Thelema Rabelais 2012

Rabelais is a blend of the best Bordeaux components within our Thelema range from the 2012 vintage. Concentrated aromas of dark berries and cedar wood on the nose are complemented by lovely sweet fruit and polished tannins 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

During our annual vintage review individual barrels are identified and earmarked for the Rabelais blend. Concentrated aromas of dark berries and cedar wood on the nose are complemented by lovely sweet fruit and polished tannins on the palate. The wine finishes long and firm and will reward cellaring.

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Tasting Notes

Viticultural Practices

Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon - CS 338C / Petit Verdot - 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	5-9 tons/ha (Cabernet), 8 tons/ha (PV),
Irrigation	Supplementary drip
Vintage	Dry season with cool weather during the ripening period resulting in ideal conditions for production of elegant, well balanced wines.
Picking date	26-28th March (Cabernet Sauvignon), 12th April (PV)
Grape sugar	24.5 °B (Cabernet), 24.85 °B (PV)
Acidity	5.6 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. 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