Clos Malverne Auret 2020

The grapes are hand- harvested at optimal ripeness. They are then destalked, crushed and fermented for 7 days on the skins in open fermenting tanks. The average fermentation temperature is 24-30° C. After fermentation, the skins are pressed in traditional basket presses. The free run and pressed juices are combined and malolactic fermentation spontaneously takes place in the tank. Now the wine is racked and 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Pinotage and 10% Merlot is blended. The wine spent 12-13 months in 225l French oak barrels.

The grapes were harvested from selected vineyards in the prime red wine growing area of the Devon Valley near Stellenbosch. Summers are warm and dry, whilst sea breezes from the nearby False Bay cool the vineyards in the afternoons. The winters are wet and cold with a high average rainfall.

Good maturation prospects – 5 to 7 years.

Cape Blend

Pairs well with all red meat dishes.

Seymour Pritchard bought the 10-hectare farm, Malvern Heights, in 1969 from Colonel JW Billingham, who had named the farm after the rolling hills around Malvern in his native England. When winemaking came into Seymour’s sights in the mid-1980’s, France was still the epicentre of the wine universe. He then added some “French Flair” to the name and changed it to Clos Malverne, due to the homestead on the farm being reminiscent of a Clos in France.