Orange River Cellars Omstaan Rooi Muskadel

In a first for South Africa, this wine contains the best barrels from different vintages. Each year wines were tasted and scored. Only the best barrel from each vintage became part of the final blend.

The idea was born from a halted harvest post a rainstorm some 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the batch of grapes harvested were relatively small and so we were necessitated, since we don’t have a small tank, to stomp the grapes by foot! It was fun, experimental and created some lovely camaraderie in the cellar. We had no expectation, yet once in wood, the wine displayed beautifully and so originated the idea of keeping some grapes aside each year to eventually blend as a multiple-vintage Muscadel.

It took us over a week of tastings, sampling and re-evaluating each vintage years’ tasting notes, and selecting only one barrel per vintage, before we found the perfectly balanced blend.

This wine is incredibly special to us and although I believe there is a time and place for a single vintage wine, innovation lies in the blending of multiple-vintages. With this blend we are truly expressing a sense of place, the terroir, the unique landscape of the Green Kalahari and the character of each vintage year enjoyed as a collective.

In a first for South Africa, this wine contains the best barrels from 10 different vintages. Each year wines were tasted and scored. Only the best barrel from each vintage became part of the final blend.