This impressive Black Series Cap Classique uses Pinot Noir grapes harvested from the Elgin region and Chardonnay from the cool Agulhas region. Elgin has a wonderfully cool climate where the vines grow in sandstone soils laced with silica quartz fragments and acidic Bokkeveld shales rich in iron.
The Chardonnay is grown on Quoin Rock’s Boskloof farm on Koffieklip and gravel soils where the vines are also exposed to the cooling influences of the Atlantic Ocean air ensuring that the berries ripen evenly while retaining a vibrant natural acidity. The grapes were harvested from different sections of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blocks at different times before being transported to the vinification cellar located in Stellenbosch.
Made from a final blend of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir that was all harvested in February 2017, vinified and then aged on its lees for 5 years. The wine was bottled on the 23rd of September 2022, and while the 2018 release is also currently on sale, this pretty 2017 MCC is still available cellar door for R900 per bottle (£38pb).
Quoin Rock Black Series Cap Classique 2017, WO Western Cape, 12.91% Abv.
8.7g/l RS | 8.0g/l TA | 3.05pH
A bright shimmering bronze gold, the aromatics are striking, packed full of lemon and lime peel, salty brine, salted pistachios, honey brittle candy before savoury, leesy, brioche nuances develop in the glass. The palate steals the show with a density, intensity, and superb freshness combined with a harmonious balancing pear and white citrus length, carried with purity and precision on a piercing, creamy moussed finish. This really is a classy Cap Classique wine that can challenge some of the best premium Champagne cuvées out there. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)