Rietvallei Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Medium to full-bodied with a deep red, almost black, colour. Lots of berry fruit flavours come through on the nose, with hints of coffee and bitter chocolate, ending with a noticeable toastiness and soft touch of vanilla flavours. The fruity berry flavours are also evident on the palate with a good balance between fruit, tannin and wood. The wine is rounded off nicely with a subtle sweetness. Soft oak flavours and juicy tannins make for a satisfying finish.

variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 100% Cabernet Sauvignon ]

winery : Rietvallei Wine Estate

winemaker : Johnny Burger

wine of origin : Breede River

analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 4.0 g/l pH : 3.6 ta : 5.9 g/l va : 0.55 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle

in the vineyard : The Cabernet vineyards are planted in the highest hill of Rietvallei, called Klippiesdal and are between 5 and 15 years old. These vines thrive in the crisp, clean Klein Karoo air.

about the harvest: The grapes were picked at 25Âº Balling by hand.

in the cellar : After destemming and slight crushing the mash is taken to open fermenters were traditional methods are still implemented. During fermentation the cap is regularly wetted by the traditional method of pushing the skins down into the must by hand every two hours. This together with pumping-over of the must onto the skins allows the colour and flavour to be extracted very effectively. After approximately four days of fermenting it was pressed at 8Âº Balling and taken to stainless steel tanks where it completed alcoholic fermentation. After malolactic fermentation started it was transferred to 300 litre French oak barrels where it was left to mature for seven months.

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