Spier Frans K Smit Red 2017
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RATINGS
Vivino: 4.5 | Tim Atkin: 94 points | Platter's: 5 stars
TASTING NOTES
61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec
This top-of-the-range wine from Spier, has at first, cigar box coming through but also intense red fruit on the nose, followed by sprigs of violet, minty chocolate and chalkiness. When you pick up the glass, initially you’ll be struck by dark fruit but then the aromas swing back to violets, cigar box and pencil shavings - the distinctive chalkiness that’s the ‘rememberage’ of this very special Helderberg terroir. There’s complexity to this wine - much more than just pencil shavings and cassis - with Cabernet Franc bringing in fresh florals and Malbec adding brightness and perfumed notes. The profile of the granite soils makes this blend full-hearted, with polished, integrated, firm tannins.
A gigantic mouthfeel!’
This vintage will go down as one of our most remarkable on record. The vines were planted between 2000-2003, so we were picking in the prime of the vineyards’ life, at 15-17 years. The wine is 100% Helderberg - what extraordinary terroir! - and without question one of the best years ever, for Helderberg Cabernet Sauvignon. So its dominance is upped in the blend to a hefty 61%, then in the final blend added Cabernet Franc from a younger vintage to stir in freshness and an element of surprise. The balance between sugar and natural acidity is quite something. A big, impressionable mouthfeel and a long, gripping finish. This wine promises amazing ageing potential.
‘To complement the flavours, pair this with tender, flavourful meat and a red wine sauce, perhaps with delicate wild mushrooms as a side. A good beef fillet, simply prepared, or matured kudu loin marinated in buttermilk, rolled in biltong spices and seared on a hot fire, would be wonderful.’
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
| Varietals | 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec |
| Alcohol | 14.78% |
| Residual Sugar | 3.3 g/L |
| pH | 3.57 |
| Total Acidity | 6 g/L |