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93POINTS
17¼/20
Natte Valleij Swartland Cinsault 2018
Swartland, Coastal Region, South AfricaYoung winemaker Alex Milner suddenly became very cinsault-centric when a professor told him not to bother reading the cinsault chapter in his textbook because it would be worthless to him. Fast forward from that 2011 conversation to today, and The Natte Valleij Cinsault Collective. Alex set out to find forgotten patches of old Cinsault across the Western Cape, expressing their individualities through low-interference winemaking. These dry farmed bush vines were planted in 1986 on decomposed Malmesbury shale, lying on an eastern facing, morning-sunned slope. This was aged in foudres, with 20% stems (left in the full sun for a day). Powerful and direct, with wild plums, black raspberry, medicinal scented cherry, scrubby wild herbs, and dashes of rock salt flooding the generous (only 12.5%) palate. The structure is firm, though the bones are very fine, drawing this to a lingering finish. Drinking very smartly now, and will continue in your cellar.Tasted: 28 December 2020Tasted by: Treve RingPrices:| BC | $49.00 | 750ml | private wine shops |
Grape: Cinsault
