Sir Thomas Cullinan

Beef, Lamb, Game (deer, venison), Poultry

2016 was a cooler vintage and after a bumper crop in 2015 the vines had to work to ripen the grapes. The yields were low and with a cooler summer the grapes were showing far more subtlety in terms of flavour compared to the 2015. The 2016 Sir Thomas Cullinan is very classically styled with the wine showing the restraint of the old world rather than the power of the new. From the highest rows of the estates 2 highest vineyards, Merlot Block 15 and Cabernet Sauvignon Block 14. The exposure of these rows to all the elements combined with the steep gradient of the slope means the vines have a very tough life and give low yields. The bunches from these portions of these vineyards are typically light with small concentrated berries.

25 months in 50 percent new 225 litre French oak barriques.

Bunches sorted on a conveyor belt and berries sorted on a vibrating sorting table. Berries uncrushed. Fermented wild in 500 litre open top French oak barrels. 15 to 20 day post fermentation maceration on the skins done in the same barrels.

“We would like people who drink our wines to experience the estate our soils our slopes our vines and our terroir. Wine should be experienced and not merely drunk and we endeavour to make every bottle of our wine a memorable experience. We believe wine is made in the vineyards and our goal is to allow the vineyards to express themselves by interfering as little as possible. As a result we have adopted a minimalist approach in both the vineyards and the cellar. The idea being to minimalise the human influence on the final product. In the vineyards we do everything by hand from pruning to harvesting. We are also proud members of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative and of the Integrated Production of Wine Scheme. We have set aside 30% of the estate and dedicated it to the Western Capes indigenous flora and fauna. The goal in the cellar is to facilitate the production of wine from grapes and not merely manufacture wine. This is again done by following the minimalist approach of nothing added apart from a small amount of SO2 prior to bottling. All grapes are hand sorted in the cellar to remove m.o.g. (material other than grapes) and unripe grapes before they go to tank. Wild or naturally occurring yeasts are allowed to ferment the grapes before the wine is drained off the skins and allowed to mature in French oak barrels before being racked and bottled.