Boekenhoutskloof Estate Franschoek Cabernet Sauvignon 2021  £43.76

Boekenhoutskloof Estate Franschoek Cabernet Sauvignon

Boekenhout is an indigenous Cape Beech tree greatly prized for making fine furniture. Our Boekenhoutskloof label features seven chairs; amongst them the country-style split splat chair made in the neo-classical style with a shouldered top rail and thonged seat from the late 18th century. Then there's the Sandveld chair which has two back rails and a thonged seat which made its appearance in the second quarter of the 19th century. The transitional Tulbagh chair was made in the late 18th century, it has a plain back and a shaped top rail with a half-round opening. The chairs on our wine label all pay tribute to the skills of 18th-century craftsmen and their achievements in creating beauty from natural sources, just like the pursuit of fine wine-making.

The Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from four individual parcels adjacent to one another on a south-westerly aspect of the Franschhoek valley, where the soil is predominantly sandy loam over granitic bedrock.  Traditional picking dates were adhered to and the Cabernets came in showing healthy fruit and a very high skin-to-pulp ratio, resulting in wines with exceptional tannins and classic phenolic structures, yet still offering wonderful natural acidity.  A very small percentage of Cabernet Franc from an old vineyard on the farm was again blended in, contributing subtle fragrance and finesse to the dark fruit spectrum.

The intention was to create a textbook claret and to respect the signature Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet style.  Classic dark berry fruit profile and a full, rich character and deep flavours offered by the vintage were captured.   Gentle vinification was selected to avoid huge, monstrous wines. Grapes were picked by hand into small lug boxes, bunch sorted with berry selection and gently destalked. The grapes underwent a cold maceration in traditional concrete vessels and then fermented at temperatures between 27° and 30°C with frequent pump-overs to extract aromas, colour and tannins. After alcoholic fermentation, a prolonged malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in 225-litre barriques. The wine was matured in French oak from our preferred coopers, Sylvain and Saury.

The nose is gentle and intriguing, yet utterly complex, with its classic black fruit character, graphite, and an attractive herbaceous streak, while showing complex exotic spices at the same time. The palate is vibrant, with beautiful blue fruits following through. Flavours of black currant, red liquorice, fresh figs and nuances of clay dust and leather bring complexity to a very precise, seamless wine with good tension. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with a fresh acidity and lithe, cocoa powdery tannins. Pencil lead and tight spicy French oak notes linger on a poised finish.