Raving about Raats

When at the beginning of a tasting I see the terms “old vine” and Chenin  in proximity of one another, I smile. When I see the words Cabernet Franc I smile. This tasting invoked a rather inordinate amount of smiling.

WHITE:

·         Raats Original Chenin Blanc (2012): Sandstone & granite soil. Salted cashews, soft pineapple, sharp cheddar, cucumber emeralds, grapefruit dipped in guava juice, yellow soft gum sweets.

·         Raats Old Vine Chenin Blanc (2011): Sandstone & granite, 1^st – 8^th fill barrels. Shortbread, gingerbread with lemon curd, buttered liqueur, honeyed preserved lemons, like drinking melted lemon butter, lemony chicken & chickpea cous cous salad. (**)

RED:

·         Raats Dolomite Cabernet Franc (2012): Bottled 3 weeks before tasting. Cinnamon sweet berries, punch drunk red jelly babies, jam with a drop of Bovril, like a soft Velcro babygrow – it’s cuddly but it clings, pinch of salt.

·         Raats Red Jasper (2012): 81% Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cab Saiv. Sticky strawberry jam, smokey cured meat with soy/balsamic reduction, sharpness, lemony, tanniny, fennel, “gateway drug to Cab Franc”

·         Raats Family Cabernet Franc (2010): Cinnamon red wine gums, Christmas cake with butter & wine gums, spiced creamy biltong clouds.

Ramblings about Raats:

·         Chenin originated from Loire region

·         Only Cabernet Franc specialist in SA

·         Older vines, soil type & cooler climate – sandstone & granite

·         Top 2 World rated reds

·         “Barrels are the salt & pepper of wine”

·         Phaenolic ripeness – tannin + flavour

·         Sugar ripeness – impacts alcohol level

·         All wines have 3 profiles: Fruit, herbaceous, spice

·         Cabernet Sauvignon – blend of Cabernet Franc & Sauvignon Blanc

·         Cab Franc was the original noble varietal

·         Vineyards usually yield 8 – 10 tonnes/ha – old Chenin vines yield 2 – 4 tonnes

·         “Jasper” – named after the farm’s first viticulturist