Professor Black Pitch Black

Slow braised beef short rib with creamy polenta

Warwick Estate lies in a valley enclosed by the Simonsberg Kanonkop and Klapmutskop. Originally part of a vast piece of land known as Good Success this eighteenth century farm belonged to Colonel Alexander Gordon who renamed his portion in honour of the Warwickshire regiment which he commanded during the Boer War. Years later in 1964 Stan Ratcliffe bought Warwick where with considerable foresight he began planting the precious Cabernet Sauvignon vines which are still a major part of the production today. These vines produced high quality grapes and became highly sought after by wholesalers and other wineries. However it took the arrival of Norma Ratcliffe Stan's beautiful and energetic wife in 1971 for the family to begin making a few experimental wines from Cabernet Sauvignon. The early results were very encouraging and served to extol the virtues of what is surely some of the best terroir in South Africa. Michael Ratcliffe Norma's son has now taken over as proprietor in Stan's retirement and has wasted no time in stamping his personality on the Estate. A host of new innovative techniques learnt during his postgraduate wine studies in Australia are being implemented aimed at maximizing the potential of the Warwick terroir. Under Michael's leadership the Warwick team is striving to take the next step in quality.

A Classical blend inspired by the wines that came from Stellenbosch in the middle of the previous century. Traditional Bordeaux varieties mixed with Cinsault, as was the norm more than 50 years ago.

All the varieties besides the Cinsault are de-stemmed and fermented on the skins for 2-3 weeks before pressing and ageing in small French oak barrels for a period of 12 months, 24% new, 11% second fill and 31% third fill, and the balance in older oak. The Cinsault was fermented whole bunch and aged unwooded.