Zonnebloem Lauréat workshop gives insight into craft of blending

For anyone out there imagining wine blending as a walk in the park, think again!

It’s fun but it’s definitely hard work. A group of Capetonian wine enthusiasts was given the inside track on just what it takes when they tried to reconstruct Zonnebloem’s flagship red, Lauréat, from its component parts – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Petit Verdot. Even tasting the 2013 vintage of the wine as their reference and knowing how much each variety contributed to the end result, didn’t make it any easier.

“To give the group an idea of the complexities involved in working with many building blocks, we gave them multiple samples of the component cultivars – not nearly as many as the cellar team uses – but quite a few, ” explains Zonnebloem’s global marketing manager Dè-Mari Kellerman. “Working in teams, their first step was to blend the constituent parts before tackling the actual blend. The aim was for them to come as close as possible to our 2013 vintage Lauréat.”

To make Lauréat, grapes are sourced from top Stellenbosch vineyards, supplied by growers who have been working with Zonnebloem over generations. In the cellars, every vineyard block is individually vinified and aged in wood before being evaluated and considered for the final assemblage. About 130 barrel samples are reviewed for selection.

The Lauréat workshop held in Stellenbosch, highlighted the nuance and subtlety required in crafting a blend, especially one as sumptuous and harmonious as Zonnebloem’s flagship, with its delicious blackcurrant, cherry, chocolate and spice aromas, tastes and a juicy, well-balanced palate with firm but supple tannins.

Try the 2012 Zonnebloem Lauréat, available now from leading stockists. It retails for around R95.