This is a medium-bodied, very approachable wine that offers wafts of cherry, plums and a delicate spiciness on the nose and ripe blackberry flavours on the palate, enhanced by the vanillins of gentle oaking. It is a very versatile wine for enjoyment with a range of dishes from pastas and poultry, to game, red meat and cheeses.
in the vineyard : As its name suggests, the African Sky label carries a range of wines made in the vineyards of the Cape’s famous winelands, graced by tall mountains and fanned by cooling maritime breezes, where the sky constantly changes to reflect a range of micro-climates. Sometimes shrouded in mist or stained by rain, sometimes bracingly clear, the sky is always fresh, clean and nurturing.
The Ruby Cabernet was sourced from low-yield bush vineyards in the Malmesbury area, facing east to south-east, planted between 1983 and 1989.
The Tinta Barocca came from low-yield bush vineyards in both Malmesbury and Wellington, established between 1974 and 1990.
In all instances, the grapes came in when fruits and tannins were ripe but still sufficiently crisp and with concentrated flavours intact, as a result of stringent canopy management and supplementary irrigation to augment the lower than average rainfalls of the season.