Botanica Arboretum Cabernet Blend 2016
This gorgeous Bordeaux style blend comes from a five hectare vineyard around winemaking wonder Ginny Povall’s house. Classic in its outlook, you can expect to find all the blackcurrant, cassis, mint, cedar and spunky tannin of a fine cabernet blend. Rich yet elegant, this benefits from some fantastic knitting together of parts; cab franc, merlot and petit verdot are superbly judged in the blend to cover all bases. It’ll age superbly, too, no doubt.
Profile
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Winemaker: Virginia ‘Ginny’ Povall
Ginny (as she’s pretty much universally known) is an American-born, South African resident winemaker and protea farmer. Proteas are a much more profitable crop, but she can’t resist the draw of the grape, too. So, she does both. She left her job as Chief Operating Officer at a large consulting firm in New York to start Botanica wines. Talk about inspiring!
Reviews
Tim Atkin
“Arboretum is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Bordeaux style blend sourced from the five hectare vineyard around Ginny Povall’s house. Improving with every vintages, it’s smooth yet well structured, with granular tannins and a core of sweet, opulent plum and cassis fruit. 2018-23 Platter’s 4 stars: Cab’s cassis richness to the fore in smooth Bordeaux-style 2016, seamlessly knitted with Cab Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. 12 months in old oak.”
Full price $60.00 from the producer on 24 December 2019.
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Specs
- Region
- South Africa
- Vintage
- 2016
- Cellaring
- 2023
- Preservatives
- Sulphites
- Alcohol by Vol.
- 14.5%
- Closure
- Cork
- Bottle Vol
- 750mL
- Blend Info
- Cabernet Sauvignon 49% Merlot 28% Cabernet Franc 17% Petit Verdot 6%
- Serving Temp.
- 17.0°C
The rules are there ain’t no rules, but here are some foods we think will work pretty well with this wine...
Goes with
Traditional roast lamb
Ingredients
- 2kg leg of lamb, fat trimmed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1.5kg chat potatoes
- Basic gravy (makes 2 to 2 1/2 cups):
- 2 cups beef stock
- 3/4 cup red wine
- 2 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Lightly grease roasting pan. Place lamb in pan. Combine oil, rosemary and garlic in a bowl. Rub half the oil mixture over lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Roast lamb, basting with remaining oil mixture every 20 minutes, for 1 hour 15 minutes for medium or until cooked to your liking. Add potatoes to pan for last 40 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.
- Remove lamb from oven. Cover loosely with foil. Stand for 10 minutes. Carve. Serve with potatoes.
- Basic Gravy: Transfer meat (and any vegetables) to a plate to rest. Combine stock and wine in a jug. Skim fat from roasting pan, leaving 1 1/2 tablespoons pan juices and fat in pan. Place pan over high heat. Add flour. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture bubbles and becomes golden. Add juices from resting meat. Slowly add stock mixture to pan, stirring constantly. Cook, scraping pan, for 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened.
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