Major Series Cabernet Sauvignon

Port wine braised beef short ribs. Cabernet-braised venison cheeks.

The 2018 harvest season will be remembered as the drought season. At Ernie Els Wines we are very blessed to have bountiful water on the Helderberg. We were, however, still careful with our water use during the summer months leading up to harvest. We’d also been working hard to adapt our viticultural techniques during the previous three years to help the vineyards cope optimally with the heat and limited irrigation. The drought was further buffered by a surprisingly cooler season. Due to the somewhat buffered circumstances, the vines reacted gracefully to the drought with no abnormal growth patters observed. Vine canopies were kept nice and thin for sunlight and, of course, less leaves meant less water needed. Vineyards are resilient plants and its natural instinct in drier years is to produce smaller bunches with smaller berries. Small berries are usually the start of a great wine and 2018 was no different.

Aged for 17 months in 300 litre French Oak barrels (20% new).

Different hand-picked bunches of the various Cabernet Sauvignon clones, as planted on the estate, arrive at the winery. Great care is taken to ensure that all clones from various blocks are kept separate. The bunches are sorted, destemmed and berries are sorted again via an optical sorter. The whole berries are fermented in open top tanks. Premium selection grapes from selected parcels within the various clonal blocks are fermented in smaller open fermenters. Intermittent pump-overs and punch downs ensure that right flavours, aromas and tannins are extracted from the berries. All ferments are meticulously monitored during fermentation to ensure the right balance between flavours and tannins are achieved. After primary fermentation some tanks will undergo extended maceration if required. Each clonal batch of Cabernet is maturated separately (micro-vinified) in oak barrels before blending. All these different batches and the various characteristics of the Cabernet clones make up the final blend of Cabernet Sauvignon.

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.