Description
The 2019 The Max is a refined Cape Bordeaux-style blend, featuring 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, and 14% Petit Verdot. This vintage is lighter on its feet than previous ones, offering a playful yet concentrated expression of red fruit, with hints of tobacco and cedar. The palate is balanced, with plush fruit and moreish tannins, leading to a dry, savoury finish. Aged for 26 months in 50% new French oak barriques, it shows great complexity and harmonious structure, while still approachable in its youth. This wine has fantastic ageing potential and can be enjoyed for up to 18 years from the vintage.
Food Pairing: Ideal with grilled meats, lamb, steak, or aged cheeses.
Reviews
Greg Sherwood 94
The Max 2019 is an illustrious Cape Bordeaux Blend featuring 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot and 14% Petit Verdot in a classical left bank expression that was matured in 50% new French oak barriques for 26 months before blending and bottling. From a powerful vintage, this blend is a wonderfully soft fulsome wine with alluring aromatics of ripe black plum, black chai tea, dried tobacco leaf, sweet herbs, gun smoke, salty black currant, and hints of sweet blueberry rock candy. The palate displays a textural depth and generosity that is incredibly seductive and inviting. The acids are taut, bright, and steely but are embraced by moreish sweet and sour black cherry and black plum fruits, with subtle hints of graphite and blue berries in the background. An intricate wine with a serious stature but an amiable finish. Enjoy now and over the next 3 to 8+ years. The perfect alternative to your mid-week Claret. [Greg Sherwood MW, 01/10/2024]
Platter’s 95
[John Platter, 01/10/2023]
Producer Profile
Our winemaking philosophy is firmly rooted in the old-world – we have drawn inspiration from some of the most revered wine regions across Europe.
While our approach to winemaking is traditional, our outlook on planting and assemblage is an exploratory one, allowing us to find a unique way to express our soils, climate and remarkable site in Franschhoek.
