2014 Waterford Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Waterford Estate

Waterford Estate was established in 1998 with the intention of producing the very best wines in the country. The 120-hectare wine farm, nestled between the Simonsberg and Heldeberg mountain ranges, is a joint venture between Jeremy Ord and Kevin Arnold. Johannesburg-based Jeremy Ord made a fortune in information technology while Kevin Arnold established a reputation as one of South Africa's leading winemakers during his tenure at Rust en Vrede.

Kevin is now joined by the young and dynamic Mark le Roux (pictured). Mark started at Waterford working as an intern in the vineyards. Now as head winemaker, his involvement with the grapes and understanding of the specific plots on the farm is evident in the fresh, clean wines he is producing. The ripe and wonderfully balanced Chardonnay is much sought-after in South Africa and the Cabernet Sauvignon balances structure and ripeness.

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

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.