Luddite 'The Saboteur' Red Blend

The Verburg and Meyer families set up Luddite Wines in 2000 on a slope of the Houw Hoek mountain outside the village of Bot River. The farm is 17 hectares of which 7 are under vine and 1 hectare is planted with olives. We farm as naturally as possible and the vines are not irrigated, good wine is made in the vineyard.

With the Saboteur Red, the style is unashamedly new world where we are going for crunchy, juicy fruit balanced by vibrant tannins. This contrasts nicely with the Luddite Shiraz which is more classic in style. The red blend will always be Shiraz driven with a Rhone slant. What makes it different is that our Cabernet Sauvignon is too damn good to leave out! It only spends one year in barrel with sexy wooding and is released soon after bottling.

The buzz word for us is balance and therefore the blend percentages will change depending on the vintage. It will always contain Shiraz, Mourvedre and, hopefully in the future, some Grenache Noir. The fruit is sourced from Bot River and neighbouring wine regions making a wine of origin Cape South Coast.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Mourvedre

Grapes were sourced from 7 Vineyards sites;

Walker Bay, Ou Meul Shiraz harvested on 9th February 2016

Walker Bay, Ou Meul Cabernet Sauvignon harvested on 15th February 2016 Bot River, Stuart Vineyards Shiraz harvested on 19th February 2016

Bot River, Luddite young block Cabernet Sauvignon harvested on 23rd February 2016 Bot River, Luddite young block Mourvedre harvested on 23rd February 2016

Bot River, Gabrielskloof Cabernet Sauvignon harvested on 3rd March 2016 Bot River, Gabrielskloof clone 9C Shiraz harvested 9th March 2016

The Cab Sauvignon and Mourvedre were fermented in small batches in open bins with regular hand punch downs. The Shiraz was fermented in Stainless steel with regular pump overs.

Dark, garnet and full colour to the edge. Black and red fruit, fynbos, garrigue scrubland, all spice and a hint of toasty wood. Overall quite perfumed Dark juicy fruit on entry. Broad, spicy cherries and red fruit which gives a feeling of freshness on the mid palate. Finish is dry and firm with balanced tannins.