Wine Composition

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemakers Comments

Complex and stylish, with aromas of ripe blackcurrant, dark chocolate, and pencil shavings. This wine is bone dry, yet exhibits a lovely sweet fruit character on the palate, with a lovely long finish.

Awards

Tim Atkin | 93 points

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage 

14%

TA

5.7 g/l

pH

3.48

RS

2.1 g/l 

Cellar Techniques

De-stalked, hand sorting of berries, crushed, pumped into stainless steel tanks, 2 aerative pump-overs per day, pressed off once dry, racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation. Wood maturation for 18 months in barrel. 40% new French oak, balance in older barrels.

Winemaker

Name: Rudi Schultz

Winery

Thelema, situated on the spectacular Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch, is a family owned and managed wine estate and the home of Thelema and Sutherland Vineyards wines. Gyles Webb bought Thelema, a charming dilapidated fruit farm, in 1983 with the help of his wife’s family. Fruit orchards were pulled out and vines were planted. The manor house was restored and the first wines under the Thelema label were released in 1988. The ripe pure-fruited wines were a revelation to many and it wasn’t long before the romantic tale of a run-down old fruit farm became the success story of an avant-garde winery. By the mid 90's Thelema’s wines sold out within a month after release, making it one of the most sought-after wine estates in South Africa. 

The high altitude and the deep red soils are ideal for premium quality wine grape production.

"We do not buy in any grapes and all wines are bottled on the estate to maintain absolute control over every aspect of the wine production. The terroir in combination with Gyles Webb’s winemaking style results in flavourful, flamboyant, complex and long-lasting wines with a distinctive South African character. In 2000, Gyles moved into the role of cellar master and handed over the winemaking duties to the talented Rudi Schultz (one of the famous Schultz winemaking brothers). We hope you enjoy our wines and it would be a pleasure to welcome you at Thelema for a chat and a taste of our latest release."