Spier Frans K Smit Red Blend 2017

This vintage will go down as one of our most remarkable on record. and without question one of the best years ever, for Helderberg Cabernet Sauvignon. So we upped its dominance in the blend to a hefty 61%, then in the final blend added Cabernet Franc from a younger vintage to stir in freshness and an element of surprise. The balance between sugar and natural acidity is quite something. A big, impressionable mouthfeel and a long, gripping finish

All varietals in the blend are of Helderberg origin, grown in pockets close to one another but at different altitudes and aspects. The Helderberg’s ‘golden triangle’, within whistling distance from the cool Atlantic ocean, has soils known for yielding Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot of unmatched ageing potential. This consistency of terroir shows up in the taste profile. The first vineyard is about 160m above sea level and it goes all the way up to about 280m above sea level, in the case of the Cabernet Franc. Then we went even higher, up to about 290m, to dip into a small, very special pocket of Malbec

‘Of course, all picking, sorting and destemming is done by hand and eye. But with this wine, we doubled down on detail, doing the first sorting the old school way and then using machine sorting to check our homework. We set the machine to select berries that are perfectly ripe - no raisins, no stems, no greenness. Only the best of the bunch made it into the fermentation. Several fermentation vessels were used so one could serve to top up another, allowing us to ramp up the juice-to-skin ratio, before filling up the tank for post-fermentation maturation.’

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