Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

A fantastic companion to most meat dishes

The fruit for this wine were sourced from just 2 specific vineyard blocks on our farm. Even though the winter season was not as wet as previous years, no supplementary irrigation was needed. A good balance of fruit concentration and elegance was achieved with very little intervention. A warm start to the season was followed by cooler conditions towards the latter part of harvest aided later-ripening grapes which meant that we had very good flavour development in the Cabernet fruit.

After primary fermentation the grapes were gently pressed and transferred to French oak barrels; 75% new, 25% 2nd and 3rd fill, for 20 months before final blending took place.

A careful selection was made in the vineyard and after de-stemming the grapes were fermented in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and traditional open-top fermenters. We used a combination of “punch- downs” and “pump-overs” at different stages in fermentation and tried to extract as much flavour and tannin, at the beginning of fermentation, as possible. Towards the end of the process we drastically reduced the extraction and usually limit it to only one pump-over per day not to over extract the wine and ensure we achieve the best balance.

Kleine Zalze wines are marked by a classical structure and complexity matched by a vibrant flavour intensity. Discernibly South African in style, they are refreshing, beautifully balanced and well-suited to food. Our wines are made according to traditional methods with minimal cellar intervention, but supported by modern equipment.