Paul de Villiers V, a winner of the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year for his Port style wine called Cape Vintage, is the current incumbent. In earlier years, the Estate was known for its reds, but in more recent years, Paul and his team of Michiel du Toit and Dani Brown have been producing some brilliant white wines.
The grapes for the Landskroon Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 are fermented in open top fermenters where regular punch downs allowed for excellent colour and soft tannin extraction. A year was spent in French Oak Barrels. 5% of these were new and the balance made up of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fill barrels which support the fruit rather than trying to become an equal partner. The wine was then prepared for bottling.
Pour
From a Bordeaux shaped bottle, closed with natural cork. The label is of new design, simply and elegant with the family crest. It honours the wine. In the glass, the wine is a deep bloodplum at the heart which pales out to ruby at the rim. The aromas are all classical Cabernet, dark berries and cherries, a little turn of a sharpened pencil and the oak with its concomitant spice and vanilla. These are all repeated on the full bodied palate with a perfect line of vibrant acidity and the softest of tannins. The wine is eminently drinkable now, though a couple of years of cool cellaring will reward you for being patient. A much enjoyed glass.
Pair
The Landskroon Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is a wine made for food. And any form of well prepared, matured red meat be a winner. Duck and Guinea Fowl are also good, as would a lusty vegetarian dish. A tranche of good mature hard cheese like the Dalewood Fromage one year matured Huguenot. Carey Boucher Erasmus’s Lamb Tagine with Dates & Apricots is a great partner from the North of Africa for this South African Wine. Click HERE for her recipe. Carey is living in Kuwait and is producing exciting food on her website.