Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

A fantastic companion to most meat dishes

The fruit for this wine were sourced from two specific vineyard blocks on our farm and two small parcels from the slopes of the Helderberg and Helderberg basin. An exceptionally warm and dry spring led to increased root activity, resulting in vigorous and even growth at the start of the season. The end of October brought a timely rain spell that contributed to better flowering and berry set than preceding vintages. Increased vigour meant our viticulture team had to pay careful attention to canopy management making sure the fruit stays healthy and to ensure even ripening throughout the season. The harvest itself started earlier than previous years and was also quite compressed with several red varieties ripening earlier than usual. The grapes were healthy at harvest and had an intense concentration of flavours, promising great wines.

After primary fermentation the grapes were gently pressed and transferred to 300L French oak barrels, 80% new and the remaining 20% a blend of 2nd and 3rd fill, for 22 months before final blending took place.

After de-stemming only (no crushing) the grapes were fermented traditional open-top fermenters. We used a combination of “punch- downs” and “pump-overs” at different stages in the fermentation process and aim to extract most of the colour, tannin and flavour during the first two-thirds thereof. Towards the end of the process, we drastically reduce the frequency of punch-downs and pumpovers, usually limiting it to only one per day as to not over extract the wine and ensure we achieve a perfectly balanced wine.

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.