Vilafonte Series M 2009
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Winemaker Notes
The palate is smooth on the entry, consistent through the length of the wine, with excellent concentration from the fine 2009 vintage, a long back palate, and lingering fruit on the finish. Decanting before a meal will provide intensified aromatics.
Blend: 46% Malbec, 32% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Series M, a blend of 46% Malbec, 32% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc aged for 16 months in new and used oak, is taciturn at first and so leaving the glass to one side for ten minutes, I return to find a well defined bouquet with lovely scents of baked cherry, roasted chestnut, smoke and a touch of mint. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and superb balance. It delivers intense black, dusky fruit without expending too much effort, coming across as refined and graceful. This is very well crafted. Drink 2013-2020+
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Wine Enthusiast
Vanilla cream and raspberry sauce lead the bouquet of this Bordeaux-stlye blend, followed by darker fruit tones of boysenberry, plum and black cherry. Those notes continue on to the palate, filling the mouth and lending lushness to the crushed velvet texture. Strong but balanced, with a long, evolving finish that ends of a spicy, sweet-smoke accent.
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Wine Spectator
This takes a dark, slightly smoldering approach, with bay and cocoa accents wafting up from the core of steeped plum, blackberry and black currant fruit. Offers a solid, muscular feel on the finish, with a lingering coffee note.
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Zelma Long is Head Winemaker for the Vilafonté project. Zelma is one of America's best known winemakers. One of the first women to study enology and viticulture at U.C. Davis, she began her winemaking career at Robert Mondavi Winery, rapidly working into the Chief Winemaker position.
Vilafonté's General Manager is Michael Ratcliffe. Mike qualified as a business major before attending the University of Adelaide. Mike is Managing Director of his family estate, Warwick which is recognized as one of South Africa's foremost wine estates.
Phil Freese is head 'wine-grower' and creator of the Vilafonté vineyard which he calls "Different by Design". Phil spent 13 years as Robert Mondavi’s Vice-President of Wine Growing. Phil designed the first Opus One vineyards, and initiated the remote sensing project with NASA that has spawned a new wave of tools for viticulture analysis and quality enhancement.
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.
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.