La Residence Heritage Blend 1.5L

Excellent enjoyed on its own or served with red meat dishes like ostrich, beef fillet or lamb. It is also a great accompaniment to game fish like yellowtail or tuna.

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.

In celebration of our milestone 100th vintage of Alto Rouge, we have produced an exclusive limited-edition wine to honour our heritage and traditions as well as encapsulate a piece of Cape Wine history. This special bottling honours the heritage of Alto Rouge by incorporating a substantial component of Cinsault, a variety that in this wine’s early years was an integral part of its composition, but has not formed part of the blend for decades. When planting began on Alto Estate in 1919, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Shiraz were among the first varieties planted. With the legendary viticulturist Prof Abraham Izak Perold assisting the Malan’s in their new venture on the slopes of Alto, it can be assumed that his influence was a part of the Alto vision. Perold was an early advocate of Cabernet Sauvignon heading from the confines of Constantia to the mountains of Stellenbosch. Here he advised farmers to, when planting Cabernet Sauvignon, ensure a substantial presence of Cinsault as this cultivar offers solid yields to complement the lesser-yielding Cabernet Sauvignon by means of blending. In time Cinsault also proved itself as a cultivar offering flavour and deft palate weight complementing Cabernet Sauvignon. Together with Shiraz, these two varieties formed the foundations for what was to become Alto Rouge, and this Heritage Blend honours the pioneering style of the initial creators of one of South Africa’s oldest continuous red wine marques.

Prior to blending, the Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in new French oak barrels for 18 months, while the Shiraz and Cinsault matured in used oak for 14 months.