Description
Five centuries ago, the ancient mariners braved uncharted seas to round the Cape of Good Hope in search of exotic spices. Their nerve and dash inspire the Spice Route philosophy. We have found our signature wine style in the rolling hills along the Cape’s West Coast, where unirrigated vines produce grapes with small thick-skinned berries – ripe fruit that is dense, rich and full flavoured. A passionate dedication to exceptional quality and traditional hand crafting captures the essence of this fruit in the wines of the Spice Route.
IN THE VINEYARD
Produced from a single block of bush vine vineyard on our farm, Klein Amoskuil in Malmesbury. These unirrigated bushvines were planted in 1997 on Koffieklip soils.
WINEMAKING
The bunches were fermented in 5-ton open concrete fermenters with manual punch-down of the skins twice a day, extracting deep colour and flavour. The wine was pressed off and transferred to tight-grain American oak barrels with 30% new oak used to complete malolactic fermentation and maturation. A small portion also matured in underground clay pots, called qvevri.
HARVEST DATE
February 2022
TASTING NOTE
Intense ruby red colour. Rich blackcurrant and cherries on the nose. Intense dark fruit flavours on the palate that combines well with sweet vanilla oak aromas. Ideal wine for Indian spicy dishes or a well matured steak.
