Zevenwacht Z Collection Reserve 2015

Winemaker – Hagen Viljoen                                            

Main Variety – Cabernet Sauvignon                            

Alcohol – 14.5 %vol                                                           

pH – 3.69                                                                               

RS – 3.4 g/l

Total Acid – 5.3 g/l

Appellation – Stellenbosch

Type – Red

Style – Dry

Body – Full

Taste – Fruity

Tasting Notes

Intense blackberry and cassis fruit with hints of liquorice, cinnamon and allspice. The wine opens up to wet tobacco and pencil shavings that follows through to a dense palate with chocolate, plum and black cherry. The wine has a firm tannin that will allow the wine to develop well over the next decade.

Ageing Potential

This wine has excellent aging potential and will develop beautifully between 8 – 10 years.

Blend Information

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 2% Merlot

Food Suggestions

Excellent with a fillet mignon with a rich balsamic glaze served with baby potatoes coated in a parsley butter. Simply outstanding with rib-eye beef served on the rare side with stilton infused meaty gravy.   Perhaps you have some more winning combinations?

In The Vineyard

2015 was a fantastic vintage in Stellenbosch with optimal ripening conditions and healthy vines resulting in powerful wines with great fruit expression. The heart of this blend comes from a Cabernet Sauvignon clone 46 vineyard, situated on a south westerly facing slope 150 – 200m above sea level, playing a big role in the aromatic potential, the tannic weight and absolute fruit density on the palate. The Merlot is from an older vineyard, next to the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Franc from a higher vineyard – 300m above sea level. All three blocks are on decomposed granite soils and express pure fruit and elegant tannins. The Petit Verdot and Malbec come from our new plantings at Zevenrivieren in the Banhoek Valley and are on heavier clay soils. The different sights each offer an element to the wine that adds complexity and definition to the wine.

In The Cellar

The components were vinified separately in open top fermenters with a combination over pumpers and punch downs to ensure optimal extraction. Malolactic fermentation was done in barrel and racked once after completion. The components for this blend were aged separately in 40% new, 40% 2^nd and 20% 3^rd  fill 300L French Oak barrels for 18 months.