loam of Granitic Origin |
| TRAINING: |
4-Wire Perold - Sprawling |
| PRUNING: | Spur pruned |
| IRRIGATION: |
Supplementary drip |
| PLANT DENSITY: | 3333 vines per hectare (2.5m X 1.2m spacing) |
| CROPPING: | 3.3 tons/ha or 20 hl/ha |
Merlot - Bottelary Hills - Stellenbosch
| AREA: | BOTTELARY HILLS - STELLENBOSCH |
| ALTITUDE | 220 metres above sea level |
| ASPECT: | West |
| ROW DIRECTION: | North-South |
| YEAR PLANTED: | 2003 |
| SOIL TYPE: |
Medium potential clay loam Tukulu soil of Granitic Origin |
| TRAINING: |
6-wire vertical trellis (double Perold) |
| PRUNING: | Spur pruned |
| IRRIGATION: |
Supplementary drip |
| PLANT DENSITY: | 5000 vines per hectare (1m X 2m spacing) |
| CROPPING: |
6 tons/ha or 36 hl/ha |
Petit Verdot - Polkadraai Hills - Stellenbosch
| AREA: | POLKADRAAI HILLS - STELLENBOSCH |
| ALTITUDE: | 210 metres above sea level |
| ASPECT: | Southwest |
| ROW DIRECTION: | North-South |
| YEAR PLANTED: | 2001 |
| SOIL TYPE: | Decomposed Granite |
| TRAINING: | Sprawling Trellis - 5 wire Perold |
| PRUNING: | Spur pruned |
| IRRIGATION: |
Supplementary drip |
| PLANT DENSITY: | 2860 vines per hectare (1.4m X 2.5m spacing) |
| CROPPING: | average 6 tons/ha or 36 hl/ha |
In the Spotlight
Awards & Recognition
Winemag.co.za - Christian Eedes
Vinous - Neal Martin
Jancis Robinson 2023
Platter's Wine Guide 2024
Wine Advocate - Anthony Mueller May 2024
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