CAPE VINTAGE RESERVE

2021

LOrmarins Cape Vintage Reserve

CAPE VINTAGE RESERVE 2021

Deep ruby black colour, inky and dense. Rich fruitcakes aromas, redolent of prunes, dates, raisins, spice, nuts and even a touch of brandied Christmas pudding. The palate picks up where the nose leaves off – spicy, rich stewed prune, raisin and nutty flavours. Sweetness is to be expected with this style of fortified wine but it’s beautifully restrained and balanced with the spirit fortification, maintaining a superb equilibrium throughout. There is a lovely tannic dryness and grip, so reminiscent of typical Portuguese Port. Structured, poised and precise, with everything in harmony. Lovely lingering tail.

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In the Vineyard

These site specific vineyards are planted on decomposed granite soils on a North West facing slope in Franschhoek. 2020 was a big harvest with an even ripening season. This resulted in medium size bunches which yielded ideal high quality wines.

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Winemaking

The 2020 Late bottled vintage was made from Touriga National and Souzão grapes grown on L’Ormarins estate. The wine was fermented in Stainless Steel tanks and then fortified with wine spirits that was distilled on our estate with an alembic still. The wine spirits was made from Ugni Blanc grapes. Ageing was done for 23 months in old Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.

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Origin of Fruit

Franschhoek

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Soil Type

Decomposed Granite

The Journey

SPIRITS AT L’ORMARINS

The first vintage of L’Ormarins Sagnac was only distilled in 2007, but the journey started in 2005 for Anthonij Rupert Wyne when Johann Rupert initiated the search for an alembic still. Armagnac as a category however is much, much older and was established, by all accounts around 1387 when French Royalty started taking an interest in it.

Armagnac is a distinctive brandy, usually distilled from wine and made from a blend of grapes using a column still rather than a pot still as in the production of Cognac. Similarly Eau de Vie is distilled from various fruits and as the name suggests was seen as the elixir of life by some. At the end of the 17th Century it was merely seen as a preservative. The drinkers of pure Eau de Vie, were no doubt the Dutch sailors. They called it brandewijn.

At the end of the 19th Century improvements were made on the column still, now called the alembic still and a growth in the trade of Eau de Vie encouraged distillers to perfect their equipment. In 2006 an alembic still arrived on L’Ormarins and was installed. Producing 2.5 barrels of Sagnac per vintage between 2007 and 2011. By 2011 “Buks” Willem Venter (the artisanal distiller responsible for L’Ormarins Sagnac and Eau de Vie) was eager to expand the range, having been introduced to the owner of most of the litchi trees in the Malelane region. Laboratory fermentations and distillations were done and the team went commercial with the resultant products in 2013. Both the first vintage of the L’Ormarins Litchi Eau de Vie as well as the L’Ormarins Sagnac was released for the first time in July 2015.