Description
Aged for 17 months in French oak barrels, 55% new, this Cabernet Franc has a striking violet red color. The nose is aromatic, bursting with elegant yet savory notes of black cherry, graphite, violet, light spice, and tobacco leaf. On the palate, the wine is concentrated, sleek, polished, and poised with leathery tannins. It offers sophisticated flavors of black cherry, floral violet, and earthy tobacco leaf, balanced by a refreshing and vivid character.
Food Pairing: Pairs well with a wide variety of foods including tomato-based stews, roasted pork belly, goats cheese, black bean or lentil dishes, charcuterie, game birds, lamb, and beef.
Producer Profile
Given owner Toby Venter’s assumed need for speed, as CEO of LSM Distributors, responsible for Porsche and Lamborghini in South Africa, as well as the owners of Kyalami race track, his purchase of Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards in 2013, up against the slopes of the Helderberg seems in direct contrast to this high octane lifestyle.
Everything in wine is time. Uva Mira is named for a famous star in the constellation of Cetus (a Greek sea monster who was offered the princess Andromeda to appease Poseidon but was slain by Perseus either by sword or using Medusa’s head which turned him to stone – the details are complicated and murky). The giant red star named ‘the wonderful’ or ‘Mira’ in Latin undergoes a 332-day cycle of fading into obscurity, becoming bright, and then fading again (over almost a year), drawing parallels between winemaking and stargazing. The patience inherent to growing grapes, understanding the terroir, blending, and maturation, the once-a-year opportunity to harvest, and the celebration once you can taste the literal fruits of your labour – explains the name Uva Mira, Latin meaning The Wonderful Grape.
