2017 Anwilka, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2017 Anwilka, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Product: 20178015024
Prices start from £220.00 per case Buying options
2017 Anwilka, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £220.00
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

The annual Anwilka release has become a familiar highlight to Berry Bros. & Rudd customers who look forward to this stalwart’s consistency, affability and value – we place Anwilka as one of the wine world’s great bargains!

Pretty much equal parts of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, with Petit Verdot filling out the blend and adding some of it’s hallmark violet and sage, to compliment the abundance of black and blue fruit. There has been a softening of style here over the years. Gone are the very heavily oaked wines of the past, with the creamy vanillin of the 19 months in foudre adding a seasoning element, rather than dominating. There is an awful lot to like here. Capable of ageing for 8+ years, this will also be delicious straight up.

Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager (April 2020)

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous92/100

The 2017 Anwilka was aged for 19 months in 50% new oak (400-liter barrels) and the rest in second-fill. It has a pure, seductive bouquet of boysenberry and cassis fruit, the vanilla-y oak seamlessly integrated and not imposing itself like older vintages of Anwilka. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, and slightly granular in texture, presenting layered black fruit laced with tobacco, allspice and touches of cassis. Very seductive on the finish. This is an almost Napa-like Anwilka that requires 3–4 years in barrel.

Drink from 2024 - 2040

Neal Martin, Vinous (April 2021)

Read more

About this WINE

Anwilka

Anwilka

Anwilka Vineyard started as a joint venture between Bordeaux’s Bruno Prats, former owner of Ch. Cos d'Estournel, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, co-proprietor of Ch. Angélus in Bordeaux, and Lowell Jooste of South Africa’s Klein Constantia Estate.

Located in the prime red wine region of Helderberg in Stellenbosch, the vineyard was purchased in 1997, and production of Anwilka wines commenced in 2005.

In May 2012, Anwilka Vineyards merged with Klein Constantia Estate, having been purchased the previous year by Zdenek Bakala and Charles Harman. The vineyards are run by manager Piet Neethling and the wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz with the addition of Merlot in some vintages, is made by the very personable South African oenologist Jean du Plessis under the guidance of Prats and de Boüard.

The philosophy of the owners is simply to spare no cost when it comes to wine quality. Resources are not squandered on lavish gateways and buildings, and the winery feels more like a modern farm outbuilding. The wine is exceptional, with the influence of its Bordeaux mentors clear for all to see.

Find out more
Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch is South Africa’s best-known wine region, producing a wide variety of wines from leading estates, even though it accounts for less than 20 per cent of the country’s total production. Designated wards within the wine region are Jonkershoek Valley, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, Bottelary, Devon Valley and Papegaaiberg.

At 17,500 hectares, Stellenbosch remains the Cape's most famous and important fine wine district, thanks to its proximity to Cape Town, to the cooling influences of False Bay, its mountainous (ie Helderberg, Simonsberg), granitic topography and its centres of learning such as Elsenburg Agricultural College. 

It's notable for the refinement of its Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, especially from the likes of Glenelly EstateKeermont Vineyards Oldenburg Vineyards, Raats Family and Anwilka

Find out more
Cabernet Sauvignon blend

Cabernet Sauvignon blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

Find out more

When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.