Tasting Notes
Intense garnet to dark purple in colour with vibrant aromas of violets, cocoa and black pepper. The palate shows richness and roundness with flavours of blackberries and plum.
Winemaker's Notes
Planted on a western facing slope and in Glenrosa type soils on a deep shale base, this vineyard of Malbec ripens quite early yielding superior quality fruit with good analysis and a lovely vibrant natural acidity. The grapes were hand picked and whole bunch sorted over a week and crushed and destemmed into a stainless steel tank. Most of the extraction happens during a coldsoak for two to three days, followed by a slow fermentation. With extended time on the skins post ferment, further aroma development is allowed. After malolactic fermentation finishes naturally on the skins, the grapes were pressed at -2° balling and matured in 40% new French oak as well as 2nd and 3rd fill French oak barrels for 12 months before racking and bottling in June 2020.
Analysis
| Varietal: | Malbec |
| Alcohol: | 13.38% |
| pH: | 3.45 |
| Total Acidity: | 5.7 g/l |
| Residual Sugar: | 3 g/l |
Serving Suggestion
Serve with roast leg of lamb, also great with matured cheese and preserves.
Chef's Special
Springbok fillet cooked in a Malbec reduction.
| SAWI Rating: | 95+ |
Awards
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2007 | Double Gold: Michelangelo Wine Awards 2009 Double Gold: Tri Nations 2009 National Winner: SA Terroir Wine Awards 2009 Gold: Decanter World Wine Awards |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2008 | Gold: Decanter World Wine Awards |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2009 | Gold: Michelangelo Wine Awards 2010 National Winner: SA Terroir Wine Awards 2011 Gold: Michelangelo Wine Awards 2011 |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2010 | Top 100 winner: Top 100 SA Wines 2012 Best Value: Top 100 SA Wines 2012 National Winner: SA Terroir Wine Awards 2012 |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2011 | Silver: Michelangelo Wine Awards 2013 |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2014 | Top 20 SA wines for 2016 and best Malbec over 10 years: SAWi National Winner: SA Terroir Awards 2016 Best Single Vineyard Wine: SA Terroir Awards 2016 |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2015 | Double Platinum: National Wine Challenge 2017 / Top 100 SA Wines Top 100 winner: National Wine Challenge 2017 / Top 100 SA Wines |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2016 | 90 Points: Tim Atkin Report 2018 |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2017 | 91 Points: Tim Atkin Report 2019 Regional Winner: Terroir Awards 2019 Best wine in region: Quest for the best 2019 |
| Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2018 | Double Platinum / Top 100 Winner: National Wine Challenge 2021 / Top 100 SA Wines 82.6 points: Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2021 Bronze 89 points: Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 SAWI: Platinum |
