Carménère

Please note: Award stickers are applied at the producer's discretion and may not be present on all bottles.

The grapes were hand-picked in the cool of the early morning once flavour, seed and skin maturity were aligned. Approximately 2 whole bunches 20% were included. Fermentation began naturally and proceeded quickly, with regular punch-downs over roughly two weeks to build colour and structure without extracting hardness.

Nestled among a handful of isolated, rare-variety parcels - including some of South Africa s only Bastardo - this small Carménère vineyard overlooks Stellenbosch and the rolling hills toward Cape Town. The block is meticulously tended and deliberately protected from the leafroll pressure found in neighbouring vineyards. Planted on the slopes of Stellenbosch Mountain, the low-yielding vines root deeply into decomposed red-brown granitic soils. Elevation, drainage and careful canopy work allow the fruit to retain freshness while reaching the phenolic maturity this naturally late-ripening cultivar requires. The 2025 season followed a warm, dry and windy post-harvest period, then a late-arriving winter crowned by record rainfall in July. The replenished soils and dams, cooler August and moderate September delayed bud burst, while favourable flowering conditions and useful spring follow-up rains supported balanced, healthy canopies. Stellenbosch experienced two short heat peaks around Christmas, but January was notably cooler than average and the harvest itself remained dry. This slowed the early season, preserved acidity and allowed the later-ripening red varieties sufficient hang time to develop flavour, colour and tannin without losing freshness. Carménère, naturally low yielding and phenolically expressive before extreme sugar ripeness, was particularly well suited to these conditions.

After fermentation, the wine was pressed promptly and transferred to a small barrel for maturation. It was followed closely throughout elevage, with the aim of preserving the unusually pure 2025 fruit and fine-grained tannin profile. Bottled in July 2 26.