Proprietors Red Blend

Rump of venison with red berries. Magret de canard with honey and lavender sauce.

Holden Manz is a family owned wine producer located in the heart of the beautiful Franschhoek Valley. Established by owners Gerard Holden & Migo Manz in 2010 the estate grows cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and syrah and sources a selection of white varietals from specialist growers.

Another drought vintage! Winter 2016 was cool with good early rains in June however this did not continue and August was warm and dry resulting in early bud burst. The re-occurrence of a strong south-easter at inopportune moments caused the berries to be smaller but with good colour, acidity and taste profile. A low disease index minimized spray intervention while maintaining a very healthy crop. The harvest season was noteworthy for its lack of heatwave; long cool nights and pleasant late summer days which contributed to exceptional ripeness. Our 2017 wines are concentrated with dense flavours and good tannin structure.

The individual varieties were handpicked and sorted allowing only optimally ripe berries to be used for this wine. Syrah picked 27 March 2017 and Cabernet Sauvignon 4 April 2017. Bottled 8 January 2021. Selected blocks in the vineyard were identified to be used in making the Proprietors’ Blend. All grapes fermented wild; 15% barrel fermented in new wood. Limited production.