Mike Ratcliffe

Vilafonte Releases Their New 2023 Vintage Series C and Series M to a Chorus of High International Praise…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Every year, one can point to the annual release of the Vilafonte Series C and Series M reds as two of the most important and noteworthy new Cape Bordeaux blends to hit the market. These two wines have, since their maiden releases in 2003, cultivated a committed global following among fine wine connoisseurs and passionate collectors alike. With the focus firmly on premium quality, each subsequent vintage is highly anticipated both in the wine trade and among consumers. The 2023 vintage was obviously a much more complicated harvest for many than either 2022 or 2021 due to persistent rain across much of the Cape, necessitating further clarification of Vilafonte’s picking dates from winemaker Chris de Vries.

“The 2023 vintage reminded us how swiftly light can turn to shadow, and how timing alone can separate fortune from misfortune” Chris de Vries opined. “Outstanding early conditions carried us through harvest, our final lots secured only days before March 4th brought a week of rain that might have rewritten the story entirely.” Picking at Vilafonte began on February 2nd and continued until March 1st, a slightly extended window, shaped by a warm first half of February followed by a cooler close. This shift tempered ripening, allowing balance and freshness to define the fruit. 

Berry weights reflected the season: Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc were modestly smaller than average, lending natural concentration, while Cabernet Sauvignon berries were slightly larger, contributing generosity and an approachable tannin profile. Although March delivered over 60 mm more rain than the norm, the Vilafonte harvest was safely picked before the downpours, leaving the Vilafonte team among the fortunate few who carried the season’s promise intact into the cellar. The resulting wines show a poised tension between ripe black fruit and lifted freshness, framed by fine tannins and a classical structure. “Opulence is tempered by clarity, and the 2023s stand as wines of both immediate allure and assured longevity” Chris de Vries concluded.

Vilafonte Series C 2023, WO Paarl. 14.5% Abv.

The 2023 Series C is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 12% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Franc and offers up classic Vilafonte aromatics of sweet black currants, saline crème de cassis, blueberry compote and wet tobacco leaves. Fabulously opulent and exotic on the nose, the wine has all the Series C hallmarks that has made this one of the most desirable Cabernet Sauvignon blends produced in the Cape, brimming with not only intense pure black berry fruits but also complex earthy layers of tilled loam over hints of graphite, dried herbs and warm buttered brown breakfast toast. The palate is sophisticated, silky, and lithe, neither weighty nor muscular, but rather sleek, picante, and spicy with cedar and vanilla pod notes, a dusting of cocoa powder, and a weightless black currant fruit concentration. There is a youthful, sinewy freshness and a tightly wound core of energy that should see this wine age gracefully for a decade or two. 

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vilafonte Series M 2023, WO Paarl. 14% Abv.

The 2023 Series M is a blend of 41% Merlot, 38% Malbec, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc and displays a seriously opulent, showy Series M plushness and generosity combined with plenty of refinement and purity. The aromatics are vibrant and youthful revealing intense layers of blue and black berry fruits, bay leaf spice, damson plums and black cherry compote with a magical dusting of vanilla pod oak spice. In the mouth, the wine is marked with a fabulously creamy, silky texture, delicate notes of graphite and cocoa powder, saline crème de cassis and mulberry fruits with a pronounced mineral interplay on the complex finish. Once again, I’m super impressed at the intensity, power, and concentration Vilafonte achieves with their Series M cuvee – a wine that epitomises luxury, generosity, and sophistication. Drink on release until 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Vilafonte wines are imported to the UK and distributed to trade by agent John E. Fells.

The Vilafonte Winery Releases An Accomplished Trio of New Premium Vintage 2022 Expressions… 

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Regardless of who you speak to, the general consensus is that the 2022 vintage conditions in the Cape reverted back to more “normal” conditions after the unusually cool and extended harvest of 2021. But like many good vintages that follow great vintages, the resulting wines have to work that much harder to capture the imagination of fine wine consumers. At Vilafonte, the team have delivered another exceptionally fine trio of wines that has something for everyone. 

A cool wet October and November 2021 saw above average rainfall leading to vigorous growth in the vineyards which required extra work to manage canopies. January and February 2022 saw multiple heat spikes in keeping with more ‘normal’ vintage conditions in the Cape. There was some variable ripening across cultivars and plots ultimately leading to a fairly late, drawn-out harvest season which began nine days later than predicted and which lasted for over four weeks from February 19th until March 17th. The resulting wines show density and concentration rather than heaviness with well integrated harmonious acids.

The approachability of the Seriously Old Dirt blend makes this wine a perennial favourite with fine wine lovers looking for exceptional quality and value without compromising fruit, structure or power. The Series C is also another stand out Cape Bordeaux Blend that celebrates the incredible quality of Cape Cabernet Sauvignon. But if it’s sheer hedonism you are after, the Series M is once again a dead ringer for an opulent, showy, Right Bank Merlot dominated Bordeaux blend. With a 1st of November release date for all three wines, these are definitely wines you’re going to want to make space for in your cellar. 

Seriously Old Dirt by Vilafonte 2022, WO Western Cape, 13.5% Abv.

After the rich, fresh, characterful wine of 2021, the Seriously Old Dirt 2022 blend has certainly turned out to be another impressive creation from the dedicated Vilafonte team. A dark opaque purple black plum colour in the glass, the wine offers up bold notes of mint leaf, violets, crème de cassis, black cherries, dried thyme herbs, cigar wrapper, and hints of chocolate peppermint crisp. Medium bodied with a rich, spicy, fleshy palate, this wine has certainly carved out a name for itself based not so much on branding but more on innate quality and true value for money. The mouthfeel is delicately spicy, alluring, and supple with notes of dark blackberries, fresh peppermint tea, vanilla pod, and sweet Christmas spices that linger long on the palate, framed by picante, mineral spicy graphite tannins. This is undoubtedly an impressive second wine fashioned after the famous left bank Bordeaux expressions, and also shares the similar trait of often putting bigger Grand Vin expressions to shame. Always seamless, and nearly always the complete deal, this is THE go to wine for so many Bordeaux lovers around the world! Drink on release and over 8 to 10 years.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vilafonte Series C 2022, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.

Vintage variation at wineries like Vilafonte often means little, but for the market, 2021 was the vintage of the decade to buy and covet. Like 1996 followed and surpassed 1995 in Bordeaux, could this plush and opulent 2022 excel in the shadow of the iconic 2021 Series C cuvee? In the recent months, all the 2022s I have tasted are every bit the equal of many of the 2021 wines, showing concentration, balance and freshness. Always the benchmark cuvee of the Vilafonte winery, the Series C 2022, a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc, presents itself as a rich, opulent expression packed full of salted black liquorice, sweet black berries, warm blueberry crumble and subtle aromatics of vanilla pod and cedar wood spice. The initial approach on the palate is classical and restrained, showing drying tannins and classical granitic mineral undertones but the texture is like silk, seamless, sultry and beautifully balanced with a big punchy concentration on the finish.This is high pedigree Cabernet Sauvignon done extremely well in a global context. Drink on release to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vilafonte Series M 2022, WO Paarl, 14% Abv.

The Series M 2022 is a blend of 40% Merlot, 39% Malbec, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Fabulously dark, rich, and opaque, this inky Merlot based blend once again boasts a sold Right Bank Bordeaux styling, with aromatics packed full of dried herbs, potpourri, spiced black plums, mulberries, and blueberry hints with a top note of graphite and gunpowder smoke. But it’s on the palate that the fireworks really light up the sky, with a cool, creamy, super fine-grained tannin texture, a picante spicy granitic minerality over plush black berry fruits and a pithy black cherry complexity. The top 2022 reds show softer, more integrated acids than the 2021 vintage but also a creamier, fleshier, more sumptuous mouthfeel with impressive generosity and an accessibility. This is another beautiful Series M expression that bridges the stylistic paradigm of Right Bank Bordeaux and New World fruit-driven opulence. Drink on release until 2038+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Vilafonte Wines are imported into the UK by wine merchant John E. Fells.

http://www.fells.co.uk

Vilafonte Release a Seductive Series M Cape Bordeaux Blend from the Uniquely Cool and Classical 2021 Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Exceptional vintages have the ability to yield exceptional wines. Just think of 2000, 2005, 2009 and especially 2010 in Bordeaux, and perhaps 2004, 2009, 2015, and 2017 in the Cape. Without doubt, 2021 was another extraordinary vintage with ample winter rains followed by an unusually cold and wet spring and early summer. In an era of global warming and extreme weather events, getting a vintage like 2021 in the Cape must surely be a winemaker’s dream. So many I have talked to have described making wines that they feel they may never get the opportunity to make again due to the unusually cool, slow ripening conditions.

At Vilafonte in Paarl, flowering was largely even with good fruit-set, boding well for not only a healthy crop but also an ample crop. Early season growing temperatures were cool to moderate, warming gradually towards ripening, with a lack of February / March heatwaves a very noteworthy feature of the vintage. Berries were supple-skinned, bursting with flavour, showing a vibrant freshness and bold tannin structures. Harvest began on February 11th under mild weather conditions that continued for the remainder of the season. The resulting wines show a piercingly perfumed intensity, deep inky colours, sophistication and poise.

Vilafonte Series M 2021, WO Paarl, 14% Abv.

The 2021 Series M is a blend of 41% Merlot, 35% Malbec, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in French oak barrels with a 26% new oak portion. The aromatics are enticing and alluring, offering up notes of dark berries, exotic Asian spices, plum compote, black liquorice, graphite and wood smoke with subtle dried bay leaf nuances. Despite being dominated by Merlot and Malbec, the Series M often boasts a structure more in common with Cabernet Sauvignon blends, but in the cooler 2021 vintage, this wine remains very much in a Bordeaux right bank leaning style boasting precociously sumptuous notes of supple black currant fruits, mulberries, black plum with hints of cocoa powder, chargrilled charcuterie and pithy blood orange peel. Beautifully plump and opulent in the mouth, the tannins are velvety, supple and sweet, enveloping the palate and finishing with incisive saline acids and complex notions of baked blackberries, preserved plums and star anise. A wonderfully complete wine that already offers abundant pleasure in its youth. Drink on release and over the next 10 to 15+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vilafonte wines are imported into the UK and are available to trade on allocation from importer John E Fells, and are available retail from specialist South African merchant Museum Wines.

http://www.museumwines.co.uk

Vilafonte Release a Truly Exceptional Series C Cape Bordeaux Blend from the Uniquely Cool and Classical 2021 Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

We all know that exceptional vintages have the ability to yield exceptional wines. Just think of 2000, 2005, 2009 and especially 2010 in Bordeaux, and perhaps 2004, 2009, 2015, and 2017 in the Cape. Without doubt, 2021 was another extraordinary vintage with ample winter rains followed by an unusually cold and wet spring and early summer. In an era of global warming and extreme weather events, getting a vintage like 2021 in the Cape must surely be a winemaker’s dream. So many I have talked to have described making wines that they feel they may never get the opportunity to make again due to the unusually cool, slow ripening conditions.

At Vilafonte in Paarl, flowering was largely even with good fruit-set, boding well for not only a healthy crop but also an ample crop. Early season growing temperatures were cool to moderate, warming gradually towards ripening, with a lack of February / March heatwaves a very noteworthy feature of the vintage. Berries were supple-skinned, bursting with flavour, showing a vibrant freshness and bold tannin structures. Harvest began on February 11th under mild weather conditions that continued for the remainder of the season. The resulting wines show a piercingly perfumed intensity, deep inky colours, sophistication and poise. The Series C is scheduled for a 1st November 2023 global release.

Vilfonte Series C 2021, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.

The Series C 2021 is another sumptuous Cape Bordeaux Blend made up of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Franc that was aged for 22 months in 81% new French oak 225 litre barriques, with the balance aged in used French oak barrels. Winemaker Chris de Vries was very excited by the berry flavour complexity at harvest time and when you pull the cork on this wine, the 2021 vintage displays an incredibly vivid, overt, beautifully lifted, piercing array of perfumed sweet violets, iris, cherry blossom, potpourri and incense with a delicate dusting of cocoa powder and vanilla pod spice. With the cool fruited aromatic ebb and flow, delicious notes of saline black currant, black cherry, crème de cassis, sandalwood, cigar wrapper, and cinnamon spice slowly develop, all pristinely pure and fabulously intense. Medium bodied, tightly wound and layered, the sleek supple mouthfeel truly typifies the very finest premium reds produced in this classically cooler vintage. Indeed, I cannot quite recall another vintage in the past two decades quite like it, with such sweet well-rounded tannins, fresh piercing acidities and magnificently weightless, crystalline tart red and black berry fruits on the velvety, seamless palate. The jury is out on whether this is the greatest Series C produced by Vilafonte to date simply because the astounding 2016 was such a uniquely brilliant creation. Needless to say, a wine of this beauty and precision will undoubtedly be counted as one of the finest reds of the vintage. Drink on release and enjoy over the next 20+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Vilafonte wines are imported into the UK by John E Fells and are available retail from South African specialist merchant Museum Wines.

Vilafonte Excels with Another Impressive Wine of Harmony and Balance – Tasting the New Release Series C 2020…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

After returning from a very successful Cape Wine 2022 wine fair, the tragedies and hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic almost seem a distant faded nightmare. But as I start tasting a fresh wave of exciting new 2020 red releases, the memories of this unprecedented time come flowing back especially when you consider that many producers in the Cape, at the time, feared that they would not be able to even pick their succulent grapes as harvest approached. But if there is one thing wine producers are well versed at coping with, it is extreme disruption and endless uncertainties.

The 2019/2020 growing season brought fair and favourable conditions with a return to a more traditional cold and wet winter. With Spring came warm, fair-weather conditions resulting in an even, two-week early bud-break. As is often the case in the Cape vineyards, windy conditions during flowering resulted in a variable berry set and looser clusters with small intense berries. Thankfully, temperatures during ripening remained modest without any heatwaves, leading to an even, measured pace of ripening and picking. By the time the national Covid-19 lockdown was announced by the national government on the 26th March 2020, Vilafonte had already processed all wines safely to barrel.

Looking back to February 2020, it seems crazy to think that my visit then to the Vilafonte winery at the time would be part of my last visit to South Africa for over two years due to the pandemic. While the overall harvest continued into March, I clearly remember watching multiple trucks offloading the freshly picked Malbec grapes in late February that were tiny pea berry sized, pitch black, perfectly healthy and faultlessly formed. Spirits were high for another exceptional, high-quality harvest.

Vilafonte Series C 2020, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.

The 2020 Vilafonte Series C is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Franc that was aged for 22 months in 68% new French oak barriques with the balance in older used French oak barrels. In the glass, the wine displays an intensely dark, alluring purple black colour and an expressive aromatics of violets, sweet macerated black cherries, blue berries, smoky cassis and touches of Christmas pudding, sweet cherry tobacco, melted liquorice, milk chocolate and ginger cake nuances. There are slight caramelised touches to the aromatics with hints of vanilla pod, clove oil, camphor and sweet cedar spice that melt seamlessly back into the rich, opulent black and blue fruited complexity. Full, rich and elegantly textured, the palate is laden with spicy black fruits, black cherry compote, black currant pastille and intriguing layers of cinnamon spice, salty liquorice and sun raisined blue berries. There in an impressive intensity and concentration on display yet the wine remains fine grained, harmonious and fresh, finishing with spicy, supple velvety tannins and yet more stony, pithy minerality. Delightfully ripe and sometimes erring on the side of hedonistic exoticism, the core essence of this wine is nevertheless built around balance, concentration, purity of fruit and brazen intensity without ever becoming overbearing. A wonderfully individual expression of the vintage, this delicious 2020 continues the Series C’s rock-solid consistency of premium form. Drink from 2024 and comfortably over the next 10 to 12+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Vilafonte Winery Prepares to Release Another Effusively Modern 2019 Series M Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

2019 represents the first post-drought Series M vintage to be released by the team at the Vilafonte winery in Paarl and the vintage clearly illustrates what is possible when nature decides to co-operate to yield some exceptional raw materials. According to winemaker Chris de Vries, the vintage was really a tale of two seasons. While rains initially remained elusive, there was an upswing in rainfall towards the end of the 2018 winter and continuing into spring and early summer.

Weather fluctuations in the spring did however result in uneven bud-break and berry set. Conditions improved somewhat at the onset of summer with a warmer November being very conducive to healthy vineyard growth. Some uneven ripening was remedied with in-bunch sorting after veraison and by the time harvest arrived at the beginning of February, the fruit quality was looking exceptional.

The Series M 2019 is a blend of 48% Malbec, 34% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc which was aged for 22 months in 22 percent new French oak barriques with the balance in a mixture of older French oak barrels. 51 barrels were produced.

Vilafonte Series M 2019, WO Paarl, 14% Abv.

This excellent vintage has yielded a truly impressive wine for the Vilafonte team displaying a brilliant and intense ruby and red plum hue. The aromatics are expansive and hedonistic sending notes of violets and crushed red cherries, raspberries and pressed rose petals soaring out the glass with confidence and vigour. Fabulously complex and intricate, attractive notes of wild berries and red currant follow to the dense, full bodied palate that boasts a broad seductive array of black liquorice and black plum, cocoa powder and brown toast crust nuances. The Malbec and Merlot are like a marriage made in heaven, offering svelte supple tannins and a texture that wraps its arms around you in the most comforting embrace. With time in the glass, the full fleshy palate shows further layers of baked plums, blue berries and red cherries all underpinned by fresh vital acids. This is most definitely one of the most powerful, potent and heady wines produced in the Series M range to date displaying an impressively ample fine wine self-confident personality. Drink this wine in its youth or cellar for 20+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

South African Icon Winery Vilafonte Releases Their New 2020 Seriously Old Dirt Super Second Wine onto the Market…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

I have not visited South Africa since February 2020, though this is about to be remedied very soon. But on my last trip, I found most of the best wine shops festooned with bottles of the Vilafonte Seriously Old Dirt red blend, which admittedly, is one of my favourite premium second wines from South Africa along with the export-only version of Meerlust Red.

Well priced, always over-delivering and increasingly available in the correct off-trade and on-trade retail channels, I have long punted this wine to be one of South Africa’s best global ambassadors for premium red offerings making every new release highly anticipated.

The post 2019 harvest rains marked the onset of a more traditionally wet, cold winter in the Cape after 4 to 5 years of drought and abnormal seasonal rainfall. But with Spring, fair weather beckoned healthy, homogenous vine growth in the early season. Windy conditions during flowering might have threatened fruit set but generally yielded looser clusters and smaller berries. Temperatures during ripening were moderate without the usual heatwaves which led to a long, calm, measured picking season overall.

Vilafonte Serious Old Dirt 2020, WO Western Cape, 13.5% Abv.

This is another serious effort from the Vilafonte team after last year’s award winning 2019 release. The 2020 blend consists of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc and was matured for 18 months in older French oak barriques. Moving more towards a distinctly Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blend compared to earlier editions which often featured more Merlot and Malbec, this rich ruby red coloured wine shows all the classic aromatics of black currant, strawberry shortbread, gingerbread cookie dough, cherry tobacco and hints of vanilla pod spice. Always a wine that unashamedly aspires to a higher, more hedonistic mantra, like the 2019, this 2020 exhibits a supremely well-honed, polished, elegant textural mouthfeel with effortlessly friendly tannins, an intense but weightless black and red berry fruit concentration and a plush, long, tightly focused finished. Knowing that this wine traditionally holds a lot of secrets, I reviewed it over two consecutive night’s tasting but came to the same conclusion in the end – that this is yet another very polished wine with age-worthy credentials that will appeal to seasoned collectors and the man in the street alike. A serious wine that is also seriously delicious! Drink from release and over the next 10 to 15 years.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Ancient Vilafonte Soils Yield Another Blockbuster Series C Cabernet Sauvignon Red Blend in 2019…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The first post-drought vintage is about to be released by the team at the Vilafonte winery in Paarl and the 2019 vintage clearly illustrates what is possible when nature decides to co-operate to help yield some exceptional raw materials to make another iconic Cabernet Sauvignon based red blend. The discussions are already starting as to whether this blockbuster 2019 vintage will join other great historic vintages like 2003, 2009, 2015 and 2017 in redefining premium South African fine wine quality.

Speaking to winemaker Chris de Vries, the vintage was really a tale of two seasons. While rains initially remained elusive, there was an upswing in rainfall towards the end of the 2018 winter and continuing into spring and early summer. Weather fluctuations in the spring did however result in uneven bud-break and berry set. Conditions improved somewhat at the onset of summer with a warmer November being very conducive to healthy vineyard growth. Some uneven ripening was remedied with in-bunch sorting after veraison and by the time harvest arrived at the beginning of February, the fruit quality was looking exceptional.

Vilafonte Series C 2019, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.

The Series C 2019 is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 20% Malbec and 4% Cabernet Franc that was aged for 22 months in 74% new French oak barriques with the remainder aged in older, multiple passage barrels. A deep ruby-purple colour, this really is an impressively intense and striking blend that is seductive and alluring from the moment the cork is pulled. The aromatics offer glimpses of black cherries, earthy stewed black plums, black currants, fertile loam, tilled earth, freshly cut hedgerow together with hints of hoisin plum sauce and melted chocolate nuances. The palate is medium to full bodied but incredibly pure and polished with a confident, approachable accessibility, sleek rounded tannins and layer upon layer of seamless creamy black berry fruits, saline liquorice, sweet cedar spice and a subtle blueberry accent on the vibrant fresh finish. This wine does not try and hide its sweet seductive black fruits yet there is certainly a subtle subtext of earthy, stony minerality that runs in unison with all the vivid fruit concentration. But beware all the seductive sex appeal on this wine because only the foolish would drink all their bottles on release before allowing this serious blend to hit its straps after 8 to 10+ years ageing. A deliciously accomplished wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Seriously Old Dirt 2019 – Vilafonte Release the Newest Edition of Their Sought-After Second Wine…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The success and popularity of the Seriously Old Dirt label by Vilafonte has undoubtedly been one of the most significant success stories within the South African wine industry over the past 5 years. Just when you thought the global wine market, both locally and internationally, was over traded and over supplied, along comes an incredibly exciting brand that has been crafted with expertise and vision and constructed around the basic principles of accessible structure, youthful intensity and an underlying feel and character of uncompromising quality from premium Stellenbosch and Paarl terroirs.

While the Seriously Old Dirt second wine from premium boutique cellar Vilafonte based in Paarl, can no longer lay claim to only use the off-cuts from its bigger brothers Series M and Series C, the growth in the demand for this label can nevertheless be directly linked to the stylistic precision and expertise honed and perfected within the Vilafonte winery. With unused blending components from the Vilafonte vineyards forming the basic building blocks now joined by additional specially selected premium parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, the Seriously Old Dirt production has been allowed to grow in order to meet an insatiable demand.

Following on from three drought affected vintages in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the preceding winter to the harvest 2019 had a late start with good rainfall with fluctuating weather conditions resulting in an uneven budbreak. Weather conditions improved at the onset of summer and by November, warmer weather was conducive to healthy vineyard growth.

Malbec grapes being off-loaded at Vilafonte from the 2020 harvest.

As a testament to vineyard resilience, wines from the 2019 vintage from across the Cape winelands show impressive freshness, concentration and elegance but also an underlying minerality and structural classicism. The 2019 Seriously Old Dirt blend was matured for 18 months in older French oak barriques and consists of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 5% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The wine is scheduled for a mid-February release date in the home market.

Vilafonte Seriously Old Dirt 2019, WO Western Cape, 13.5% Abv.

This wine casts an attractive plummy purple-black colour and offers up vibrant notes of candied Parma violets, crème de cassis, sun raisined black cherries and hints of blueberry confit with an overlay of graphite and cedar spice. There is a lovely youthful maritime salinity and black liquorice nuance that melts into notes of iodine and Chinese five spice. The palate is medium bodied, fresh and supple but slowly unfurls to reveal a solid frame of creamy mineral tannins, ample Cabernet Sauvignon extract and a long, pleasingly drying grippy structure that is bolstered by salty cassis, taut black orchard fruits, stewed black cherries and hints of complexing bay leaf herbal spice. The 2019 vintage yielded wines with freshness, structural classicism, mineral tension and harmony and this superb new release from Vilafonte speaks honestly of the vintage and continues to fly the flag for premium second wines that offer exceptional quality, value for money and age-ability. Drink this on release with some lovely slow roasted lamb or age for 2 to 3+ years to allow it to open its shoulders further. A great wine for the savvy fine wine drinker.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine Safari New Release Review – Tasting the Resplendent New Vilafonte Series C 2018 Red Blend…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

I am very fortunate that despite almost a year of minimal international travel and intermittent lockdowns, I have been able to taste many of the best wines of South Africa both blind and sighted in my capacity as the lead reviewer for the Fine Wine Safari as well as in the capacity of South African Panel Chair for the 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards. As a result, I have luckily had ample opportunity to get up close and personal with many of the new release 2018 Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet based blends and formulate my opinions on the wines that this fourth drought year yielded.

The 2018 vintage was certainly marked by one of the worst droughts on record and presented some significant challenges for all vine growers and winemakers in the Western Cape. With water resources at an all time low and strict rationing in effect, reduced water availability for irrigation led to reduced vine vigour and canopy sizes. Some unseasonable rains and low temperatures in October and November disrupted fruit set and further reduced the number and size of berries on grape clusters.

In the end, harvest timings were close to normal, beginning on February 2nd and continuing uninterrupted until February 27th. Overall, the vintage saw yields contract by -24% following a very generous crop in 2017 and the fruit was marked by berries being on average -25% smaller in size than normal leading to wines with an intense inky colour, piercing concentration and striking fruit richness – the perfect building blocks for another impressive Vilafonte Series C blend.

Vilafonte Series C 2018, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.

This new release Series C 2018 is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 14% Malbec and 11% Cabernet Franc and saw 22 months in 69% new French oak barriques with the balance aged in older French oak. Following in the footsteps of three fantastic vintages in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the 2018 boldly asserts its own character and persona not wanting to live in the shadow of any of its predecessors. The aromatics are opulent and richly fruited with extroverted, evocative notes of violets and black cherry kirsch liquor, crème de cassis, ripe sloes and fresh juniper berries. The youthful fruit brightness is gently caressed by a creamy, seductive veil of subtle vanilla oak spice, cocoa powder, warm brown toast and lightly roasted coffee bean nuances. What many of the very best red 2018 blends show in glimpses, this wine reveals with generous excess. Softly textured and impressively suave and harmonious, the palate is filled with a piercing black currant concentration, salty black liquorice and an attractive vanilla pod spice complexity that coats the palate and grows slowly and persistently in volume, depth and breadth. Not only is one of the true signs of great winemaking marked by allowing a wine to express its terroir, but this must inevitably go hand in hand with the ability of a wine to truly illustrate its vintage in as many vivid colours and flavours as possible. 2018 reds have always shown an incredible translucent purity and sweet fruited concentration, extreme elegance with a compact core of power from day one with the more detailed finery never being obscured by any one single component in the glass. This beautiful Series C is a tremendous piece of winemaking resulting from an ongoing mission of vinous refinement. When all is said and done and we eventually look back on the 2018 wines objectively, I predict that this Series C will stand amongst the top wines of the vintage. Drink on release or cellar with confidence for another 10 to 15+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)