Tokara Director’s Reserve Bordeaux Blend 2020

Tokara, near Stellenbosch, was bought in 1994 by GT Ferreira (who started financial company RCI, which in 1985 merged with Johann Rupert’s Rand Merchant Bank) for residential purposes, but it wasn’t long before the great potential for vineyards was recognised. This was followed by the planting of classic varietals (with a focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc) on the slopes of the Simonsberg mountain, with its cool air and low temperatures, 400 metres above sea level.

This wine is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec. The grapes were hand-picked at optimal ripeness. They were de-stemmed, before passing across a mechanical sorting table and then a further hand sorting table before being crushed directly into tanks for fermentation using gravity feed and no pumps. There was a period of cold maceration for up to five days before the fermentation started spontaneously (without the use of selected yeast strains). The grapes were fermented in stainless steel and wooden upright (foudre) fermenters. Pump-overs, délestage and punching down of the cap were implemented twice a day for extraction until fermentation was complete. The tanks were given maceration post fermentation where the quality and tannin profile of the wine warranted it. The wine was put to barrel for malolactic fermentation after which it was racked, sulphured and put back to barrel for further maturation. It spent a total of twenty-two months in 54% new French oak – the rest being older French oak barriques. During maturation the wines received four rackings, all done barrel to barrel. The wine was bottled in January 2020 without fining and a light filtration.