2015 Cape Point Vineyards, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Cape Peninsula, South Africa
Critics reviews
Neal Martin - 28/04/2017
About this WINE
Cape Point Vineyards
Cape Point Vineyards produces arguably the most complex and fascinating Sauvignon Blanc in the Western Cape and its wines are consistently awarded 4/5 stars by South African wine critic John Platter. The winery and vineyards are located on the narrow Cape Peninsula (spanning 11kms at its widest point), between the icy currents of the Atlantic seaboard and the warm waves of False Bay, all of which results in a unique maritime climate ideal for superior winemaking. The vineyards area situated at Noordhoek and jut out into the sea on a small promontory south-west of Constantia.
Duncan Savage has been with the property for 12 vintages and is justifiably regarded as one of the most innovative young talents in the country. Duncan’s ambition is to explore just how complex wines from Sauvignon can be, eschewing the idea of simply making a facsimile of the New Zealand style through tank fermentation. He seeks to make a more textured Sauvignon, creating layers of flavour and attempting to produce aromas of grapefruit, citrus and stone fruits rather than the ubiquitous gooseberry and elderflower notes. To do this he barrel-ferments up to 80 percent of the crop in old, 600-litre barrels, and adds a percentage of Semillon into the mix.
The results are exceptional, and no less an authority than Eben Sadie – arguably South Africa’s finest winemaker – has been quoted as saying that Cape Point is the country’s finest Sauvignon Blanc.
Sauvignon Blanc
An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves.
It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.
In New Zealand, Cloudy Bay in the 1980s began producing stunning Sauvignon Blanc wines with extraordinarily intense nettly, gooseberry, and asparagus fruit, that set Marlborough firmly on the world wine map. Today many producers are rivalling Cloudy Bay in terms of quality and Sauvignon Blanc is now New Zealand`s trademark grape.
It is now grown very successfully in Chile producing wines that are almost halfway between the Loire and New Zealand in terms of fruit character. After several false starts, many South African producers are now producing very good quality, rounded fruit-driven Sauvignon Blancs.
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Description
The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve comes from pink granite soils. It is blended with 10% Semillon matured in used oak barrels (retired Allier barrels) for 14 months. It has a crisp chalky bouquet, touches of lime flower and Granny Smith, maintaining fine precision and tension. The palate is fresh on the entry with a hint of freshly picked asparagus intermingling with kiwi fruit and gooseberry, spicy in the mouth with excellent vigor on the finish. This is a delicious Sauvignon Blanc, perfect for a summer's day (or a rainy one). It continues to be one of the most consistent Sauvignon Blancs from the Cape.
Neal Martin - 28/04/2017
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