Delivery Icon FREE Delivery on Orders Over £100
48 Hour Delivery Icon Order by 12pm for 48 Hour Delivery
Type: Red Wine
Country: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Code: AVON405
Avondale is the first in South Africa to utilise Qvevri in their winemaking. These ancient clay vessels from the country Georgia dating back over 8000 years allow the wine to breathe as it ferments. As it ages in the clay it brings a beautiful brightness of fruit and minerality to the wine. The Qvevri fits into Avondale’s slow winemaking philosophy and in this light characterful wine you will experience the unbridled grape flavour of our wines.

Specification

Producer

Avondale Wine

The picturesque 160-hectare farm that is today known as Avondale has been under cultivation for more than 300 years. Early records show that the land was one of the first in the Paarl Valley to be allocated specifically for the production of wine grapes. Avondale is now home to the Grieve Family and 25 farm worker families. As the pioneers of Vital Health Foods, South Africa’s leading health food company, the Grieves have an innate focus on well-being that encompasses the land and its community of people. Avondale are committed to providing fair and decent living and working conditions to enable their people to enjoy healthy, balanced lives.

Tasting Notes

A mélange of succulent red fruit - raspberry, mulberry, strawberry with violets and spice. Overlaid with the unmistakable minerality and earthiness from the Qvevri on the nose. This follows through on the palate with a bright natural acidity giving a wonderful freshness and drinkability to the wine. The wine has a great balance between the fine tannins of the whole bunch, bright natural acidity, abundance of fruit, earthiness that sparks an interest and intrigue in the flavour and finish of the wine.

Food Matches

Enjoy with roasted lamb.

Vinification

The grapes were harvested between 22° and 23 °B; The varieties were vinified separately; Destemmed Grenache and whole bunch Syrah and Mourvèdre were placed in the Qvevri; The wine was punched down daily during fermentation and left on the skins for 1-3 months, before a light pressing took place; The wine was then aged in the Qvevri for a year. In February 2020 the wines were removed from the Qvevri, blended and bottled.

Press Comments

Awarded 93 points by Decanter, November 2023: '' Despite being fermented and aged totally in amphorae (qvevri) there's elements of cru Beaujolais to get this Grenache- focused red. It begins with juicy red fruits- redcurrants and strawberries- before taking a bit of a sideways turn into something darker and more structured on the palate, with a chalky finish. Attractive mid-weight wine with real perosnality.''

You May Also Like