Sarah Reserve Red

Best with nearly all red meat, including prime rib, New York strip and filet mignon.

Despite the drought, the dry, warm weather resulted in healthy grapes and small berries with good intensity. Warm days and below average cool nights during the ripening stage gave the colour and flavour development a positive boost.

After 18 months of aging in French oak barrels our winemaking team selected 5 new French oak barrels that most reflect the site, vintage, and our belief of what this wine should be, silky fine tannins, restrained black fruit and structure. To be enjoyed upon release or two decades from vintage.

The 2017 vintage is regarded as one of the best in decades, our two Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards jostle each year to be the origin of our Sarah Red, the grapes are picked when taste in the vineyard, grape seed colour and sugar accumulation all align for the precise harvest date. The grapes are carefully destemmed, hand sorted over a table, retaining as much whole berry as possible. The fermenting juice is pumped over twice a day and then allowed to ferment the last sugers to dryness with our intervention. Four to five days of extended maceration were allowed prior to pressing.

Sutherland Vineyards is situated just 9 kms off the Atlantic Ocean with altitudes of 140 to 250 meters above sea level. The cool maritime climate allows for slower ripening than in other Cape Wineland areas producing wines with vibrant concentrated fruit flavours and an elegant minerality. All Sutherland wines are bottled and produced at the estate in Stellenbosch.