2017 Restless River, Main Road and Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon, Hemel en Aarde, South Africa
Critics reviews
Drink 2021 - 2028
Neal Martin, vinous.com (Feb 2021)
About this WINE
Restless River Wines
Craig Wessels, owner and winemaker of Restless River, descends from the first settled European to live in and farm the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, and therefore intrinsically connects with the land. This cool climate region is only 5km away from the South Atlantic Ocean, reaching an altitude of more than 300 metres.
He runs the winery together with his wife, Anne, and since their first launch in 2012, Restless River has stunned all with wines that have reached internationally acclaim and are found on prestigious restaurant wine lists around the world.
Harvest for the 2019 Main Road and Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon lasted almost a month approximating from the end of March – early April. Every single grape is awarded care and attention, and in the winery, parcels are vinified separately. It spent 23 months maturing in barrel and is awarded the same time ageing in bottle before release.
Walker Bay
Walker Bay is a coastal wine district, located to the south-east of Capetown, near the town of Hermanus (of whale-watching fame).
Walker Bay has built its reputation on Pinot Noir, and best exemplified by the wines from the Bouchard-Finlayson & Hamilton-Russell estates.
Walker Bay has a cool, maritime climate. However vineyard virus and small scale production have prevented thsi wine region from competing effectively against the Pinot Noirs from New Zealand.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.
The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.
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Description
The 2017 Main Road & Dignity comes from 1.59 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted in 1999 on granite soils. The enticing bouquet features blackberry, raspberry and light menthol scents; a touch of garrigue (wild fennel and thyme) emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a cool, slightly herbaceous entry (mint and wild thyme again), beautiful balance and gentle grip. There is a savory, briny element to this Cabernet, and fine length on the finish. Excellent. 7,973 bottles produced.
Drink 2021 - 2028
Neal Martin, vinous.com (Feb 2021)
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