This full-bodied, ruby coloured wine has developed smooth, smokey flavours from the ageing in French barriques, and offers aromas of red berries, cigar box, mint and plum, with soft tannins and a long finish.
Drink on its own or serve with grilled or roasted meat dishes, curries and bredies.
variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 30% Shiraz, 3% Petit Verdot ]
winemaker : Philip Jordaan & Shawn Thompson
wine of origin : Western Cape
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 4.5 g/l pH : 3.45 ta : 5.6 g/l
type : Red wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Background
Du Toitskloof Wine Cellar (DTK) was established by six wine farmers as a cooperative winery in 1962. Today it has 22 members whose vineyards all lie within a 10 km radius of the cellar. It is located near the town of Rawsonville in the Breede River Valley, at the entrance to the Du Toitskloof Mountain Pass. The stony soils of the area are ideally suited to grape growing. DTK’s award-winning wines are known for their excellent quality at affordable prices, and during the last five years it has been rated the South African cellar offering the best value by WINE magazine, three times. The cellar produces some 10 million litres of wine a year from 13,500 tons of grapes, of which 60% is white and 40% red. Its major white cultivar is Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Semillon.The main red cultivars are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage.
In the vineyards
All the grapes for this blend came from within 5 km of the Du Toitskloof cellar. The vines, grafted on to Richter 99 and 101-14 rootstock, were between 8 and 12 years at the time of the harvest in 2004, and grow in slightly clayey, sandy soil. Based on soil moisture levels as measured by neutron hydrometers in the vineyards, controlled irrigation is applied, thereby also ensuring small berries with an excellent skin to fruit ratio providing an intense colour and flavour spectrum. Leaf canopies were carefully managed to ensure the berries receive adequate sunlight.