Keermont Red Blend 2011
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Robert
Parker
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Alex felt that the 2010 Keermont did not reach the standard required and so declassified the crop. The 2011 Keermont is a blend of 49% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 6% Syrah matured for 24 months in French barrels of which 20% is new. It offers lovely brambly black fruit on the nose with touches of black currant pastilles emerging with time. The oak is very well-integrated and complements rather than dominates the fruit and with time, there is just a suggestion of cocoa emerging. The palate is succulent on the entry with lavish spicy black fruit. It is very harmonious and suave with a caressing, voluminous finish that lingers long in the mouth, with white pepper and fennel notes lending complexity. Lovely!
A tight unit of nine people run Keermont Vineyards. All work, from tending the vines to packaging the bottles for final release, is carried out by this small team to ensure that the same attention to detail is followed throughout the wines' production.
Mark Wraith lives on the farm with his wife, Monica and their four children. Mark plays an active role on the farm ranging from strategic long-term planning, right down to tending to the vines.
Alex Starey is in charge of the vineyards and of making the estate's wines. Employed at the start of the redevelopment of the farm in 2005, he enjoys the responsibility of making sure that the vineyards deliver the highest-quality fruit to create the best possible wines. Alex studied Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch University and graduated in 2002. He has travelled and worked in wine regions including Maipo Valley, Chile; Penedes and Priorat, Spain; St-Emillion and Cote Rotie, France.
Linda Hartley is relatively new to the farm, her main area of expertise is bookkeeping and administration; but she has quickly become involved in the marketing and sales functions as well.
Juanita Schultz has joined us as Sales Administrator and is in charge of all our local and international sales and logistics.
Dominic Jonsson does a bit of everything from strategic planning and staff management right through to routine maintenance. He knows the farm better than anyone having moved to the farm when the Wraiths bought in 2003.
Over the past couple of years Mark, Alex, and Dom have devoted a great deal of time, not only to the development of the new vineyards, but also designing the labels and packaging of the Keermont Brand, designing and constructing the winery, and developing the individual wines.
Keermont has a small, but dedicated, team of staff members: Shane de Vries is in charge of most of the hands-on work in the winery from crushing of grapes right through to final quality control of packaged wine. William Charles is the main tractor driver, but also takes charge of other important projects. Willem Hendricks is in charge of the vineyard team. Willem and Julia Mondoyi takes care of the hands-on viticulture. Ernest Talapile keeps the winery and its surrounds spick and span. When push comes to shove, we all club in to get the big jobs done.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.