David Finlayson Cabernet

Winemaker Notes

Sourced from the famous GS vineyard as well as four other vineyards near Stellenbosch Mountain and one in Somerset West, closer to the ocean. Important to note these are (leaf roll) virus free vineyards that average 20 years of age and yield about 3 ton/ acre. All fruit was hand-picked. Sorting of bunches was done before destemming using a Pellenc selective and sorting table to ensure only the best berries go into 70-100 hl fermentation tanks. Cultured yeasts specially selected for Cabernet Sauvignon flavors were used for ferment. Post ferment maceration was done in closed tanks for 14 days. During this time pump overs are done twice a day (softer than punch downs). Bag pressing is used for the larger cuvee and a basket press for the smaller ferments. Directly after harvest, the wine was ready to be racked to (20% new, 60% 2nd fill, 205 3rd fill French) barrels, where it sat for about 14 months. Blending in small portions of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc component took place at 8 months. During this time it is only racked once, to polymerize the tannins. The assemblage was done with a view to creating a balance between new world fruitiness/ripeness and classic old world Cabernet character. Vegecol (vegan friendly) fining, was done , followed by Cross flow filtration pre-bottling under Diame cork to ensure quality.