Keermont Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
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Tasting
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Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Dark ruby red in color, this is quite a serious vintage with a complex bouquet of ripe red berry fruit, cedar wood, and typical 'fynbos' flowers. The palate is full bodied, but gentle. Tannin structure is full and dense and coats the palate while the natural acidity keeps the ripe fruit in check. Savoury notes of tomato paste and cloves add character to the bright red strawberry and cassis flavors which linger into a long, tight finish. Drink 2020–2035.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Grown in the Cottage Lane Vineyard on the crest of a ridge over 1,000 feet above sea level, where small vines produce low yields, this is the best Cabernet Sauvignon we have tasted from South Africa (blended with 7% Malbec and 6% Cab Franc). Concentrated, with tight-fisted tannins, the palate artfully expresses flavors of espresso, dried violets, and blackberry; it’s meaty, with a lush middle and end
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Wine Spectator
A pure note of black currant is accented by delicate hints of bay leaf, dark chocolate, rosehip and iron in this fresh, medium- to full-bodied red. This leans towards Old World in style, with taut tannins providing good tension and definition, firming the well-spiced finish. Drink now.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon has rock-solid aromatics of ripe darker currants and black cherries as well as smoky, earthy, and tobacco-like nuances. These carry to a medium-bodied Cabernet with a layered, focused mouthfeel, good balance, and ripe tannins. It's not massive by any means, but I love its overall classy, elegant, yet still nicely concentrated style. It should have a decade of longevity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with 7% Malbec and 6% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon opens to a juicy and plummy nose that sways with elements of mocha, oak and hints of herbal essences. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is focused, dusty and rich with the character of roasted red bell pepper, chocolate ganache and hints of fern and sage. The Cabernet concludes with a delightfully lingering finish that continues to evolve in the mouth over a minute. It’s food-friendly and charming.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of chocolate and peppercorn mix on the attractive nose. This is a well-structured, full-bodied red with evident oak influence almost masking the fruit. It has finegrained tannins supporting earthy flavors of plum, fig and cherry. Coffee notes show in the aftertaste.
Other Vintages
2015-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
A tight unit of nine people run Keermont Vineyards. All work, from tending the vines to packaging the bottles for final release, is carried out by this small team to ensure that the same attention to detail is followed throughout the wines' production.
Mark Wraith lives on the farm with his wife, Monica and their four children. Mark plays an active role on the farm ranging from strategic long-term planning, right down to tending to the vines.
Alex Starey is in charge of the vineyards and of making the estate's wines. Employed at the start of the redevelopment of the farm in 2005, he enjoys the responsibility of making sure that the vineyards deliver the highest-quality fruit to create the best possible wines. Alex studied Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch University and graduated in 2002. He has travelled and worked in wine regions including Maipo Valley, Chile; Penedes and Priorat, Spain; St-Emillion and Cote Rotie, France.
Linda Hartley is relatively new to the farm, her main area of expertise is bookkeeping and administration; but she has quickly become involved in the marketing and sales functions as well.
Juanita Schultz has joined us as Sales Administrator and is in charge of all our local and international sales and logistics.
Dominic Jonsson does a bit of everything from strategic planning and staff management right through to routine maintenance. He knows the farm better than anyone having moved to the farm when the Wraiths bought in 2003.
Over the past couple of years Mark, Alex, and Dom have devoted a great deal of time, not only to the development of the new vineyards, but also designing the labels and packaging of the Keermont Brand, designing and constructing the winery, and developing the individual wines.
Keermont has a small, but dedicated, team of staff members: Shane de Vries is in charge of most of the hands-on work in the winery from crushing of grapes right through to final quality control of packaged wine. William Charles is the main tractor driver, but also takes charge of other important projects. Willem Hendricks is in charge of the vineyard team. Willem and Julia Mondoyi takes care of the hands-on viticulture. Ernest Talapile keeps the winery and its surrounds spick and span. When push comes to shove, we all club in to get the big jobs done.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.