Thelema Rabelais 2008

Rabelais is a blend of the best Bordeaux components within our Thelema range from the 2008 vintage. Extraordinary concentrations of luscious dark berries and cedar wood on the nose complimented by a lovely sweet fruit character on the palate.

Maturation

The carefully selected components of this wine lend themselves perfectly to long term cellaring, 10 – 15 years.

Food Pairing

This complex and full-bodied wine complements beef and game dishes.

Winemaker's Comments

Rabelais is a blend of the best Bordeaux components within our Thelema range from the 2008 vintage. During our annual vintage review individual barrels are identified and earmarked for the Rabelais blend, which is complex, elegant and structured. Extraordinary concentrations of luscious dark berries and cedar wood on the nose complemented by a lovely sweet fruit character on the palate. The wine finishes long and firm. It will reward cellaring.

All Vintages

Tasting Notes

Viticultural Practices

Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon (79%), CS 338C Petit Verdot (12%), Clone PV 219A Merlot (9%), Clone MO 192/434
Root stock	101-14 and R99
Soil type	Hutton – decomposed granite
Age of vines	Planted 2002/2003 & 1988
Plant density	2000 and 2110 vines per hectare respectively
Trellising	Vertical hedge
Pruning	2-bud spurs every 12cm
Yield	6,6 tons/ha (Cabernet), 6.1 tons/ha (PV), 11 tons/ha (Merlot)
Irrigation	Supplementary drip
Vintage	Warm spells of weather, with a few rainy periods during the ripening period.
Picking date	11th March (Cabernet), 17th March (PV) & 4th March (Merlot)
Grape sugar	25.4 °B (Cabernet), 25.29 °B (PV) & 25.4 °B (Merlot)
Acidity	25.4 balling (Cabernet), 25.29 balling (PV) & 25.4 balling (Merlot)
pH at harvest	3.63 (Cabernet), 3.99 (PV) & 3.64 (Merlot)

Winemaking Practices

Yeasts	Natural occurring yeasts
Fermentation temp	27 °C
Method	De-stalked, hand sorted, crushed, pumped into stainless steel fermentation tanks, cold soak for two days, and pumped over twice a day for 5 days, an aerated pump over in the morning and a closed circulation in the afternoon. After fermentation the wine is left on the skins for 2 days before pressing, once pressed wine is racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation.
Wood Maturation	20 months in 80% new 225 L French oak barrels

Wine Details

Residual Sugar	0.9 g/l
pH	3.87
Total acid	5.1 g/l
Alcohol	14.76% by volume
Maturation	2012 – 2030

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The Current Range

Thelema Cap Classique 2017

92 POINTS - TIM ATKIN SOUTH AFRICA SPECIAL REPORT 2023