About the Wine

Recently I came across Raats winery from Stellenbosch and the wines were eye opening to say the least. I've traveled and tasted through South Africa. I've tasted hundreds of South African wines over the years. These wines stand out as the BEST Bordeaux blends I've ever tasted from the region. If you love Bordeaux, you'll love these wines. If you love Cabernet Franc in particular, this winery has catapulted to the top of my list as one of the global masters of this varietal.

Upon further exploration, I learned there is a fantastic story behind this winery.
You can find out more by watching this four minute video about the family.

I also learned I am not the only one who was impressed with the quality in the bottle. The winery has already been recognized by Platter's guide as the winery of the year in 2018 and by major US critics with numerous 94-96pt scores. I suppose like most wine lovers, I'm guilty of overlooking this winery and this region. Frankly, I don't have that many clients asking for South African wines. These wines will help change that. Wine lovers in the know are already aware that there are some stunning wines in South Africa. These wines sit atop the pyramid and are not to be missed.

Production Notes: The wine was fermented in 300 liter French oak barrels (20% new). After nine months, the two components were blended together, and the wine was then aged for an additional two months on its lees before bottling.

Tasting Notes: The wine offers a complex nose showing quince, white peach, yellow apple, acacia, nettles, white pepper and fenugreek spices and an intense minerality. The stone fruit character follows through onto an exceptionally balanced, very delicate, fine-textured limey palate showing a peach-melba character with an exquisite roundness and freshness. The wine lingers with hints of ripe nectarine and apricot, zesty lemon and wet chalk.

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