Cape Leopard Reserve Merlot, Vondeling, Paarl

You had me at Merlot

Tastes like: Soft. Round. Ripe, Plummy black fruit. Hint of smoke. Savoury.

This plummy beast of a wine broods with ripe dark fruit and prowling smoky and savory notes.

The three-century-old estate is located around the highest peak of the Paardeberg where there is one the Cape's original historic Signal Cannons, used to alert locals a  ship had arrived in Cape Town's Table Bay Harbor.

The cooling ocean breezes and high granite slopes make this wine vibrant and beautifully defined - and multi-award-winning winemaker Matthew Copeland employs skin contact fermentation and minimal intervention to give the juice a real sense of its terroir.

And Vondeling are working their way up the food chain when it comes to sustainability too, farming with an environmental conscience and converting to solar power to reduce their carbon footprint.

As with many wines this bottle gives you a lot of bang for your Springbok!

Sustainable - Lower intervention - Vegetarian - Vegan

South Africa - 2022 - 13.5% - 75cl