Seascape Malbec 2020

The " Seascape " vintage comes from coastal vineyards influenced by the sea. Here, the refreshing winds blowing from the Atlantic slow down the ripening process, giving the grapes more finesse and acidity. Malbec grapes come from young vines from vineyards in the Swartland and Paarl sub-regions kept cool by ocean winds. The grapes are picked ripe and early in the morning while it is still cool. After careful selection by hand, they are pressed and fermented in stainless steel vats to guarantee the extraction of all the flavors of Malbec . After fermentation, the wine is preserved on lees, without aging in wood. It will then be delicately filtered and bottled. This wine reveals notes of blackberries , plum , blackcurrant , dark chocolate , black cherry , violet and tobacco . The palate is comforting and balanced. The tannins are silky and the finish is subtly spicy.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.