David Finlayson Camino Africana Cab Franc 2014

VEGAN FRIENDLY!
92 pts Vinous/Tanzer
(15% alcohol; aged in 60% new and 40% second-fill French oak): Bright red-ruby. Pungent peppery, herbal lift to the aromas of cassis, graphite and bitter chocolate oak. Plush, broad and fine-grained, with sweet dark berry fruit flavors complicated by dark chocolate and tobacco leaf flavors. Old-style wine in its herbacity and earthy character but with terrific subtle sweetness, creaminess and density to its seamless dark berry flavors. Fine-grained, dusty, broad tannins are fully supported by material. Very long and savory on the end. Built to age.
This wine is made from Cabernet Franc planted on an old seabed in the Helderberg Basin. The soils reminded me very much of the Graves region in Bordeaux, allowing me to spot the potential to make a great wine from these vineyards that are threatened by urban encroachment. In my search for special and undiscovered sites and wines, I am proud to have found theses grapes and have followed their path into this fantastic example of what potential there truly exists for Cabernet Franc in the Helderberg area of Stellenbosch when the right variety is fitted into the perfect site and terroir. A wine for maturation and enjoyment when the time is truly ripe for the reward. This wine signifies something truly special to me as a winemaker and is part of my journey in life and wine in South Africa, hence the name, Camino Africana, “The African Way.”