Dornier Donatus Red 2009

Name: Dornier Donatus Red 2009
Brand: Dornier Wines
SKU: 31654

As 2009 was a fantastic year we were blessed with great fruit concentration along with fine structured tannins. The wine possesses a rich red berry character, with hints of chocolate and spice on the nose. The palate is complex yet elegant, with sweet fruit flavours and a hint of mocha, enhanced by a full tannin structure, balanced acidity and lingering finish.

Excellent with rich red meat dishes, slow cooked in a red wine jus. It also has to be mentioned that this wine pairs particularly well with dishes that have an element of earthiness. This can be derived from either fresh mushrooms or certain vegetable accompaniments such as beetroot or aubergine.

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variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 4% Cabernet Franc ]

winery : Dornier Wines

winemaker : JC Steyn

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 14.5 % vol rs : 1.9 g/l pH : 3.56 ta : 6.6 g/l va : 0.57 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

AWARDS

Top 100 SA Wine Challenge Winner

ageing : For this exceptional blend we utilised only twopremium vineyards on our property both with outstanding quality of fruit yearafter year. As we recognised their potential early we were able to maximize ourwinemaking efforts in order to express the best characteristics of eachvariety. Cold soaking was followed by a gentle fermentation with pump oversperformed twice daily. The grapes remained on the skins for a further two weeksin order to gain complexity and overall tannin structure. Each batch then spent14 months in 40% New French oak barrels before careful blending.

in the vineyard : Philosophy
With DONATUS, we strive to create a red premium blend showing both a distinctive local character and our individual style. We achieve this with a careful selection of fruit from our healthy vineyards. All wines are fermented and aged in separate batches and skilfully blended after a long ageing process. There are no standard blending components; consistency is only to be achieved in quality and style. DONATUS offers the best of old world classic concentration and new world boldness.

Vintage Conditions
The 2009 vintage was hailed as one of the best vintages since 2003. Moderately warm climatic conditions prevailed throughout the growing seasons with relatively little rain, which resulted in very even vine growth. These characteristics are extremely desirable for top quality fruit production. Crop levels were slightly lower than previous years which lead to more intense fruit expression.

about the harvest: The season leading up to the harvest period provided excellent conditions for optimal ripeness and flavour concentration. This year the harvest started earlier than expected, 10 days to be exact, however, it ended approximately 10 days later. These longer ripening conditions therefore provided for excellent fruit concentration and elegance.

in the cellar : For this exceptional blend we utilised only three premium vineyards on our property both with outstanding quality of fruit year after year. As we recognised their potential early we were able to maximize our winemaking efforts in order to express the best characteristics of each variety. Cold soaking was followed by a gentle fermentation with pump overs performed twice daily. The grapes remained on the skins for a further two weeks in order to gain complexity and overall tannin structure. Each batch then spent 14 months in 40% New French oak barrels before careful blending.

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