2022 Craven Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa

ABOUT THIS WINE

Going against what is considered standard operatingprocedure, Mick and Jeanine fermented the grapes with a good percentage of whole bunch (75%) with the remaining destemmed on top. They love the tannin structure and aromatics the whole bunches can give to a wine and feel it works well with Cabernet.

The grapes were pressed a little earlier than completedryness to make sure the tannins didnt get to aggressive and finished fermentation in tank. The wine was then matured in neutral 300L barrels for 12 months before bottling.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Craven Wines is a winemaking collaboration between husband-and-wife team Mick and Jeanine Craven. Mick is an Aussie currently working as lead winemaker at Mulderbosch during the day; Jeanine is South African, and they met in California ‘dragging hoses’ in Sonoma for harvest in 2007. After both having taken to the text books at their respective universities, they decided to hit the road, see lots of things, work in lots of places and try and learn as much as possible from this massive wine world. After travelling across the world together for four years and learning about wines in Australia, Europe, the States and South America, the couple returned to South Africa in late 2011. They feel Stellenbosch has such an amazing array of sites and terroir, and that it is perfect for what they want to do, which is making site-specific, honest wines.