Stellenrust Quota Cuvee

The Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Cinsaut. The Cinsaut is picked at a maximum of 24 Balling and Cabernet Sauvignon at full ripeness of 26 Balling. The idea is to tone down the richness of Cab and add a savoury element and freshness to traditional Cabernet Sauvignon with Cinsaut. Both portions are fermented in open stainless steel tanks with manual punch down of the cap. Skin contact varies from 5 to 12 days – this is very vintage dependant and especially influenced by the Cinsaut component. A wine to please all senses from now and for many more years to come.

This wine we have only produced in vintages that were good enough to fit the SPECIAL RELEASE history selection otherwise we would blend away the components. This wine drinks well now but it will really be rewarding keeping this wine for a minimum of 20 years. Paying tribute to the great Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignons of the past. Back in the day, the winemakers used Cinsault (less expensive grapes then) to blend with Cabernet Sauvignon (very expensive grapes then) to get more volume without lowering the quality of the Cabernet Sauvignon. What they did without realizing is they lowered the pH of the blend at the same time due to a higher Total Acidity in Cinsault. Ultimately giving the wine a phenomenal aging potential. There are a couple of examples in SA of the 1960s and 1970s wines that still stand tall today and you might need to take out a bond to buy them.