In The Cellar
The Series M matured for twenty months in French oak barriques, seventeen percent new and a
year in bottle before release. Cellaring this wine for a further two years will enhance integration and flavour complexity and reward the collector. With proper cellaring, Series M 2013 will continue to develop the bouquet and palate for at least a decade or more. Decanting before serving is
recommended for any wine of advanced complexity.
In The Vineyard
The dry and windy start to spring in September 2012 produced tell-tale weather patterns for a great 2013 vintage. Our locality on the northern Simonsberg bench managed to side step the devastating winds that later wreaked havoc through many of the vineyards in Stellenbosch. Weather leading to harvest ranged from mild to very warm, allowing our grapes to reach full balanced phenolic ripeness
with ease.
"I have tasted every vintage of Vilafonte Series C and Series M since the maiden 2003 vintages were released commercially. The wines have always been cutting-edge and extremely impressive, but who could have imagined they would age as well as they have? This beautiful Series M wine is a blend of 45% Malbec, 34% Merlot, and 21% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 20 months in 17% new French oak barriques. This superb archive release is simply on fire, showing a mellow, harmonious texture, incredible freshness, purity of red and black berry fruit flavours, and minimal tertiary evolution. They always say that when in doubt, drink South Africa's finest reds at 10 years old to enjoy both the wine's last vestiges of youthful fruit opulence as well as its early tertiary complexity. But this 2013, from a cooler vintage with a wet Mediterranean-style winter and a dry summer, reveals beautifully fresh aromatics of freshly cut cedar, dried violets, and lavender perfume underpinned by earthy red currants, caramelised black plums and hints of sweet cherry tobacco. On the palate, the wine shows a seductively suave, fleshy, mineral-laden underbelly with layers of crushed gravel and graphite before sweet blackberry compote, pithy black cherry, cocoa powder, and an alluring Argentinean sapidity on the finish. This delicious Malbec-dominated wine is maturing with classical poise and has shed the oaky puppy fat of youth while retaining a mellow freshness and deserves to be cracked and enjoyed now, but there is certainly no hurry for multiple bottles in your cellar. Pedigree and precision always shine through in the end."
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
