Tokara Director’s Reserve Red 2017
Vineyards
This wine is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc. The grapes originated from TOKARA’s premium vineyards on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain outside of Stellenbosch.
Winemaking and Maturation
The grapes were de-stemmed, before first passing across a mechanical sorting table and then a further hand sorting table before being crushed directly into tanks for fermentation using gravity feed and no pumps. There is a period of cold maceration for up to 5 days before the fermentation starts spontaneously (without the use of selected yeast strains). The grapes were fermented in stainless steel and wooden upright (foudre) fermenters. Pump-overs, délestage and punching down of the cap were implemented twice a day for extraction until fermentation was complete.
The tanks were given maceration post fermentation if the quality and tannin profile of the wine warranted it. The wine was put to barrel for malolactic fermentation after which it was racked, sulphured and put back to barrel for further maturation. The wine spent a total of twenty-two months in 54% new French oak – the rest being older French oak barriques. During maturation the wines received four racking’s, all done barrel to barrel. The wine was bottled in January 2019 without fining or filtration. 27 300 bottles were produced.
Tasting Notes
The wine has stunning depth of colour with an intense garnet centre and a ruby rim. The nose showcases complex aromas of ripe red and black fruits with hints of dried cranberry, baking spice and graphite. The wine enters the palate with incredible purity and focus. Flavours are those of dark cherries, blackberries and ripe plum skin. Sumptuous and full there is a hint of spice on the mid-palate which leads to fine, firm tannins on the finish.
Technical Details
Alc. Vol % 14.8%
Residual Sugar 2.6g/L
Total Acidity 5.4g/L
pH 3.50
