Aristea Cabernet Sauvignon Stellenbosch, 2017

It’s the third year of production of Aristea, and the wines continue to get better each year. I raved about the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2017 is another “Coup de Coeur”. Deep ruby in colour, it has herbal aromas with green beans and mint over a dark fruit background. More blackcurrant and plum fruits emerge on the palate with vanilla cream and a fine silky texture. This is an elegant wine with structure which is medium to full bodied. The fine tannins are complemented with a balanced acidity and a long bitter chocolate and savoury finish. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were picked in the cool hours and chilled to 5°C overnight. Grapes were de-stemmed and crushed into open top tanks and left to macerate for 12 hours before inducing fermentation. Regular punching down of the grape skins five to six times per day was carried out while fermenting at 25°C. The wine was transferred to barrel for malolactic fermentation and aged a further 18 months in medium toasted French oak barrels. Only 2,470 bottles of the 2017 were produced in total. Grapes were sourced from three growers all within Stellenbosch’s so called “golden triangle” with low yields of between 4-6 tons/hectare.