Big Easy Cabernet Sauvignon

Classic steak wine.

The effect of the drought still lingers in the background. We continued our effort in the canopy, managing water use to irrigate as little as possible focusing on our aim of quality. The 2019 season started surprisingly cool with no heat waves hitting us. One challenge that arose was the uneven bud burst, this we managed in harvesting, doing so selectively followed by berry selection at the cellar. The mild stress of the vines was eased by the cooler temperatures that we experienced allowing for smaller berries that is always important to us. During fruit ripening the cooler weather persisted that gave the grapes some fantastic hang time and development, which we usually can’t afford due to fast sugar accumulation.

Each variety is matured separately in oak barrels before final blending and eventual bottling.

The grapes were hand-harvested in the cool of the early morning. On the sorting table, all excess stalks and inferior berries were removed. Fermentation took place in 7-ton open-top stainless steel tanks and the wines were pumped over or punched down manually 3 to 5 times per day, ensuring maximum colour extraction from the skins.

As one of South Africa's leading ambassadors and one of the most recognizable faces in the world of sport it is befitting that Ernie chose Stellenbosch to produce his wines. In 1999 the concept of Ernie Els Wines was born and with the help of award-winning winemaker Louis Strydom they produced the maiden 2000 vintage of Ernie Els - a 'classic' Bordeaux blend. The intention from the outset was to focus on delivering a quality product that could hold its own in the company of the world's finest wines.