Thelema Rabelais 2011

Rabelais is a blend of our best Bordeaux components selected from the 2011 vintage. The wine shows extraordinary concentrations of luscious dark berries, cherries and cedar wood spice on the nose. The fruit intensity follows through onto the palate with a lovely, long finish. A great investment wine.

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 2011 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.

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Tasting Notes

Viticultural Practices

Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon (90%), CS 338C Petit Verdot (10%), Clone PV 219A
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	7 tons/ha (Cabernet), 8 tons/ha (PV),
Irrigation	Supplementary drip
Vintage	Very hot and dry vintage, resulting in an early start to the picking, with different varieties ripening at the same time. A tough vintage for the winery crews!
Picking date	11th March (Cabernet Sauvignon), 19th March (PV)
Grape sugar	25.0 °B (Cabernet), 24.9 °B (PV)
Acidity	5.3 g/l (Cabernet), 6.72 g/l (PV)
pH at harvest	3.55 (Cabernet), 3.51 (PV)

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

Production	6500 bottles
Residual Sugar	2.8 g/l
pH	3.72
Total acid	4.2 g/l
Alcohol	14.85% by volume
Maturation	2016 – 2030

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The Current Range

Thelema Cap Classique 2017

92 POINTS - TIM ATKIN SOUTH AFRICA SPECIAL REPORT 2023