Durbanville Hills Tangram Red Blend 2022

Colour: Ruby red
Aroma: A well-integrated bouquet of dark chocolate, cedar, pencil shavings, cigar box, with fleshy red plums.
Taste: A rich, full-bodied wine with a ripe, well-integrated tannin structure, accompanied by plums and dark fruit, and notes on the bouquet following through on the palate with a lingering aftertaste.

Serve with slow braised oxtail, leg of lamb with rosemary and beef short rib.

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variety : Merlot [ 37% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 9% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit, Verdot. ]

winery : Durbanville Hills Wine

winemaker : Wilhelm Coetzee and Kobus Gerber

wine of origin : Durbanville

analysis : alc : 14.36 % vol rs : 2.25 g/l pH : 3.68 ta : 5.87 g/l

type : Red style : 0 body : Full taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

ageing : For optimum enjoyment, decant at least one hour before consumption and serve at 15 and 18 °C. If stored in optimal conditions, the wine will last beyond a decade.

A tangram is a Chinese geometrical seven-piece puzzle which can be arranged to make various forms and pictures to tell a story. To master the Tangram, one has to look at the whole puzzle to understand and form the myriad of images to be shaped. Ultimately, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. At Durbanville Hills, we believe that wine is an ever-expanding discovery to be shared. And as with a Tangram, our latest release red blend too has its own story to tell. The various elements unique to our cellar, landscape and winemakers, have all woven together to craft this exclusive Bordeaux-style blend.

in the vineyard : The winter preceding the 2022 vintage had higher than average rainfall specifically in May and July. Cooler temperatures delayed budburst and higher rainfall in November, with high humidity from October, increased the fungal pressure and disease management in the vineyards. Although the harvest period was dry, the previous months rainfall allowed for adequate groundwater resources for the following vintage. Bud burst was slow and more even than in previous years due to the cold, prolonged winter and late rain. A hot and dry harvesting season aided in an intense concentration of dark berry characteristics.

about the harvest: The Merlot was selected from a block planted in 1999 on the opposing foothill facing the Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Sauvignon was selected from a block planted in 1998 on a fairly low and warm southerly slope which opens up towards the ocean, allowing the cooler evening air to drench the vineyards after the heat of the day. Planted on a north-western slope near the valley floor where the downward flowing air creates a unique climatic condition. The vineyard blocks identified for the Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot components all came from vineyards planted in 1999 in the same radius on the warmer northern slopes of the valley. To ensure gentle handling of the grapes during harvest, the winemaker’s hand-selected the dedicated team that picked the grapes. The grapes were meticulously sorted by an automated sorting table that does berry-by-berry selection to ensure only the best grapes were selected from each cultivar.

in the cellar : Due to the small volumes of the various cultivars, the components were pumped directly into small 1000 litre open top fermentation vessels where manual punch-downs took place every 2 to 3 hours. Pressing was done in a small basket press with minimal pressure to avoid over-extraction of harsh tannins. Thereafter, the wine was transferred into 300L first-fill French oak barrels for a maturation period of 24 months in our cool, subterranean barrel store.

The winemakers selected new French oak with a tight grain to allow for slow extraction of flavours from the wood. Each varietal was matured separately for two years after which only the best barrels of each were identified for the final blend. The winemakers spent three days creating numerous blends, each time making the only slightest change in the final composition. Their aim was to find that precise moment when the greatness of each individual component would harmoniously blend together. The wine was left to mature for a further year in the bottle.

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