Cabernet Sauvignon

Excellent enjoyed on its own or served with steak, lamb, stews and casseroles.

Alto is a farm with a rich history befitting its status as one of the icon estates of the Western Cape winelands. The first title deeds date back to 1693 but it was only in 1919 that the farm was given over entirely to vineyard. That was thanks to the foresight of the farmer Manie Malan who together with his father Hennie recognised that the property’s unique aspect soils and slopes were ideal for crafting full-bodied red wines. They named the farm Alto homage to both the farm’s altitude and the family’s pursuit of excellence. The cellar and homestead they built still stand on the estate today. The Malan’s nurtured and expanded these vineyards for four decades before selling the property to Piet du Toit in 1959. On purchasing the farm Du Toit employed a team of experts to evaluate the terroir and soils and confirm if the right cultivars were planted across the estate. The consensus? Manie Malan’s intuition couldn’t be faulted. Alto was and remains the realm of superlative red wines. In 1983 Piet retired handing the honour of Alto winemaker to his son Hempies du Toit a man as famous for his exploits on the rugby field as in the wine cellar. With the turn of the century came a new winemaker in Schalk van der Westhuizen who further cemented Alto’s reputation in South Africa and abroad. In 2015 he continued the Alto tradition of passing the baton down through the generations with his son Bertho van der Westhuizen becoming only the fifth winemaker in Alto’s long history.

2014 was the last vintage that Schalk van der Westhuizen crafted on Alto Wine Estate before his son, Bertho van der Westhuizen took over the reins. Stellenbosch produced an exceptional harvest in the year 2014, it was one of the wettest seasons the area had seen in years and showed an outstanding harvest in regards to quality and yield. Harvest started later than usual and our grapes had ample hang time on the vine to ripen and develop the rich and concentrated flavours that our wines are renowned for. The red wines of the 2014 vintage were characterised by balanced acidity and elegant tannins. The 2014 vintage was hand harvested from grapes on north facing vineyards at altitudes up to 500m above sea level. The vines on the higher slopes benefit by the cooling maritime breezes from near-by False Bay, this breeze ensures that our grapes reach optimum ripeness and develop the rich and concentrated flavours that our Cabernet Sauvignon is known for.

After malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked into first-, second- and third-fill French oak barrels and matured for 18 months.

The grapes were harvested by hand at the end of March at 24º to 26º Balling. After destalking and crushing, the mash was fermented in stainless steel tanks at 25º to 27ºC, using the selected yeast culture. The juice was separated from the skins after 14 days.