Description
The first vintage of this new wine is a dream come true for lovers of Paul Boutinot’s Circle of Life Red from his Waterkloof vineyard in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The vineyard is fully organic, practising sustainable agriculture as well as incorporating biodynamic practices. Paul has been restoring biodiversity to the land with hundreds of indigenous flowers species, using sheep to keep the cover crops down between the vines and to provide natural fertiliser.
Boreas 2020 is a blend of 51% Cabernet Franc grown on decomposed granite, 25% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, all grown on compacted sandstone at an elevation of 250m. Hand-picked and fermented with ambient yeasts in large old open-topped French barrels, it is then aged for 27 months in French oak barriques, of which 10% are new.
It is a deep young colour. There is a beautiful perfumed nose of red-dark fruits with a herbaceous edge and a hint of cedar. On the palate it has wonderful concentration with flavours of redcurrant, cassis, plum and red cherry, a silky texture and soft chocolatey tannins at the finish, which lingers on and on.
Gorgeous now but will age and become more complex over the next 5-10 years.
The wine is both vegetarian and vegan.
It is Jancis Robinson’s wine of the month for March 2024.
That’s only £22.90 per bottle. Available elsewhere for £30-35 per bottle…