2019 Three Pines Cabernet Sauvignon
Cape South Coast,South Africa,
£44.99
Bottle size: 75cl,
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Shop Stock: Out of stock.
*Standard UK delivery 2-3 working days
Warehouse Stock: 75 available.
*Extended UK delivery 3-5 working days
*International Delivery available, location dependent.
“Stark-Condé were named in the ‘First Growth’ category of Tim Atkin’s special report on South Africa whilst winemaker Rudger van Wyk was named Young Winemaker of the Year.
From their well-known Three Pines vineyard. The grapes were hand-harvested and hand-sorted and fermented in open tanks with hand-punchdowns throughout. Matured for 20 months in small French oak, 70% new. A small amount of Petit Verdot (6%), Cabernet Franc (4%) and Malbec (2%) was blended in to enhance the mouthfeel and perfum
Description
CELLAR INFORMATION They were picked into small lug boxes and cooled overnight to 14 degrees C., then de-stemmed and carefully hand-sorted, crushed into small open fermentation vats and cold-soaked for 2-3 days until natural fermentation started. The next day they were inoculated with a mix of yeasts, half with a South African strain and the other half with an imported Bordeaux yeast. About 25% of the wine was fermented with natural yeasts. Vigorous punchdowns were given every 4 hours for the first half of fermentation, then every 6-8 hours thereafter. VINEYARD INFORMATION This wine is based on a higher elevation vineyard site with a finely textured decomposed granite soil with a clay sub-soil and a gentle Southwest-facing slope. The wines made from this vineyard always seem to have good ripeness coupled with good natural acidity and a unique floral note that sets it apart from our other blocks of cabernet. There are five different clones within the block, but we focus on just three: clone 46 which is well structured, but with less forward fruit; clone 27 which tends to have a firm tannin; and clone 163 which is quite fruit forward. The grapes were hand-harvested in early March.
Reviews
JancisRobinson.com 17.5/20
Single vineyard. Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon but there is a bit of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec in there. Cassis and elderberries steeped in framboise. A firm, beautifully meshed but take-no-prisoners matrix of tannins. The fruit, nonetheless, floods through in total defiance of the arrest of tannins. Ravishing fruit! And a scribble of pencil shavings. Very impressive. [Tamlyn Currin, 30/06/2023]
Greg Sherwood 96
The grapes for this vibrant single vineyard wine were hand-picked, sorted, basket pressed and then fermented in small batches before being matured in small French oak barrels for 20 months. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration. The aromatics are piquant, spicy and thoroughly enticing with hints of fragrant black berry confit on warm brown breakfast toast supported by emerging notes of bruleed coffee beans, inky iodine, sweet cherry tobacco, cola, salty cassis and a pronounced under vein of graphite. The palate is super elegant from start to finish, suave, supple and impressively harmonious with a fine textural breadth and depth of black and blueberry saline fruits, soft, sleek silky tannins and all the tell-tale concentration that has come to define this vintage s greatest red wines. Seamless, precise and incredibly well made, this is sultry, seductive Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon at its very best. Drink now or cellar for 12+ years. (8,175 bottles produced.) – Greg Sherwood MW. [Greg Sherwood, 01/01/2023]