DeWaal Wines Signal Rock 2014 & Tracy Foulkes’s Melanzane Parmigiana

Thursday, 3 August, 2017
Michael Olivier Communication
Every wine has a story, sometimes clinical vineyard and cellar stuff, sometimes a real story filled with history and nostalgia. On a long time, owned family farm like Uiterwyk, home to DeWaal Wines, stories go back generations.

Stellenbosch Mountain was covered in a grey shadow and every day at noon, sunlight would shine on the clock. A signal from nature that lunch time was upon them. Time to eat and a time to find a tree under which to rest. This still happens today, but people have watches to tell them when noon has arrived. Best seen from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Vineyards on the Estate.

Part of the Estate’s Premier Range, the DeWaal Wines Signal Rock 2014 is a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage blend produced only in years when the grape types shine and produce outstanding quality. This has not happened since 2009. The production of the Top of the Hill vineyard is low because of its advanced age of the vineyard, planted some 60 years ago, and the tonnage taken is ever decreasing, and as a result, the Pinotage component will always be small.

This could be classed as a Cape Blend, but the Pinotage content needs to be at least 33%. The idea of a Cape Blend had its origin at Uiterwyk. The first Cape Blend was produced on Uiterwyk Wine Estate in 1993, it consisted of 40% Pinotage, 40% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Pieter de Waal was in fact the first person to initiate the drive of the Cape Blend and its Association, to enhance Pinotage and its qualities in a Blend.

Chosen as one of the Top 15 Blended Wines at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, the DeWaal Wines Signal Rock 2014 is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 10% Pinotage, was matured for 18 months in 225-litre French oak barrels of which half were new.

It looks like
Bottled under natural cork closure in a Bordeaux shaped bottle with elegant livery. In the glass, it is a deep dark plum red at the core which pales out to a gem bright garnet at the meniscus.

It smells like
Berry fruits, Ribena and fruitcake spices. Undertow of well-applied oak.

It tastes like
Rich round elegant and satisfying. Full bodied from entry, through mid-palate, and into the long ending. Beautifully layered and structured. This wine is a keep and will do you proud if cellared for 5 years or so. A very elegant glassful.

It’s good with
This could be the after dinner ‘conversation’ bottle by the fire after a good meal.  Red meat, grilled or roasted with caramelly edges would be a great partner.  As a vegetarian option, there is none better than Tracy Foulkes’s Melanzane Parmigiana. A dish with excellent tomato flavours and breathing of the Mediterranean. Click here for her recipe.

To read more about DeWaal Wines and buy online – CLICK HERE...

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DeWaal Wines Signal Rock 2014 & Tracy Foulkes’s Melanzane Parmigiana
DeWaal Wines Signal Rock 2014 & Tracy Foulkes’s Melanzane Parmigiana

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