Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine can be paired with hearty, slow-cooked red meat dishes or a simple sirloin or fillet with a green peppercorn or truffle and mushroom sauce.

Vondeling meaning ‘foundling’ lies on the slopes of the unspoilt and undiscovered Paardeberg mountain approximately 45 minutes’ drive from Cape Town. It was granted to Swedish immigrant Oloff Bergh in 1704 and a three-centuries-old winemaking tradition began. Today an environmentally sensitive approach to farming and minimal intervention during the winemaking process ensure wine with a distinct fingerprint of origin. Vondeling’s flagship wines Vondeling Babiana and Vondeling Monsonia are named after rare species of fynbos that are endemic to the Paardeberg mountain the home of Vondeling Wines.

The grapes used for this very special wine originate from the same vineyard used to make the highly acclaimed Bowwood blend, previously produced by Julian Johnsen and Bruce Jack. This Southwest facing slope is located on one of Vondeling’s highest and most temperate slopes. The roots burrow deep into nutrient-poor, well weathered granite soils. This offers great consistency of concentration and aroma. The grapes are harvested at 25°balling. Hand-picking ensures that only the very best fruit enters the cellar.

100% malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel after which the wine is racked and returned to barrel for at least one full year. After a total time of 18 months in barrel, the wine is bottled and laid to rest for another year before finally being released.

Upon arrival at the cellar, the grapes are pre-chilled before processing. Once chilled they are gently destemmed, and the berries cold-soaked for two days before natural fermentation is allowed to occur. A combination of whole and crushed berries allows for a slow extraction of tannins and an intense fruit-driven profile. Fermentation takes place in open-top fermenters and extraction is encouraged by hand plunging. After fermentation, extended maceration on the skins is allowed for one week. Extended maceration allows the components to mesh and achieve greater harmony. The wine is then drained to 300Lt Hungarian oak barrels and the skins are pressed in a traditional wooden basket press.