THE FLEDGE & CO RED BLEND 2017
| Grape: | Touriga Nacional (50%), Touriga Franca (30%) and Tinta Barocca (20%) |
| Winery: | The Fledge & Co |
| Origin: | Western Cape, South Africa |
| ABV%: | 14.8% |
| Colour: | Ruby red |
| Aromas: | Red & black hedgerow fruits and leather |
| Flavours: | Blackberry, raspberry, plum and cherries. Leather, cocoa and hints of spices. |
Winemaker's Comments:
Philosophy – “Fortitudine vincimus” – By endurance we conquer. This motto epitomizes our aim to craft a fine, cellar worthy Portuguese varietal blend from rare Cape vines & to only release said wine in truly exceptional vintages. We are fully committed to exploring the untapped potential of Portuguese varieties in the Cape.
Vineyard – The only plot of old bush vine Touriga Franca rooted in decomposed granitic soils, combines with gnarled Touriga Nacional in granitic soils and trellised vine plots in schists of the Swartland. Old dry land farmed bush vine Tinta Barocca in granitic soils team up with a trellised climat rooted in ironstone rich soils. An extraordinarily difficult ‘16 was followed by a near great growing season and harvest conditions in ‘17 – with some calling this a “vintage of the century”. The long ripening season allowed all varieties to reach optimum phenolic & physiological ripeness, while retaining acidity and fruit integrity resulting in buxom, age-worthy wines for cellaring.
Vinification – Each plot of these rare Portuguese varieties was harvested at dawn by hand & vinified separately. Each plot was crushed into small temperature controlled lagars (open-top cement fermenters), allowed a half day of cold soaking prior to the addition of yeast & thereafter gentle manual pigeage was done three to four times daily during the week-long ferment, gently pressed and allowed to finish ferment in barrel where after malo-lactic was completed and then the wine was matured in a combination of old & new French oak casks for 26 months prior to blending into tank for 7 months to settle. The wine is then bottled unfined, unfiltered. Only yeast & small amounts of sulphur are utilized.
Wine – A melange of red & black hedgerow fruits, meaty undertones, exotic spice, fynbos, cocoa nibs, powdery yet firm tannins, a savoury twist & lilt of acidity add freshness to the buxom wine.
Enjoy this fine rare red with comforting rustic farm fare, venison dishes, hearty vegetarian cuisine, as well as firm fromage & charcuterie are perfect partners. Otherwise simply enjoy around a braai watching the sunset. Best decanted & served ever so slightly chilled. Cellaring is advised.