
Thelema “The Mint” Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Concentrated cassis, mocha and dark chocolate flavours spring to the fore, with a distinctive fresh mint character; absolutely perfect with roast lamb! Will reward cellaring.
Maturation
Character will keep developing for 8 more years.
Food Pairing
Roast lamb!
Winemaker's Comments
POSSIBLE ORIGIN OF “MINT” / EUCALYPTOL CHARACTER
The most likely source of the “mint” character could be attributed to the airborne transfer from the Eucalyptus trees, which border this specific Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard, to the grape berries. It is believed that the berries outer wax layer could adsorb Eucalyptol, a compound responsible for the aroma, released into the air by the trees. It subsequently becomes dissolved during the fermentation process, which takes place on the skins, inevitably giving the wine a “minty” character unique to this vineyard.
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Tasting Notes
Viticultural Practices
Varietal | 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – clone 163 |
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Root stock | Mgt 101-14 |
Soil type | Hutton – decomposed granite |
Age of vines | Planted 1985 |
Plant density | 3200 vines per hectare |
Trellising | Vertical hedge |
Pruning | 2-bud spurs every 15cm |
Yield | 8.8 t/ha |
Irrigation | Supplementary drip |
Vintage | Like 2008, there was a late start to the 2009 harvest. Long, moderate to dry warm spells led to near perfect ripening conditions. Possibly one of the best vintages the Cape has seen. |
Picking date | 6th April |
Grape sugar | 24.5 °B |
Acidity | 4.03 g/l |
pH at harvest | 3.7 |
Winemaking Practices
Yeasts | Natural occurring yeasts |
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Fermentation temp | 27 °C |
Method | De-stalked, hand sorting of berries, crushed, pumped into a stainless steel fermenter, pumped over for 10 days, left for 6 days before pressing, racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation. |
Wood maturation | 18 months in barrel. 50% new French oak, balance in older barrels. |
Wine Details
Residual Sugar | 1.4 g/l |
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pH | 3.69 |
Total acid | 5.9 g/l |
Alcohol | 14.69% by volume |
Maturation | 2011 – 2021 |
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