Two of our special Welgegund Heritage Wines have been awarded more than 90-pointS in Tim Atkin’s 2019 South Africa Special Report. Our special release, Welgegund Heritage Wines Grenache Noir 2017 and Cinsault 2017 were scored at 93 and 91 points respectively.
Tim Atkin, a British Master of Wine and accomplished wine critic has extensive knowledge of South African wines. His South African Special Report is now in its seventh year and is his largest yet. He tasted 2 115 local wines for his 2019 report. The wines are rated according to the international 100-point system.
“We are delighted that the stature of our two 2017 niche cultivar releases has been endorsed by acclaimed UK Master of Wine, Tim Atkin. 2017 was an exceptional vintage. Our Cinsault and Grenache Noir are normally destined for blending, but when I saw the quality of these varietals in barrel, I just knew I had to do single cultivar bottlings and show these wines to the world. After the severe drought of the 2016/2017 season, the Cinsault vines produced smaller berries of exceptional quality, bringing lovely colour and intense concentration to the wine and adding a wealth of fruit, richness, texture and depth of flavour. I wanted to showcase the ample fruit and aromas unique to Cinsault.” Friedrich Kühne.
WELGEGUND HERITAGE WINES GRENACHE NOIR 2017
This wine is produced from high-altitude, west-facing, dryland bush vines planted in 2006. 50% of the wine was aged unoaked, to retain fresh fruity aromas and the balance was aged for 14 months in 3rd and 4th-fill French oak barrels.
The Grenache Noir is bright and exuberant with light violet hues. The nose displays an abundance of blackberry and raspberry aromas with some subtle floral notes. The palate is soft, lean and refined showing dark fruit, chocolate and black forest cake and a hint of cloves. The tannins are powdery and well-integrated with a balanced, seductive round finish.
Limited release: in honour of the establishment of Welgegund, only 1777 individually numbered bottles have been produced.
WELGEGUND HERITAGE WINES CINSAULT 2017
This wine is produced from 44-year old southwest-facing dryland bush vines planted in 1974, with an extremely low yield of 1.2 tons per hectare. 20% of the Cinsault was whole bunch fermented and 80% was de-stemmed. A large portion of the wine was aged unoaked, to retain fresh fruity aromas, with the balance aged for 14 months in 3rd and 4th-fill French oak.
The Cinsault is clear and bright, with fresh purple hues. The nose shows an array of fruit, with pure fresh berries, sour cherries, raspberries, cranberry with strawberry and a hint of spice on the nose. The palate is soft, juicy and consistent, showing liquorish, dark fruit with subtle savoury notes to the fore. The tannins are silky with a persistent clean finish. This is our purest expression of Cinsault.
Limited release: Only 1768 individually numbered bottles have been produced.