THORNGROVE WINES Stony River 2022

This elegant Bordeaux-styled wine is made with hand-selected grapes from carefully selected blocks in the Breedekloof, Robertson and Stellenbosch regions. The right bank of Bordeaux is known for producing Merlot-driven blends along with other cultivars in support. And so it is with this wine delivering a beautiful dark, complex and silky wine that is made from Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%) and Cabernet Franc (15%).

The hand-picked and sorted grapes were held at a cool temperature for several days, in order to extract colour and taste, before being allowed to warm up and ferment with alternate daily punch-downs and pump-overs. The wine was further left on the skins post-primary fermentation before being carefully pressed for maturation, after which malolactic fermentation continued.

The wine was matured on a carefully selected blend of toasted and untoasted French Oak for 12 months, using 34% new oak designed to retain the freshness of fruit but enhance the typical tastes of this style of blend.

This unfiltered wine is a wine of great finesse and complexity with the Merlot offering up a luscious blueberry and chocolate hit to start with, but with the Cab Franc bringing floral as well as almost spicy aromatics out. The Cab Sav rounds things off by building a structure with fine, silky tannins. It is well supported by undertones of coconut and mocha courtesy of the beautiful French Oak.

Dark purple in colour, typical of a right-bank Bordeaux-styled wine, it is a luscious fruit-driven wine with great mid-palate and mouthfeel. It is big and serious enough to stand up to most foods but soft enough to enjoy on its own or with just a selection of great cheeses.

Whilst it is already drinking very nicely, it will benefit from a few years laying down, and can be cellared for 7-10 years.