What’s exciting is how far is it from being green,” says Mick Craven. This is so true as conventional thought says that Cabernet Sauvignon must be ultra-ripe (north of 14% alcohol) in order to lose that ‘greenness’, especially with whole clusters! It couldn’t be more apparent than Mick & Jeanine’s fine example here. There is plenty of charm and a wine that you can cuddle up to but there is still power, firm tannins combined with bright acidity and an intensity of flavors.
Red and black fruits combine with graphite and fresh herb notes, leading to a mid-weight palate that is bright and lithe echoing the freshness on the nose. At 12+% alcohol maybe this wine has rewritten the Stellenbosch Cabernet textbook – or just harkened back to days of 30 or so years ago.