Tokara, Directors Reserve Red 2021

Description

The award-winning Directors Reserve range of wines focuses on Bordeaux-style blends. Handpicked from a single vineyard, it’s an elegant and layered range. It includes a barrel fermented white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and a classic Bordeaux-style red blend. Only the very best and most expressive parcels are used to create these iconic blends.

ORIGIN
This wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. The grapes originated from Tokara vineyards on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch.

CROPPING AND HARVESTING
Only grapes from the best blocks and from the best parts of these blocks were used. The average yield is between 5 and 8 t/ha. The grapes were hand-picked at optimal ripeness between the 4th of March and the 16th of April.

WINEMAKING
The grapes were de-stemmed, before first passing across a mechanical sorting table and then a further hand sorting table before being crushed directly into tanks for fermentation using gravity feed and no pumps. There is a period of cold maceration for up to 5 days before the fermentation starts spontaneously. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel and wooden upright (foudre) fermenters. Pump-overs, délestage and punching down of the cap were implemented twice a day for extraction until fermentation was complete. The tanks were given maceration post fermentation. The wine was put to barrel for malolactic fermentation after which it was racked, sulphured and put back to barrel for further maturation. The wine spent a total of twenty-two months in 47% new French oak and 27% second fill – the rest being older French oak barriques. During maturation the wines received four racking’s, all done barrel to barrel. The wine was bottled in January 2022 without fining or filtration.

TASTING NOTES
The wine has a vibrant crimson colour with an intense dark centre and a ruby rim. The nose showcases complex aromas of black cherry, subtle cocoa, dried currants, tobacco leaf and graphite. The wine enters the palate with incredible purity and focus, with flavours of dark cherries, blackberries and plum skin. Sumptuous and full there is a hint of tension on the mid-palate which leads to fine dense tannins and a lengthy finish.

Food pairing: Grilled ribeye steak served with Béarnaise sauce, and potato Dauphinoise.

ANALYSIS
A l c . Vo l % – 14.46%
Residual Sugar – 2.6g/L
Total Acidity – 6.0g/L
p H – 3.53

Additional information

Grilled ribeye steak served with Béarnaise sauce, and potato Dauphinoise.