Carménère 2021

TASTING NOTES

Dark dense colouring. The wine shows a fullness of ripe red figs, and ripe black currant berries fused with a herby sage aroma. The palate entrance is soft and flows to a fresh lime feel that cuts through a dense mid-palate. Dark chocolate flavours, ripe plums, and red figs flavours and are supported by the depth of the palate. A beautiful balance of ripe smooth tannins, and ripe berry fruit with well-integrated oak that lingers with a lime-fresh aspect.

WINEMAKING NOTES

The Carménère fruit was berry sorted to ensure all the fruit are in perfect condition before the fermentation was initiated. As we had limited fruit and therefore limited blending options, spontaneous fermentation was decided on to add to the palate feel of the final wine. The fruit was fermented in open barrels of which 50% were new barrels. The fermented juice was drawn off twice a day and then slowly percolated over the skins to minimize the extraction of greener herby aromas and flavours. This action also adds oxygen to stabilize colour and help soften the tannin structure. The wine was matured in 50% new French oak and 50% older oak for 15 months before bottling.

VINEYARD NOTES

The Carménère 2020 fruit is grown in the Wellington wine region from a single vineyard block consisting of 8 rows. Making the production year-on-year very limited in volume. Carménère as a variety can easily show herbal characters, for this reason, we opted to really open the canopy to allow sunlight into the fruit zone. The right amount of sunlight onto the bunches supports the development of berry fruit aromas while diminishing unwanted ones. All 8 rows were hand-picked at optimal ripeness levels and transported in 20 kg boxes to ensure the fruit reaches the cellar in an optimum condition.

FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION

The fullness and dense expression on the nose and palate of the Carménère make this wine an ideal partner to a beautifully dry-aged steak or butter squash steaks.

AGEING POTENTIAL

The Carménère has all the attributes required for long-term ageing. Colour, soft and ripe tannin structure, depth of fruit and just enough acidity to carry all the components comfortably through time.

Carménère was the sixth varietal allowed under the appellation rules of Bordeaux. It was widely planted in the Medoc region in the 19th century and regarded as a mainstay of claret. In South Africa, there are only 3 red wines produced and bottled as Carménère. The vineyard block allocated to Carmen Stevens Wines, consists of merely 8 rows. We thus produce limited bottled quantities.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Alc: 14.0%
pH: 3.6 
TA: 5.5 g/l
RS: 2.7 g/l