The White Lady

Grilled line fish with roasted tomatoes and fresh greens.

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.

From four specifically, selected Stellenbosch sites, two on the Helderberg, that bring freshness and acidity, and one in Vlottenburg on a South-Easterly slope adding a citrus lift and the fourth one from Warwick on a warmer West facing slope of the Simonsberg, adding textural and structural elements and a floral lift, to the wine. All four vineyards are picked separately at different ripeness levels to add complexity and texture to the final blend.

Barrels are rolled once a month for a total aging of eleven months before selection process and blending followed by a light filtration and bottling in February 2023.

All lots are whole bunch pressed and juice allowed to clear naturally before transferred to 228L Burgundian French oak barrels, for fermentation in 33% new oak, 19% second fill, 17% third fill, 21% forth fill and 10% in neutral oak.