Raats - "Dolomite" Cabernet Franc , Stellenbosch - 2019 (750ml)

Wine Composition

95% Cabernet Franc & 5% Malbec

Critics Comments

"Hats off to anyone who has managed to capture the real beauty of Cab Franc, even if only a few barrels. The real hero is the one who manages to create a proud representative of both variety and place in big enough volumes to be distributed and enjoyed around the world. Sold at a great price-value ratio. A Franc that offers its lively, charmingly attractive red fruit spectrum and floral fragrance while holding on to its seriousness, in both structure and its characteristic herbal spectrum, which is so much part of its DNA. Winningly balanced on a knife’s edge. If you lose that, on either side, you lose its soul. And this is where Bruwer has completely nailed The Dolomite 2019 to absolute perfection. Part of its success is that this is not made as a “second wine”. It is not a declassified Raats Family Wines, not a selection of the “lesser barrels” to match a lower price point. It is proudly grown and made to be The Dolomite. And it will succeed in bringing more Cab Franc lovers into this world. Just as in the Loire, the challenge is to bring it to you in its purest expression. As flirty, as serious, while still being very capable of playing with your mind as much as offering enormous drinking pleasure. Where the bright, red-fruited juiciness stays in front of the gritty, spicy herbal edge, ready to charm your socks off. The first vintage of Dolomite was 2010. More than ten years of finetuning, the Bruwer way. Constantly evolving, taking in the feedback. Constantly going back to the drawing board and now getting into the very finest detail. Persistence is also king." - Madeleine Stenwreth MW

Awards

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage

14% 

RS

2.3 g/l

In the Cellar

Grapes were hand sorted three times, crushed and left to cold soak on the skins for five days. After fermentation at a temperature of 28°C, the grapes were basket pressed and underwent malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks.

Winemaker

Name - Bruwer Raats / Gavin

Winery

Raats Family Wines are specialists in the crafting of exceptional wines from Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc.  It is their mission to consistently produce Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc of outstanding quality from South Africa and to establish these wines as international benchmarks. The Raats family lives for and dreams about these two varieties and passionately produces wines they believe are truly distinct from old vineyards in the Stellenbosch area east of Cape Town. They have earned a reputation internationally as a New World leader in the production of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc.