Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Reserve status is only endowed if the grapes and resulting wine measures up to exceptional standard. Hand selected grapes from older, lower yielding vines are used, from sites including Firgrove, Raithby and Jonkershoek. The soil type varies from decomposed granite with sandy/loamy duplex gravels in Raithby and Firgrove to rocky hutton soil mix with shale in Jonkershoek. Vineyards are a mere 5-15km from the ocean and range from 100 – 200m in altitude. The combination of these two sub-regions, each with its own micro-climate, creates ideal building blocks for this superior wine. Fermentation is done with a selected yeast strain under controlled temperatures. Manual plunging during this period ensures optimal colour extraction. After five days the tanks are closed and allowed to macerate for a further period, normally 10-14 days. Pressing follows and the wine is transferred to barrel for 24 months in 225L French oak barrels (76% new oak) for the secondary fermentation. On completion, a final quality check and analysis is performed, and the Reserve is then prepared for barrel ageing. Bottling is followed by hand labelling and further bottle maturation.