Warwick Professor Black Pitch Black 2021

A Classical blend inspired by the wines that came from Stellenbosch in the middle of the previous century. Traditional Bordeaux varieties mixed with Cinsault, as was the norm more than 50 years ago. All the varieties besides the Cinsault are de-stemmed and fermented on the skins for 2-3 weeks before pressing and ageing in small French oak barrels for a period of 12 months, 24% new, 11% second fill and 31% third fill, and the balance in older oak. The Cinsault was fermented whole bunch and aged unwooded. Blending and light filtration took place before bottling in August 2022..

42% Cabernet Sauvignon; 20% Cinsault; 15% Merlot; 7% Petit Verdot; 6% Malbec

Slow braised beef short rib with creamy polenta

93 / 100 Tim Atkin Report 2023

When people talk about the ‘history’ of a place, they think of the people who lived there, and the personalities who built it. For Warwick Estate, ‘history’ began when the first title deed was issued for the land in 1771. For almost two hundred years, it was a hugely productive fruit farm that served the Cape’s growing pioneer population. It was only in 1964 that the Ratcliffe Family arrived on the scene, and it took winemaker Norma Ratcliffe, alongside her husband Stan, twenty years before they released their first wine. Warwick’s La Femme Bleu Cabernet Sauvignon was released in 1984, after which the estate went on to bottle the first ever ‘Cape Blend’ in the world, won multiple international wine awards, appeared on some of the planet’s most prestigious wine lists, and even became a wine of choice for James Bond in one of his many adventures. In many senses, the Warwick Estate brand that you know today was developed the same way one might nurture a grape vine; through decade upon decade of careful planning, pruning, and persistence.