The Mentors Cabernet Franc 2017

This fruit-driven wine shows aromas of spice, pencil shavings and dark cherries. The complex, layered palate delivers a silky soft finish with powdery tannins. The juicy, fleshy characteristics of this extraordinary wine contribute to its bold structure and complexity.

Enjoy the wine on its own, with beef fillet or dishes of tender veal.

variety : Cabernet Franc [ 100% Cabernet Franc ]

winery : The Mentors

winemaker : The Winemaking Team

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 14.6 % vol rs : 2.53 g/l pH : 3.35 ta : 6.13 g/l

style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

ageing : This wine can be enjoyed now, but cellaring for an additional 5 - 8 years will be rewarded.

Winter 2016 provided sufficient cold and higher rainfall for a great start to this vintage. Regular, small rains in spring and cool moderate temperatures provided conditions for good, early-season cane and canopy development. Bud break was even as was spring growth, but flowering was not-usually due to weather. Early leaf breaks directly after flowering allowed sunlight to even out the vintage, as did early green harvesting of retarded bunches. Growth and development sped up in moderate conditions that ensured outstanding vine health.

Warmth from late December to January, drought and lighter yields, meant another record early start to harvest that ran until early March. Despite shifts in variety harvest order, wine quality looks fabulous.

in the vineyard :

100% Stellenbosch

Yield: 8 tons/ha

about the harvest: Grapes were harvested at optimal ripeness and hand-sorted in the cellar to ensure only the best fruit was used for fermentation.

in the cellar :

Alcohol fermentation lasted approximately six days and during this time, the wine was pumped over every six hours. It was pressed, then settled and transferred to a barrel for malolactic fermentation. The wine was then racked and cleaned and returned to the barrel for maturation. After 12 months the wines were selected to mature for a further six months. In total over the 18 month maturation period, the wine was racked twice. This wine is truly about selecting the best of the best.

Maturation: The wine spent 18 months in 70% new French oak barrels.

email the winery

email this page

find our wines in :