De Wetshof Estate Naissance Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, perfect with Jane-Anne Hobbs’s Slow-Cooked Moroccan-Spiced Beef and Apricot Stew with Naartjie Co

Wednesday, 14 August, 2019
De Wetshot Estate
De Wetshof Wine Estate in the Robertson Wine Appellation is known to specialise in Chardonnay and produce a range from the most delicate unwooded fruity early drinkers to some truly great Chardonnays like their Bateleur, beautifully oaked, a serious, top of the range drop.

However, Peter de Wet, with the best Wine Consultant, his father. the legendary Danie de Wet, is making some cracking reds too, the De Wetshof Estate Naissance Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 being one of them.

Harvested in the cool hours of the morning the full-ripe grapes for the De Wetshof Estate Naissance Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 are given royal treatment in the cellar. Here Peter de Wet wants to capture and contain the purity of the dark berry fruits and the softest of tannins. After destemming, the grapes cool macerate for a few days before the fermentation process begins. Fermentation continues until the wine is dry. The wine is racked off and the skins pressed. Malolactic fermentation takes place and the wine is transferred to barrel. The barrels are of fine French oak, and are especially selected for De Wetshof by Christian Radoux, the well-known French Cooper. Eighteen months after harvest the wines from the different barrels are blended and prepared for bottling.

Pour
From an appropriately Bordeaux shaped bottle. The label is classical De Wetshof, simple and elegant. In the glass, the wine is bloodplum red at the heart which pales out to ruby at the edges. The aromas are pure Cabernet, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries and pencil shavings. The palate from entry has a lovely thread of freshness running through it to the long-lasting aftertaste. Again, the berries appear, in the weighty mid palate, beautifully supported by the oak and its concomitant spice and vanilla, with an undertow of good black chocolate. While eminently drinkable now, the wine will reward you after a couple of years of cool cellaring.

Pair
The De Wetshof Estate Naissance Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is superb as a glass on its own after dinner while discussing serious matters, like did Paarl Boys High beat Gymnasium at the Rugby Derby last week. Or perhaps the beauty of the newly chosen Miss South Africa. It is brilliant with food. The traditional Sunday Roast comes to mind, as does a simpler well-cooked mid-week supper dish like Jane-Anne Hobbs’s Slow-Cooked Moroccan-Spiced Beef and Apricot Stew with Naartjie Couscous. Click here for her recipe.

Read more about De Wetshof Wine Estate - Click here