De Toren Fusion V 2017
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The iconic Left Bank-based blend from De Toren, Fusion V is meticulously crafted from Bordeaux’s ‘Noble Five’ varietals and, with its complex flavours of liquorice, black cherry, cedar and dark berries, it offers a stylish departure for sophisticated oenophilic tastes. Soft as spun silk, with a lingering hint of sweet fruit on the back palate, this is a wine that will only improve with age.
With nuanced and complexed flavours, our renowned De Toren Fusion V wine pairs exceptionally well with perfectly tender grilled or roast lamb, with garlic, rosemary, and a hint of honey lemon.
Blend: 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 12% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Pure, with grippy tannins behind the lush notes of blackberry, currant and tobacco. It shows good length and depth, but might be a bit grippy for some; definitely for the fans of the firmer style. Still, a well-made red. Best from 2021 through 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Beginning dense, bold and juicy, the 2017 Fusion V offers up aromas of crème de cassis, black raspberry jus, spiced cherries jubilee, dusty red flowers with a soft notion of dried herbs and plenty of gorgeous oak spices to fill in the gaps. Full-bodied, the palate shows delineated expressions of juicy black and dark red fruit flavors before elements of raw cinnamon stick, dusty roses and spice red tea flutter across the mid-palate. Lively acidity and fine-grained tannins lift the experience before concluding with a long, persistent finish that will remain food-friendly for another decade.
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De Toren proprietors Emil and Sonette den Dulk left Johannesburg in 1991 to establish their vineyards in the Polkadraai Hills of Stellenbosch. Situated on southern facing slopes overlooking False Bay, De Toren enjoys the cooling effect of constant ocean breezes. Taking a holistic approach to keeping vineyard soils healthy and balanced, viticulturalist Ernest Manuel employs sustainable farming practices throughout the property. Infrared Aerial Imaging is used extensively in order to monitor ripeness in various vineyard blocks and determine optimal picking times, although actual harvesting and production are done almost entirely by hand.
The winery is operated on gravity flow principles; a 4000 liter pressure tank in an elevator shaft (the "Tower" from which the winery takes its name) is cleverly used to exploit gravity in transporting wine between tanks and barrels without the use of mechanical pumps. As a result of De Toren’s innovative, minimal intervention production methods, their wines were among the first South African bottlings to qualify for IP (Integrated Production) certification by the Wine and Spirit Board.
The Den Dulks and winemaker Albie Koch seem to have found the key to success with their simple winemaking philosophy: gentle handling, no pumps, and minimum manipulation. Armed with this winning formula, the boutique farm has quickly risen to the ranks of South Africa’s winemaking elite with their duo of dazzling, stylish and complex five-varietal Bordeaux blends: the flagship Fusion V (which debuted in the 1999 vintage and has been hailed by Wine Spectator as "a consistently polished, outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend") and the Merlot-based "Z," introduced with the 2004 vintage.
In 2018 upon Emil’s decision to take a step back, Daniel Mueller, Cedric Schweri, Albie Koch and Cape Estate became the majority owners.
De Toren has been in conversion to become Ecocert Certified Organic, with 2019 marking the third year of the three-year required transition period. The winery has always believed in sustainable farming but the more research they conducted on soil health the more they became certain that organic production was the best course forward to ensure long term well-being. This shift will help to progressively stimulate the soil’s health which in turn enables greater plant growth, increased immunity and self-protection to produce even more balanced and complex berries.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.