Sarah Reserve Red

Best with nearly all red meat, including prime rib, New York strip and filet mignon.

Sutherland Vineyards is situated just 9 kms off the Atlantic Ocean with altitudes of 140 to 250 meters above sea level. The cool maritime climate allows for slower ripening than in other Cape Wineland areas producing wines with vibrant concentrated fruit flavours and an elegant minerality. All Sutherland wines are bottled and produced at the estate in Stellenbosch.

Faced with severe drought, the challenging conditions of the 2018 harvest resulted in one of the smallest yields in years. Yet despite the significant difficulties, the cooler ripening period and smaller crops produced berries with concentrated flavour and intense colour providing wines of notable quality.

The wines age gracefully in place for 18 months in 40% new 225L French oak barrels.

The grapes were gently de-stemmed, retaining as many whole berries as possible, after which a displacement pump takes the fruit to its fermentation tank. The tanks are then inoculated with a specific commercial yeast strain, this way insuring the development of the perfect flavour profile. Fermentation is done in stainless steel fermenters, and a combination of aerative pump overs and punch down techniques are used to ensure optimal colour, tannin, and flavour extraction. Once fermentation is complete the wine is drained off the skins and moved to a holding tank to be barrelled down. Malolactic fermentation takes place in the barrels.