Platter 5-star Giorgio 2007 - Bordeaux-style red of immense lineage

Wednesday, 28 November, 2012
GC Communications
Giorgio 2007, the Dalla Cia family’s 6th signature Bordeaux-style vintage, has been recognised as one of South Africa’s most outstanding red wines with a 5-star rating from Platter’s South African Wines 2013.
One of only three Bordeaux-style reds to receive Platter 5-stars this year, the highest rating from South Africa’s definitive wine guide, Giorgio 2007 is a consummate blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Petit Verdot (10%).

Unlike earlier vintages, Merlot was excluded entirely from the blend: “We decided not to include Merlot as the addition of Petit Verdot in this particular vintage lends roundness and brings together the individual strengths and nuances of the other two components. It was unbelievable to see this effect while we were making up the final blend,” says George Dalla Cia, who heads up the marketing of this family landmark wine and grappa business in Stellenbosch.

“It’s a much fuller, austere and more complex wine, than our previous vintages,” adds his father and respected winemaker, Giorgio Dalla Cia, an early pioneer of South African Bordeaux-style wines.

The Dalla Cia family released their first Bordeaux-style red under the name Giorgio, a 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Blend in 2005, 25 years after the release of Giorgio’s first highly acclaimed Bordeaux-style blend as winemaker at Meerlust.

“Opulent, well-structured with a generous, lingering aftertaste,” is how Giorgio defines his Platter 5-star 2007 vintage.

Described in Platter’s South African Wines 2013 as a wine “built to last”, the Giorgio 2007 is a wine of immense concentration, finesse and balance. It shows ample complexity with hints of coffee, vanilla, tobacco leaf and spiced cedar wood on the nose and is smooth on the palate with a fine yet firm tannic structure, lending great elegance and longevity. The wine was matured for 18 months in 80% new and 20% second-fill French oak barrels. It is a wine that can be enjoyed now, preferably with a rich, meaty dish, but has good ageing potential to develop even further.

Known for their reverence for making wine in the true French tradition showing great respect for terroir and the inherent character of the cultivar, Giorgio and George have just released their very first Pinot Noir under the Dalla Cia name. Crafted from a single vineyard in the Polkadraai Hills region in a classically Burgundian style, the maiden Dalla Cia Pinot Noir 2011 teems with youthful black cherry, wild strawberry and blackcurrant with hints of musk and delicate smokiness. The mouthfeel is layered and velvety showing great complexity with a long, lingering aftertaste. The wine was matured for 12 months in 100% new French oak barrels after fermentation in open tanks. Only seven barrels, which equates to just 1 800 bottles, have been produced of this maiden vintage.

The Giorgio 2007 is available at boutique wine shops and fine dining establishments and sells at R210 per bottle at the cellar door, whilst the Pinot Noir 2011 is only available to private buyers or directly from the tasting room at Pane e Vino in Stellenbosch at R375 per bottle.

Both these wines are a must try this season and would make the perfect gift for the discerning wine lover.

For further information call the Dalla Cia Wine & Spirit Company at Tel: 021-888 4120 or visit www.dallacia.com.