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Alcohol not for sale to persons under the age of 18 liquor licence WCP/040675

South African Rand

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Warwick

The Blue Lady

standard courier: 3 working days

Sold by: Warwick

R 350

Ready to ship X 28

Bottle Size :

750 ml (Standard)

Vintage :

2015

Quantity:

Cultivar:

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Country:

South Africa

Rating:

94 Points - Tim Atkin 95 Points - Greg Sherwood 92 Points - Decanter 92 Points - Winemag.co.za 5 Stars - Platter's

Specifications:

14.60% alc vol Sugar g/l: N/A

Type: Red Wine Cellaring Potential: up to 30 yrs

Origin: Stellenbosch Appellation: Simonsberg

Tasting Notes:

The wine is opaque in the center with a translucent licorice rim. It offers blackberries, crème de cassis with graphite and tobacco leaf on the nose promising a mouthful of power as you sip it. The palate has immense body with an opulent texture and a wealth of fruit that will leave you clambering to pin point each one. Try roasted meats with fynbos, fresh violets, coffee and a mineral element. It offers intensity and purity and a balanced symmetry that is pure poetry.

Blackberries

Fynbos
Fynbos

Licorice

Violets
Violets

Additional Information
In the vineyard
In the cellar
Ageing
Food Pairing

Food pairing

A classic wine often loves a classic dish. Try roasted beef rib eye with Porcini salt and some hand cut fries. Perhaps some roasted field mushrooms with garlic to accompany. Or for a rich treat, a smoky roasted pork loin with some parmesan mash.
Vegetables Pork Hard Cheese Beef

Block 9 has a NE and SW facing aspect. The two rootstocks to which the vines are planted are Richter 110 and Richter 101-14. Richter 110 is suited to dryland farming. The rootstock was first developed in France in 1889 by Franz Richter. Richter 101/14 was developed by Professor Alexis Millardet with the assistance of the Marquis de Grasset in 1882 in France. It was one of the first rootstocks to be imported into South Africa, as its natural tendency is to penetrate the roots deep into the soil and is excellent in gravelly soil. It is one of the traditional rootstocks of the Stellenbosch area.

2014 was a challenging year for late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. We managed to pick our high density 9-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon block before the great rains of March 2014. This is the first time this block has been used for the Blue Lady. The block has reached maturity and is producing small bunches and tiny berries with highly concentrated flavours. There are 3 clones (CS 23A, CS 33, CS 46) planted on the various soil types so we get a diversity of flavours. The highest part of the block has deep fine granitic brown soils while the lower you go on the slope, the colour changes to light brown/yellow and there is a top layer of decomposed quartz fragment with bigger granitic rocks scattered on the surface. This block gives the highest extract of all our Cabernet vineyards on Warwick and will make wines that will age for decades.

The three clones were handpicked separately in the early morning and gently crushed, destemmed and hand-sorted on a vibrating sorting table. Each clone was put into a separate tank. A seven day cold-soak was done to extract colour before fermentation commenced. An isolated yeast culture from Bordeaux was added and a warm short fermentation was done with daily pump-overs and two rack-and returns. The wine was left on the skins for a week after fermentation for the tannins to polymerise. A light pressing was done after which the wine underwent malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine was gravity-fed to 225-litre tight grain, medium and light toast French oak barrels for ageing. The wine was racked twice during this period. The wine was bottled with a light filtration and kept in bottle for 12 months before release.

A selection of barrels was chosen, as well as a selection of coopers, in order to give complexity to the wine. Tight grain French oak barrels in 225-liter size were used for 24 months. 64% of the oak used was new. The barrels were mostly from Allier and Vosges forests in France. And the chosen coopers were: Demptos, Taransaud, Sylvain and Boutes.

Food pairing

A classic wine often loves a classic dish. Try roasted beef rib eye with Porcini salt and some hand cut fries. Perhaps some roasted field mushrooms with garlic to accompany. Or for a rich treat, a smoky roasted pork loin with some parmesan mash.

Vegetables Pork Hard Cheese Beef