Wine lovers with a passion for Bordeaux style red blends will be happy to know that De Wethof has released its very first red blend.The De Wets have a long established reputation as pioneers of Chardonnay and Riesling but have also been extremely successful with their noble superior red varieties.
The inspiration for this Bordeaux-style wine was to combine two of the world’s great classical red cultivars in order to create a powerful, yet elegant wine with individuality. Named after French architect, Louis Michel Thibault, this well made predominantly Merlot-based blend pays tribute to one of the most influential architects in the history of the Cape. The De Wetshof Estate’s main building in Robertson is an exact replica of Thibault’s famous Koopmans-De Wet House in Cape Town, and the winery’s design is also modelled on one of the architect’s drawings.
According to Marketing manager Johann de Wet, Thibault 2009 was an inevitable addition to the De Wetshof wine portfolio. ”De Wetshof’s heritage and reputation have been built on Chardonnay, and we will always remain a foremost producer of this cultivar. However, this does not mean that we can neglect the other gems on our farm, and the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard blocks have yielded fruit of outstanding quality in the last few years.”
Johann de Wet at the launch of Thibault 2009, held at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town
Winemaker Peter de Wet feels that typical Merlot and Cabernet characteristics lie at the core of this wine. Only fully ripened grapes are selected and picked early, in the cool morning hours. After de-stemming, the grapes are cold soaked in a tank for couple of days to enhance the extraction of colour and tannins. Once fermentation is complete, the juice is pressed and barreled down into French oak barrels which have been personally selected by the French cooper Christian Radoux. After malolactic fermentation the wines are racked off the lees into fresh barrels and aged for 18 months.
Winemaker at De Wetshof and the creator of Thibault 2009 – Peter de Wet
Perfumed with aromas of ripe black berries and some sweet oak, the Thibault 2009 is smooth and supple in the mouth with gentle tannins. The wonderfully concentrated flavours exhibit ripe, plumy black fruits, linger persistently into the long finish. This is a super elegant wine, embodying its land of origin.
Good things don’t come cheap and considering that there are only 3000 bottles available, R250 is a small price to pay for such remarkable and truly delicious wine.
