Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon Franschhoek 2023

Boekenhoutskloof draws this single-variety Cabernet Sauvignon from four adjacent plots in the south-western part of the Franschhoek Valley, an established South African appellation. The soils are predominantly sandy loam over a granite bedrock, a free-draining base that suits Cabernet and gives the wine its firm, mineral spine. The fruit is harvested by hand with a selective sorting in the vineyard, and the clusters are gently vinified to keep the wine subtle rather than extracted, drawing structure from ripe phenolics rather than hard tannin. At fourteen point eight percent this is a ripe, full-bodied red, the warmth of the site showing in the depth of fruit. Eighteen months in French oak frames the wine, the barrel adding vanilla, cocoa and fine toast while the slow ingress of oxygen rounds and integrates the tannins over the long ageing. The colour is deep, near-opaque ruby. The nose leads with ripe plum and blackcurrant, with cocoa, a minty lift and cedary oak, and the palate is full and structured, with firm, polished tannins and a long, savoury finish. Serve at seventeen to eighteen degrees, decanting an hour ahead. Good with grilled beef, roast lamb and hard cheese.