Cleefs Classic Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

• 75cl bottle

This a very typical Cabernet Sauvignon that shows dark fruit on the nose that follows on to a textured palate with some red fruit and soft and supple tannin profile that gives way to a long finish. This wine can be enjoyed now or can be aged for at least 10 years.

Vineyards

The grapes for this wine were sourced from selected parcels of fruit from across the Western Cape.

Vintage

Much like the 2016 vintage, 2017 was characterised by a dry winter and a dry growing season. Kleine Zalze had however planned for this and managed their vineyards carefully to ensure that they didn't experience any extreme water stress. They experienced a fairly persistent wind during the latter flowering period and the yields were lower than normal. The harvest started very early on the 11th of January and was expected to be a challenging vintage (similar to 2016). In spite of this, very moderate midsummer temperatures and cooler than normal night temperatures provided excellent ripening conditions.

Winemaking

All grapes were harvested early in the morning. Half of the wine was fermented in traditional open fermenters and the other half in stainless steel tanks. We used a combination of punch downs and pump overs and introduced a lot of oxygen into the fermenting wine. Tannins were extracted at the beginning of fermentation and finished with gentle and short pump overs not to over extract the wine. Gravity was used to separate the wine from the skins after fermentation and went through malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine was aged in 300l French oak barrels for 12 months.

Enjoy with:

• Grilled and Roasted Red Meats
• Pizza/Pasta
• Casseroles/Stews

Perfect with stews