Rich Christmas pudding with spice and a hint of dried flowers on the nose. The palate offers instant appeal in its warm, smooth, richly fruited entry. Lovely interplay of flavor and texture – dark chocolate, blueberries, a touch of liquorice and dried herbs set against an earthy depth and integrated frame of polished oak. There’s a gentle squeeze of tannin that adds complexity. It is silky and effortless but also powerful and will repay sympathetic cellaring. Intricate, long and rewarding.
The 2019 Cabernet Franc was made using only our vineyards in Franschhoek. They hand-pick each grape at its peak ripeness and carefully place them in small lug boxes. To maintain their quality, the grapes are transported to the cellar in refrigerated trucks. Once they arrive, the whole berries are carefully double-sorted, including a pass through an optical sorter, before being gently gravity-fed into wooden fermenters.
The winemaking process is handled with the same care as the grape selection.
They start with a cold soak for a few days to allow the flavors to deepen, then gradually bring the must up to temperature. Fermentation happens naturally without using any cultivated yeast. After fermentation, the wine remains on the skins for up to five days, allowing for extended maceration to extract additional depth and complexity.
The wine is then aged in 50% new 225 liter French oak barriques for 24 months, where it develops its character and structure. After this, it is bottled without filtration to preserve the vineyard’s essence. To ensure it reaches its full potential, the wine undergoes an additional three years of bottle aging before being released. Only 20 barriques were produced for the 2019 vintage.
Winemaker: Dawie Botha
The winemaking process is handled with the same care as the grape selection.
They start with a cold soak for a few days to allow the flavors to deepen, then gradually bring the must up to temperature. Fermentation happens naturally without using any cultivated yeast. After fermentation, the wine remains on the skins for up to five days, allowing for extended maceration to extract additional depth and complexity.
The wine is then aged in 50% new 225 liter French oak barriques for 24 months, where it develops its character and structure. After this, it is bottled without filtration to preserve the vineyard’s essence. To ensure it reaches its full potential, the wine undergoes an additional three years of bottle aging before being released. Only 20 barriques were produced for the 2019 vintage.
Winemaker: Dawie Botha
Anthonij Rupert Wines was founded on the farm L’Ormarins in Franschhoek. Originally owned by the late Anthonij Rupert, who passed away in 2001, the farm was taken over by his brother Johann Rupert in 2003. It was Johann Rupert who constructed a state-of-the-art winemaking facility on the estate, and the beginnings of what was to become a sprawling enterprise with a focus on terroir specific wines.
