Zevenwacht Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Technical Analysis              Characteristics

Winemaker – Hagen Viljoen                                   Type – Red

Main Variety – Cabernet Sauvignon                       Style – Dry

Alcohol – 14.5 %vol                                                      Body – Full

pH – 3.60                                                                     Taste – Fruity

RS – 3.2 g/l

Total Acid – 5.6 g/l

Appellation – Stellenbosch

 Tasting Notes

The wine is classic and powerful with intense aromas of black bramble berries and black currant with a hint of blue berries. Oak aromas are well integrated and add to the complexity of the wine with underlying graphite and cigar box notes. Dark blackberry and plum flavours dominate the palate, followed by hints of dark chocolate. A firm yet well integrated tannin structure and lingering finish.

Ageing Potential

Superb to drink now but excellent aging potential 5 – 15 years.

Blend Information

91% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7% Malbec; 2% Petit Verdot

Food Suggestions

Well paired with steak, slow braised beef short rib or a hearty oxtail stew.

In The Vineyard

2017 was an excellent vintage and the fruit coming from our 2 Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards were in pristine condition, with great fruit intensity and phenolic ripeness at harvesting. These west south-west facing decomposed granite slopes are at an altitude from 100–150m above sealevel. The cooling sea breezes from the nearby Atlantic Ocean, keeps the vines and their fruit cool during the warmer days of the ripening period. In turn, this allows for the maximum flavour, colour and tannin development. The vines are trellised on a seven-wire hedge system and receive only supplementary drip irrigation.

About The Harvest

The grapes were picked at 25.5 Brix.

In The Cellar

The must was fermented at a regulated 27oC with regular pump overs, and punch downs. During the active part of fermentation, we punched down every 4 hours. This is done to break up the cap of the fermenting wine and to submerge the skins for colour and skin tannin extraction. We left the wine on the skins for a total of 14 days. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel, after which it was racked and then returned to 30% new, 30% 2nd fill and 40% 3rd fill French oak barrels, for 18 months.