Zorgvliet Cabernet Franc

This is a small 200,000-bottle winery in Banghoek, on the Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. It’s pronounced ‘Sorg-fleet’, which roughly translates to 'no worries', and that sentiment carries itself through all they do.

Winemaker Bernard Le Roux is a young and upcoming talent who is passionate about the estate’s vineyards as well as its cellar (not always a given for winemakers!). Grapes are grown on the steep slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in vineyards that are among the highest in Stellenbosch. The estate wines are from site-specific single vineyards and are elegant expressions of this unique mountain terroir, all crafted in the Zorgvliet cellar, one of the most technologically advanced cellars in South Africa.

Cabernet Franc,

The vineyards are in the Banghoek Valley, Stellenbosch at an elevation of 300-350m above sea level and is mostly southerly facing. The soils are made up of leached, decomposed granite and sandstone. Gravel in the upper layers provides for good drainage in wet seasons and clay in the subsoil provides for moisture retention in dry ones. Vineyards are trained on a 7-wire hedge and cane pruned by hand. Average yield is 5-8tons/ha.

Grapes were harvested by hand from two vineyard sites and the berries are sorted into stainless steel fermenters. Fermentation takes place spontaneously. A combination of punch-down, rack-and-return and pump-over methods are used. Batches were gently pressed and immediately racked to small French oak barrels where they complete malolactic fermentation. The components are racked three times to enhance clarification and development. The wine is bottled after a total of 22 months. Barrel composition: 13% new - 225L French oak This wine should improve with aging over a period of 10 years or longer if it is stored under optimum conditions.

There are very few wards in South Africa that can ripen Cabernet Franc properly like they do in the Banghoek Valley. Overripe and it becomes jammy – under ripe and it becomes weedy. Zorgvliet use a Single Vineyard to create this delicate and harmonious wine.

The nose explodes with scents of tobacco leaf, ferns, raspberries, blackcurrant leaves and spearmint. On the palate the tannins are firm and dry and the fruit weight elegant and delicate. The wine has good length and richness right through to the finish.

Herb-crusted rack of lamb, mushroom risotto, hearty stew or aged cheddar.