Black Elephant Vintners The Back Roads Matoppie

The grapes are hand-picked at a single winery in the Franschhoek Valley. Here, they are cultivated in beautiful decomposed Table Mountain sandstone. After being cooled overnight, the grapes are destemmed and transferred to fermentation vessels or barrels. The berries are not crushed, and 30% whole grapes are added to each fermenter. The grape must is macerated for three to four days before spontaneous fermentation begins, lasting seven to twelve days. To extract color, flavor, and tannin from the grape skins, the must is hand-mixed several times a day. A short maceration after fermentation is allowed to soften and integrate the tannins. The wine is then drained, the skins are pressed with an old basket press, and it is directly transferred for malolactic fermentation and aging in barrels. The wine is racked to remove solids and then aged for 20 months in old 500-liter French oak barrels. After 17 months, the final blending takes place, and the wine rests for an additional three months. Before bottling, it undergoes a light egg white fining and filtration.

This wine is not about elegance or finesse, but rather about electric guitars and drums. The nose boasts an impressive grape aroma with plenty of black currants, pepper, and tobacco leaves. The palate is dense with intense flavors of dark chocolate, black fruits, crushed pepper, and cassis, complemented by a healthy amount of tannins and bright acidity. Decanting is recommended.