De Blaauwe Klip – A modern classic paying homage to history and soil

Paying homage to more than 300 years of wine history and the distinctive blue-grey granite that gave the farm its original name, Blaauwklippen has released a classic Bordeaux blend in their range of premium red wines, the De Blaauwe Klip 2017.

Blaauwklippen’s Stellenbosch terroir with its mineral-rich decomposed granite soils lends itself to producing superior red wines, and especially the traditional Bordeaux cultivars found in the estate’s single varietal range.

Blaauwklippen winemaker Narina Cloete said the “very promising” 2017 vintage prompted her to create De Blaauwe Klip, a classic five-way blend of cabernet sauvignon (38%), merlot (24%), cabernet franc (14.5%), malbec (14.5%) and petit verdot (9%), made to age for up to 20 years.

“Our Bordeaux blend has always been a top seller and a favourite of customers, and we decided it was time to release one again, paying homage to our roots, history and soils, and naming the wine for the original name of the farm,” Cloete said.

The cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec vineyards are situated close to the Helderberg mountain range, on decomposed granite soils with a fine gravel or sand component, while the cabernet franc and petit verdot benefit from the good water retention properties of coarser decomposed granite and clay on the Stellenbosch mountain.

“Both pockets are ideal terroirs for slow ripening of red grapes to ensure phenolic ripeness and flavour concentration at harvesting,” she said.

The varieties were hand-picked, destemmed and whole berry fermented separately in French oak and stainless-steel tanks, with prolonged skin contact for delicate extraction of tannins, colour and flavour. After malolactic fermentation, the batches were separately matured for 16 months in French oak (13% first fill) before blending and bottling.

Cloete said the dark cassis and cigar box flavours, with plummy chocolate pudding notes on the nose, make De Blaauwe Klip “a stunning wine for venison”, as well as hearty winter casseroles and braaied steak. The palate is vibrant with velvet tannins, a serious mid-palate and distinctive length.

De Blaauwe Klip 2017 is made for enjoyment now or cellaring from 5 to 20 years.

The wine is available at R195 from the farm or online at www.blaauwklippen.com,and will soon be stocked in specialist wine stores.

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