The first sea farers who braved the tempestuous Atlantic at the Southern tip of Africa and successfully rounded the Cape of Storms were the Portuguese and it is their native grape varieties which thrive in our challenging climatic conditions of the Klein Karoo to produce some of our finest table wines and fortifieds. The Boplaas Cape Portuguese Red Blend combines Tinta Barocca with a combination of noble red varietals to offer one an every-day, buxomly fruited dry red wine perfect for any occasion.
Fruit for this wine originates from a selection of vineyards ranging in age from a youthful 5 to spirited 25 years or older, harvested by hand in the cool of the morning and fermented in temperature controlled open top cement fermenters – called kuipe in Afrikaans or lagars in Portugal – which manual punch downs to gently coax optimum flavour and colour extraction from the grape skins, while maintaining aromatics and softening the tannins.
The wine is barrel matured utilising oak alternatives, with a portion spending 10 months in a 5th fill French oak barrels, prior to final blending and bottling with a light filtration.