Gabrielskloof Cabernet Franc The Landscape Serie
Gabriëlskloof is a beautiful wine estate located near Bot River in the Overberg region east of Cape Town. It was purchased in 2001 by Bernhard Heyns, who had been on the lookout for the ideal place to plant vines. After planting, his first vintage was in 2009. We felt compelled to add Gabriëlskloof to our list because Peter-Allan Finlayson, Bernhard’s son-in-law, took over as winemaker from the 2015 vintage. The farm has 300 hectares, with 68 hectares planted to vines. The vineyards are farmed sustainably with the aim to move to organic farming in the future.
The fruit for this single-vineyard Cabernet Franc is sourced from a mountainside site on the Gabriëlskloof estate. Prevailing southerly winds from the nearby Atlantic Ocean create a cool mesoclimate, which promotes complex aromatics and fresh acidity. The vines are planted on a combination of Bokkeveld Shale and Table Mountain Sandstone, which limit vigour and result in intensely concentrated fruit.
2020 was still affected by the preceding drought years, which resulted in reduced yields. However, some winter rainfall began to replenish water reserves in the soil. The grapes underwent a perfectly paced, slow and steady ripening. Dry summer conditions resulted in small berries with good levels of concentration. Harvest was earlier than previous years, with cool conditions around harvest retaining elegant fruit and vibrant acidity,
The fruit was hand picked into crates and transferred directly to the winery where the fruit remained in a cold room overnight. The following day the fruit was entirely destemmed. The wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts, with daily pump-overs until fermentation came to a stop. The pressing occurred two weeks later. The wine went into barrels with 30% being new oak, and the wine spent 14 months in barrel prior to bottling.
The nose is plush with cassis and red plum along with aromas of coffee, a subtle pea shoot herbaceousness and slight smokiness. Fine and finessed tannins deliver a rounded mouthfeel with a fruit forward intensity.
7000+ Reviews!
