Simonsig Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

Attractive deep red colour with youthful rim indicative of a great red wine vintage. Ripe, mulberry and blackcurrant fruit with hints of cigar box aromas. Spicy French oak supports the fruit on the palate and adds a delicious long aftertaste. The soft tannins provide enough structure to this Cabernet to allow further improvement over the next few years.
SERVING SUGGESTION:
Rare Roast Beef, Leg of Lamb or Cheese


variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ Blend ]
winemaker : Johan Malan
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 13.85 % vol  rs : 1.83 g/l  pH : 3.48  ta : 5.65 g/l  

ageing : Soft and perfectly drinkable now but should benefit from further ageing over the next 4 to 5 years.

in the cellar : GRAPE VARIETIES:
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc

BACKGROUND:
Simonsig has been producing Cabernet Sauvignon since 1976 and achieved early success when the 1977 vintage won the General Smuts trophy after being judged as the Champion Wine of South Africa. Simonsig replanted and expanded its planting of Cabernet Sauvignon over the last decade and it now has mature vineyards planted with the best virus free clones available in South Africa. These shy bearing vineyards are planted on deep red decomposed granite and shale soils with high moisture holding capacity. This minimises the need for irrigation and gives great concentration of flavour.

VINTAGE DESCRIPTION:
It was a fairly dry winter with only 529mm of rain which is about 20% below average. The growing season started early and we expected a very early harvest. This was exacerbated by very hot conditions during harvest which resulted in high sugars. Due to these hot conditions we harvested very healthy grapes as there were no problems with viticultural diseases during the growing period. The size of the crop was about 10% below average and the average yield was 8.5 T/Ha. Exceptionally ripe grapes were picked and the wines all show very dark colours, succulent fruit and soft ripe tannins.

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