Buitenverwachting Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2023

Blends based on the Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have long been a speciality of the Cape and this example from Buitenverwachting pretty much has the style nailed. Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon the wine was aged in second and third fill French oak barrels for about two years following fermentation. There are ripe, dark cassis aromas along with hints of blackcurrant leaf which follow on to the palate. There's a good minerality giving a pleasant freshness and grippy, well-tuned tannins for structure and a gentle fragrace on the finish.

Ripe and welcoming it's very good value and will go well with lamb and pork recipes or meaty pasta dishes.

Buitenverwachting is one of South Africa's more historic wine estates. It sits on part of the Constantia Estate - where the country's first vineyards were planted in 1685 by Simon van der Stel, the first governor of the Dutch colony at the Cape. Over the centuries the region's fortunes have waxed and waned, but viticulture has always hung on. Since being acquired by the Mueller family in 1980 the whole estate underwent comprehensive renovation and they've built things so as to be a name to be reckoned with. Lars Maack, son of Christine Mueller, heads up operations alongside Brad Paton, chief winemaker, who has been at the estate since 2002.