2018 Vilafonté, Series M, Paarl, South Africa

Vilafonte

Vilafonté is a joint American and South African wine-making venture based in the Paarl-Simonsberg region in South Africa.

This innovative red winemaking project is a partnership between wine specialists from South Africa and the United States. Mike Ratcliffe (Managing Director, and also MD of Warwick Wine Estates), Zelma Long (one of America’s best known winemakers) and viticulturalist Dr. Phil Freese (who designed and planted the first Opus One vineyards in Napa Valley) are just three of the nine names involved in the project, all of whom believe in, “an unwavering commitment to excellence.”                

The name, Vilafonté, derives from the primary soil type of the 100-acre estate, whose character forms the foundation of the wines.  The estate covers 42 hectares with 12 hectares planted in 1998 and 1999 with Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.
Head Winemaker, Zelma Long, was one of the first women to study oenology and viticulture at U.C. Davis. She began her winemaking career at Robert Mondavi Winery and after 10 years moved to Simi Winery in Sonoma County.

On October 27th 2014, the 2011 Vilafonté Series ‘C’ was announced as a five-star wine in Platter’s South African Wine Guide. This is the highest accolade in the South African wine industry and we are not aware of another Bordeaux blend previously having received this honour.

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 Estate, Keermont Vineyards Oldenburg Vineyards, Raats Family and Anwilka

Malbec

Known as Auxerrois in Cahors, Cot in the Loire and Malbeck in Argentina, this grape has undergone a mini renaissance in the last decade, largely fuelled by its success in South America. It used to be a staple component of the Bordeaux Blend, but it never recovered fully from the 1956 frosts and its plantings there have fallen by 75% as growers have replaced it with more fashionable, and crucially, more durable grapes.

It is still grown successfully in South West France where its most famous wine is Cahors. This wine used to be black as coal and tough as leather but improvements in viticultural and vinification techniques have led to riper, softer, more approachable wines that are now amongst the best of the region.

In Argentina it is widely grown and produces deep coloured wines with generous black fruit characteristics, balanced acidity and smooth tannins. It is either bottled on its own or as part of a Bordeaux blend. In Chile  it is the 3rd most widely planted grape after Pais and Cabernet Sauvignon and tends to produce firmer, more tannic wines than its Argentinian neighbours. In Chile it is often blended with Merlot and Petit Verdot.