Wanderer's Heart Cape Red Blend, 2020

A bright ruby South African Cape red blend. Well-defined aromas of black cherry, blackberry and ruby grapefruit combine with spicy notes of cinnamon and cedar. Soft, chalky tannins and a vibrant acidity which carries the pure fruit flavours onto a delicious finish.

Meet the maker: Thorne & Daughters

Region: Wellington, Coastal Region – South Africa

Grape(s):  Grenache (41%), Mourvèdre (29%), Syrah (30%)

13.5% ABV / 750ml / Vegetarian / Vegan 

Viticulture: 

The ‘Wanderer’s Heart’ is made from a blend of grapes from carefully selected growers across the Western Cape.

The Grenache is sourced from dry farmed vineyards on the Paardeberg mountain in the Swartland which has a combination of clay and granite soils.

The Mourvèdre is the fruit of 12-year-old vines planted on clay/gravel soils in Bot River.

The Syrah also comes from Bot River from 12-year-old vines planted on shale.

The vineyards are all farmed sustainably and harvesting is done by hand.

Winemaking:

The winemaking is extremely simple. They put around 60% of the crop into the bottom of an open vat as whole bunches and then destem the rest on top of that.

During fermentation the cap is punched down a couple of times a day to keep it wet. 

Once they are happy with the structure in the wine, it is pressed off in an old basket press. The wines spend up to 30 days on skins to really round out their structure.

The wines go through malolactic fermentation and around nine months maturation in old oak barrels.

Sulphur dioxide levels are kept as low as possible during maturation and only small adjustments are made before bottling.