2022 Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
The Boekenhoutskloof 2022 Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon is cut with a small 15% Cabernet Franc and sees almost all (90%) new oak. The grapes come from a vineyard site fitted into a narrow ravine, and it gets quite cool at night and very hot during the day. The area requires a longer ripening period because more shade is thrown by the nearby mountains in Stellenbosch. Meanwhile, the False Bay side of the vineyard is influenced by ocean weather patterns, and there are extreme temperature drops or diurnal shifts. The soils are very old with decomposed quartz. This wine is soft, round and very pleasurable with lots of heft and flavor on the mid-palate. There is a hint of dried spice and sweet cinnamon. Both these Cabernet Sauvignons promise long cellar aging. In fact, the winery has a late-release program, and I believe they are pouring the 2001 right now.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The oak influence is clear but doesn't dominate the wine. Cedar and sandalwood, ripe blackcurrant and black cherry, oregano and wild thyme, and the smoky jalapeño note that I usually associate with South African Cabernet. Sandpapery tannins. The wine is elegant and balanced but also very tightly coiled at the moment. This isn't ready now but will be lovely 2–3 years from now and for several years after that. (JRL)
Cabernet Sauvignon with a bit of Cabernet Franc. Hand-harvested, destemmed grapes underwent a cold maceration and spontaneous fermentation in tulip-shaped concrete tanks, followed by malolactic conversion in 225-litre barriques. The wine was then matured on their OXOline system for 22 months in French oak (95% new). RS 2.58 g/l, TA 5.18 g/l, pH 3.73. The oak influence is clear but doesn't dominate the wine. Cedar and sandalwood, ripe blackcurrant and black cherry, oregano and wild thyme, and the smoky jalapeño note that I usually associate with South African Cabernet. Sandpapery tannins. The wine is elegant and balanced but also very tightly coiled at the moment. This isn't ready now but will be lovely 2–3 years from now and for several years after that. (JRL)
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Franschhoek is vinified in exactly the same way as its Stellenbosch counterpart, with a proportion of Cabernet Franc (14%) and just a little more oak. This has more black and blue fruit and is perhaps more floral in style, almost as if there were a soupçon of Syrah in the blend (there isn't). The palate is medium-bodied with dark red berry fruit interlaced with cocoa, dark chocolate and light tobacco notes of fine length. It will need, say, six months in bottle once released in 2025.