Sam
The Family
Sam
2017
The wine has a deep dark plum red colour. The nose displays typical aromas of blackcurrant and dark cherry fruit, with hints of cedar wood and tobacco leaf, underpinned by vanilla oak and a savoury black olive and five spice character. The wine enters the palate with juicy black cherry and blackcurrant flavours leading to a textured dry savoury mid-palate and a long finish with a perfectly balanced acidity. The tannins are firm and dry yet elegant.
Food Pairing
Best served with rich red meat dishes or vegetarian options such as melanzane parmigiana or a tomato ragu.
R950.00
SOLD OUT
This wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot from 2 vineyards in the Bottleray ward in Stellenbosch.
The vineyards are specially selected according to their age and site from various parts of Stellenbosch, mostly unirrigated and all low yielding (4 to 6 t/ha). This gives a pure expression of its environment in the wine. The grapes are ripened to peak maturity (between 24 and 25 degrees brix) before being hand harvested and delivered to the cellar at which point they are placed in a cold store overnight at 4 degrees Celsius.
After desteming the berries pass over a sorting table for the removal of all unwanted material. The berries then fall through a crusher and drop, via gravity, into small open wooden fermenters. Fermentation takes place by the yeast naturally occurring on the grape and can take anything up to14 days to complete. Extraction occurs through regular pump overs and punch downs.
Once fermentation has completed the wine may stay on the skins for an additional period of time which is dependent on the tannin development and ripeness, after which the wine is 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 43% is new and lasts for 22 months with regular rackings. The wine received no fining or filtration before bottling.
Bottling
The wine was bottled in January 2019.
- pH: 3.58
- TA: 5.29 g/l
- RS: 2.5 g/l
- Alc: 14.5 % by vol.
Cabernet Sauvignon – Stellenbosch – Bottelary
| AREA: | Stellenbosch in the Bottelary Ward |
| ALTITUDE: | 200 metres above sea level |
| ASPECT: | North-West |
| ROW DIRECTION: | North-South |
| YEAR PLANTED: | 1988 |
| SOIL TYPE: | 75% Glenrosa & 25% Pinedene (Slate Origin) |
| TRAINING: | 5-wire vertical trellis |
| PRUNING: | Spur pruned |
| IRRIGATION: | None |
| PLANT DENSITY: | 3472 vines per hectare (1.2m X 2.4m spacing) |
| CROPPING: | 4 tons/ha or 25hl/ha |
Merlot – Stellenbosch – Bottelary
| AREA: | Stellenbosch in the Bottelary Ward |
| ALTITUDE: | 220 metres above sea level |
| ASPECT: | West facing |
| ROW DIRECTION: | North-South |
| YEAR PLANTED: | 1999 |
| SOIL TYPE: | Medium potential clay loam Tukulu soil |
| TRAINING: | 6-wire vertical trellis (double Perold) |
| PRUNING: | Spur pruned |
| IRRIGATION: | Supple- mental drip irrigation |
| PLANT DENSITY: | 5000 vines per hectare (1m X 2m spacing) |
| CROPPING: | average 6 to 8 tons/ha or 40 to 54 hl/ha |
In the Spotlight
2017 Awards & Recognition
Platter’s Wine Guide 2020
Tim Atkin’s South Africa Special Report 2020
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