False Bay Vineyards Peacock Wild Ferment Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (3 x 750ml)

PEACOCK WILD FERMENT CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2020

Helderberg and Schapenberg vineyards:
The finest coastal sites of W.O. Stellenbosch
Sustainably Farmed
Hand Picked
Naturally Crafted
Wild Ferment in Open-Top Wooden Casks
Vegan Wine

IT’S REALLY ALL ABOUT THE VINEYARDS

Cabernet Sauvignon has always been seen as a big, bold and very tannic wine...the king of the reds. It is traditionally marketed as a wine to keep for at least three years before even thinking of opening a bottle. But at Waterkloof we believe it does not necessarily have to be big and gutsy to make an impression. We look for vineyard sites that are able to produce wines with notable elegance and freshness, allied with a fine texture.

The grapes for our Peacock Wild Ferment Cabernet Sauvignon are sourced from the cooler slopes of the Helderberg ward on the coastal outreaches of Stellenbosch. Deep red soils provide moisture and nutrients, which give this Cabernet its supple, dark berry character. This cooler area also allows a longer ripening period, which imparts balanced flavours and elegant tannins to this red varietal.

A GENTLE HAND

We follow a ‘less is more’, minimal intervention winemaking philosophy for all our wines. The grapes are tasted at regular intervals to determine the optimal ripeness level. Harvesting takes place by hand after which the grapes are destemmed. The juice is then fermented naturally with “wild yeasts”, which allows for the flavours in the vineyard to be expressed in the bottle. The skins and juice are mixed through by a combination of either two punch-downs or two pump-overs per day (taste dependent). The Peacock Wild Ferment Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 was aged in older 225L barrels for 9 months, after which it underwent a light filtration and a small dosage of sulphur was added before it was finally bottled. As with all our wines, no other additions such as tartaric acid or enzymes were allowed.

AND A FEW PRAYERS TO MOTHER NATURE: THE 2017/2018 GROWING SEASON

The Cape experienced a very dry growing season from the end of the 2017 harvest and also during the beginning of 2018. The 2017 winter was not exceptionally cold but still colder than the previous three years, which helped to ensure an even budburst. The rainfall was the lowest that we have experienced in the last 10 years on the farm.

Budburst started earlier than usual seeing that the winter was not very cold. We could see some of the first buds appear early in September. From there on the vines were struggling to grow due to the dry condition and veraison only took place in early January. The best practice during dry conditions is to always have a completely weed-free vineyard to prevent excessive water usage and to limit stress on the vine by suckering if needed- sometimes this also happens naturally.

In early January we did receive rain and also a bit in early February. We believe that this was the saving grace for our vines to help them ripen the fruit more evenly. During this time, we did not see excessive heat spikes and had lovely cool evenings which helped give the vines a longer growing season, thus allowing more complex flavours to develop in the grapes.

Harvest started about 10 days later than in 2017. We saw a decrease in berry size on some blocks. Fortunately, little to no rot was found on the grapes, which helped to have a stress-free sorting table. Overall, we are more than happy with the quality of the 2018 harvest.

TASTING NOTES FROM THE GLASS OF NADIA BARNARD

A wine that portrays typical varietal character along with a lot of elegance and accessibility. On the nose you can enjoy subtle red berries, a hint of chocolate and green spices. The palate has a lifted freshness and soft tannins which are well integrated- the fruit also carries through well to the aftertaste. It’s great enjoyed on its own, but also pairs well with a variety of dishes ranging from a simple tomato-based pasta dish to a juicy sirloin steak.

THE NUMBERS

Alc: 13.4 %

TA: 6.3g/l pH: 3.46

RS: 2.6 g/l