Mentors Canvas

Only the best bunches and berries were selected to craft this wine. After fermentation, the most promising wines of each variety were chosen to mature in barrel. Older oak was used for maturation to allow maximum varietal and fruit expression. After 12 months, the finest wines were selected to remain in barrel for an additional six months. This wine is truly about selecting the best-of-the-best.

The 2020 vintage was characterized by generally favourable conditions, improved winter rainfall preceding the growing season and generally mild conditions. This resulted in improved crops in particular in the coastal areas or Swartland, Wellington, Paarl and Stellenbosch. The vintage period was lower in disease pressure than the 2019 vintage but some rainfall during vintage did require careful management. The spring period was unusually warm prompting early bud break and accelerated early growth while, the summer through vintage was mild in terms of temperature with fewer peaks or periods of high temperature. This resulted in an early vintage start and a compressed February finishing earlier than in recent years. Wines show great retention of freshness and flavour with good tannin development and aging potential. We are hugely excited about the quality of the 2020 Vintage.

The wine was matured for 18 months in French oak barrels. A combination of 300L and 500L barrels was used. A 50% portion of the barrels was first-fill.