Wine Composition
90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot
Winemakers Comments
Rabelais is a blend of the best Bordeaux components from our Thelema range from the 2020 vintage. The wine shows concentrated aromas of dark berries and cedar wood on the nose that are complemented by lovely sweet fruit and polished tannins on the palate. The wine finishes long and firm and will reward cellaring.
Awards
Tim Atkin | 98 points (2019)
Technical Analysis
Alcohol Percentage
14.5%
TA
6.5 g/l
pH
3.5
RS
2.0 g/l
Vinification and Maturation
De-stalked, hand sorted, whole berries pumped into stainless steel fermentation tanks and pumped over twice a day until dry. After fermentation the wine is left on the skins for 12 hours before pressing, once pressed wine is racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation.
Winemaker
Gyles Webb (Cellar master) and 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 wine making style result 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.
+1 888 812 2543