Idiom Rhone Blend 2013

Drink it now or cellar for up to 15 years. No need to decant it, but best to open it half an hour before service.

The Idiom range is a selection of wines produced by the award-winning Bottega Family winery, located in the heart of the Helderberg chain. This southern part of the stunning Stellenbosch wine region in South Africa offers the perfect backdrop and climatic conditions for producing wines of exceptional quality. Most of the grapes for the Idiom Wines grow in the Stellenbosch and the Hemel-en-Aarde wine regions.

This great red wine is a typical blend of the Rhone Valley, based on Shiraz, Mourvédre, and Viognier; a strong and full-bodied wine that perfectly represents the good that can be produced in the Stellenbosch area. The Shiraz and Mourvedre wines mature together for 12 months in 40% American and 60% French oak barrels. The part of Viognier is then added to the blend, after being fermented separately in oak barrels.

This dark ruby red wine expresses a deep and compact olfactory profile to the nose, from which gradually emerge notes of black pepper, violet and black cherry, tobacco, and dark chocolate. In the mouth, it is powerful, long, elegant, and well balanced by a fine and soft tannic texture. It shows a pleasant aftertaste of ripe raspberry and black currant, hints of lavender, and black pepper. It is an extremely food-friendly wine, with good aging potential. Serve it with grilled meats, lamb or rich vegetarian tarts.