Wine Composition
49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc & 6% Petit Verdot
Winemakers Comments
Arboretum is crafted from the fruit of the organically farmed estate vineyards in Devon Valley, Stellenbosch. It is a blend of the best barrels the vintage gives the winemaker. This rich, smooth Cabernet Sauvignon dominant Bordeaux-style blend displays lovely blackberry, black cherry, and tobacco notes on the nose. On the palate, it boasts a core of opulent plum and cassis fruit, with firm tannins providing great texture and structure.
Awards
Tim Atkin | 92 points
Technical Analysis
Alcohol Percentage
14.5%
TA
5.7 g/l
pH
3.63
RS
2.4 g/
Vinification
The grapes for this wine were harvested at 22 and 23 balling, hand sorted, destemmed but not crushed. Whole berry fermentation in open tanks with punch downs twice a day. Innoculated with assmanhausen yeast. Selected best tasting barrels from entire vintage and then finalized blend. Matured in French oak barrel for 12 months
Winemaker
Name - Ginny Povall
Winery
Botanica Wines was founded in 2009 by owner and self-taught winemaker Ginny Povall, an intrepid American who fell in love with the beautiful Cape winelands, purchased Protea Heights farm in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley and relocated to the southern tip of Africa in 2008. Established in the late 1940s, Protea Heights was the first farm in South Africa to cultivate indigenous protea flowers commercially. Inspired by this horticultural history, it was only natural that Ginny would choose to develop her wine brands and labels with a botanical flair.
Today the estate boasts eight varieties of proteas (four of which are hybridized species unique to the property), largely destined for export to Europe. The 21.6 hectare farm is planted with 10 hectares of indigenous flowers, which bloom throughout the year, and 5 hectares of organically farmed, high density vineyards. Planted between 2009 and 2010, the estate vines provide the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Albariño used to craft Botanica’s Arboretum, Big Flower and Flowergirl ranges.