Country: South Africa Region: Franschhoek Region Varietal: 67% Cab/Franc 33% Malbec Producer: Wildeberg Wines Colour : Red Wine Maker: JD Rossouw Description: The Coterie wines draw upon a convergence of Wildeberg's tiny production pool of identified vineyards. Made with Wildeberg's cornerstone philosophies of minimal intervention winemaking, wild ferment and coarse filtration to capture the essence of the source vineyards and soils Wildeberg’s rationale is to source the finest vineyards available to us across Franschhoek and the Coastal Region, from which cuvées are plucked to make Wildeberg and the Terroir Series releases In doing so there remains a small yet definitive expression of all the vineyards we worked with, and its these cuvees that are again selected to go into Coterie by Wildeberg. All fruit is hand harvested in February from selected sites in Franschhoek and Paarl. Both cultivars are fermented whole bunch, with some whole berry fruit, there is no crush, just a daily pump over during the natural fermentation. We want to express place over cultivar so this slow, gentle extraction gives wines truer of origin than winery. The components are racked to French and Austrian oak, new and old, for 20 months before the blend is decided. This blend is then allowed to marry for 6 weeks prior to coarse filtration and bottling on the farm Tasting Note:A fresh and vibrant nose of crushed red fruits, hints of redcurrant and wild plum with lightly herbal notes, cloves and star anise. Plush and richly flavoured with ripe black fruit, a savoury mid palate and subtle, gently spicy oak backed by juicy acidity. The rich fruit is offset by fine tannins on an attractively muscular finish. Food Matches: Grilled meats, especially lamb and spiced meat dishes.