Produced with fruit from two hilltop sites in the Bottelary ward. This bottling expresses all the concentration and nervous tension that comes from the sites’ extremely rocky granitic soils.
Wine of Origin Stellenbosch
| Winemaker: | Jean Smit |
| Cultivar: | 100% Cabernet Franc |
| Origin: | Bottelary, Stellenbosch |
Tasting notes:
The 2024 vintage of our Cabernet Franc carries an almost disarming faithfulness to the cultivar. It seems to capture, without strain, the many facets that make Cabernet Franc so distinctive – raspberry and tart cherry, graphite, and the gentle lift of fresh sage. Violets and deep red rose petals follow, while the palate reveals luminous red fruit, fine and persistent tannins, and a whisper of wild herbs and cherry skin that lingers on the finish.
Notes on the 2024 Vintage:
The 2024 season began under cold, wet winter skies that replenished groundwater and encouraged even budbreak. Spring’s winds and September downpours challenged early growth, but the dry, hot summer that followed concentrated small, healthy berries.
Harvest began about two weeks earlier than average, with our Cabernet Franc picked between 22 and 28 February. Despite the season’s pressure, the fruit arrived with remarkable balance. The combination of fine tannin and lifted aromatics reflects both the resilience of our elevated Stellenbosch sites and a year where patient vineyard work quietly paid off.
Vineyards:
This trellised Bottelary vineyard was planted with the CF1 Cabernet Franc clone in 2004. Located 16,5 km north of False Bay and 22,5 km east of Table Bay, the maritime influence is considerable – an element that reads clearly in the wine.
The combination of the vineyard’s cooler east-facing aspect, decomposed granite soils, and 225 m altitude produces low-yielding vines with smaller bunches, delivering remarkable concentration and structure.
Winemaking:
Grapes were hand-harvested between 22 and 28 February at 23.9 °B. Bunches were de-stemmed and gravity-fed into tulip-shaped concrete fermenters, where whole berries were cold-soaked for three days prior to primary fermentation.
Pump-overs were performed up to three times per day, with fermentation temperatures peaking at 28 °C. Spontaneous malolactic conversion took place during 11 months of maturation in 2,000 L Austrian oak foudre. The wine was racked just once, two weeks before bottling.
Maturation:
This wine will continue to mature and improve for more than a decade.
Technical:
Total production: 2576 × 750ml and 75 × 1500ml
Bottling date: 10 January 2025
Alc: 13.37 % Vol
pH: 3.46
TA: 5.5 g/L
RS: 1.6 g/L