Handmade Eight Pillars Stellenbosch 2021

This powerful, complex cuvée rests firmly on these eight pillars like a rock: A good portion of Shiraz provides a stable backbone, while Carignan, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Pinotage balance the wine wonderfully. Complex spice with white pepper and fine floral aromas, a deep, dark fruit, supple tannins, and a lingering finish bring out the best of South Africa and Bordeaux.

In the cellar, hardly any wine receives as much attention as this one: The grapes from the over 30-year-old vines are pressed whole to 34%, without any crushing of the berries. The juice is spontaneously fermented and transported to the barrel room by gravity, where the wine slumbers for 18 months in French oak before the best barrels are selected, blended, and aged for another 6 months.