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SOUTH AFRICA<br />
GRAPE<br />
CRAFTING EXCELLENCE<br />
THROUGH INNOVATION<br />
JOHAN AND MICHAEL MALAN EPITOMIZE GENERATIONAL EXCELLENCE THROUGH THEIR<br />
UNWAVERING EFFORTS TO CRAFT EXCEPTIONAL WINES EACH YEAR<br />
Looking at the past decade of crafting Stellenbosch<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon, innovation is often a return<br />
to forgotten techniques, believes David Finlayson<br />
(CWG member). He emphasizes the importance<br />
of using technology to reduce undesirable green<br />
aspects and focuses on the dark berry flavours that<br />
define Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />
His deep understanding of each ward led to his<br />
award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, which<br />
recently received the «Best Cabernet in the World»<br />
trophy at the Concours International de Cabernet<br />
in 2022.<br />
“My family has been making and bottling Stellenbosch<br />
Cabernet since the 1960s on Montagne (today<br />
Hartenberg) and the 1980s at Blaauwklippen (where<br />
I grew up). It has been a lifelong goal to develop<br />
my own property at Edgebaston. I’ve grown to<br />
understand what each ward in Stellenbosch brings<br />
to make blends that reflect an all-encompassing<br />
Stellenbosch flavour and style. So, I have achieved a<br />
pinnacle award for myself and Stellenbosch. Receiving<br />
Double Gold from Gilbert & Gaillard further<br />
entrenches the understanding that the Stellenbosch<br />
region produces Cabernet Sauvignon of a worldclass<br />
standard.”<br />
Finlayson reveals the intricate tapestry of how the<br />
Stellenbosch wards contribute to crafting a hallmark<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon: Simonsberg provides<br />
fruit that adds a robust, tannic, and muscular<br />
character, while Helderberg brings a delicate,<br />
floral, and ethereal quality with a burst of fruity<br />
notes. Meanwhile, Vlottenberg and Lynedoch<br />
impart intriguing tea leaf nuances along with<br />
the rich, aromatic cedar and cigar box flavours.<br />
He concludes that this mosaic of terroirs within<br />
Stellenbosch are the “colours” to paint a distinctive<br />
and memorable Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />
Further up the Helderberg slopes lies Keermont<br />
Vineyards, tucked away in its own remarkable<br />
terroir, where winemaker Alex Starry, one of the<br />
youngest members of the CWG, employs low-intervention<br />
winemaking techniques.<br />
Starry explains: “We pick the grapes on the exact<br />
day when the sugar and acid balance is perfect.<br />
DAVID FINLAYSON IS A THIRD-GENERATION GRAPE GROWER AND<br />
VINTNER BORN AND RAISED IN STELLENBOSCH, WHO TRANSFORMED<br />
THE 30-HECTARE EDGEBASTON VINEYARD AS IT’S KNOWN TODAY<br />
AUTUMN 2023 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE<br />
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