Eikendal Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 Stellenbosch South Africa 75cl

Eikendal Vineyards farms the Helderberg slopes between Somerset West and Stellenbosch, on land the Swiss Saager family has held since 1981. Cooled by maritime breezes and anchored by its landmark barrel-vaulted cellar, the estate has long focused on Bordeaux varieties, with Cabernet Sauvignon at the heart of its range.

This is a single-variety Cabernet Sauvignon grown on Stellenbosch soils, the district that has arguably produced South Africa’s finest examples of the grape. Everything about the wine is geared towards structure and depth rather than flash, very much in keeping with Eikendal’s measured, understated house style.

The 2015 harvest is regarded as one of the great modern Cape vintages, a warm and dry year that ripened Cabernet fully while keeping its tannins firm and precise. Wines from this vintage combine generous ripeness with the freshness needed to age gracefully. It is exactly the kind of growing season this sort of serious, age-worthy red is built on.

In the glass it is dark and concentrated, leading with cassis and black cherry before cedar, graphite and a fine mineral thread come through. The palate is full-bodied and dense, framed by tight, fresh tannins that promise a long life ahead. There is real weight and warmth to it, though the ripe alcohol is carried by fruit and acidity rather than showing as heat.

Decant it an hour ahead and open it with grilled steak, slow-cooked beef or venison, or lay a few bottles down for several years and let the fruit settle into more savoury, tertiary territory.