Brookdale Estate, Sixteen Field Blend, Paarl, South Africa, 2021

At Brookdale they seek to explore their terroir not only with a site-specific approach, but also a vintage-specific one. The Brookdale Sixteen Field Blend exemplifies this mission. Tim Rudd is fascinated with the art of true field blends where grapes are ‘blended’ in the vineyard (field), rather than grown and vinified separately before blending. In South Africa, field blends are typically different varieties grown in the same vineyard block, but kept separate in rows.

That’s not how they did it…

The Sixteen is comprised of 16 varietals, interplanted as bush vines without rhyme or reason. We wanted to explore the naturally occurring microclimates and profile of a wine that is a true South African field blend, as nature might have intended if she were a winemaker.

In this, the maiden vintage of the Brookdale Sixteen Field Blend, they have recaptured the lost art of field blend winemaking. A wine of character, intrigue, and incredible flavour, this wine is a perfect evolution for the Brookdale Wine Range.