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. The Spring of 2020 was marked by frequent cold fronts, delaying bud burst by 5-7 days. Temperatures remained moderate during the summer, resulting in a two-week delay in the start of the harvest compared to preceding vintages. The viticultural and winemaking team had to wait patiently for the grapes to reach phenolic ripeness. The prolonged ripening meant the grapes had an intense concentration of flavours at harvest time, promising great wines with excellent aging potential.

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.