52% Cabernet Franc, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. Youthful purple. Really pretty aromas of berries and sweet oak.Layers of cassis and chocolate, but nicely counterpointed by that attractive lead-pencil note from the Cabernet Franc. Ripe fruit tannins. Would appeal to Francophiles as well as New World drinkers. Now-2012

Product Code: CHX206

Cape Chamonix is an estate with vineyards above the town running from 380 to 600 metres in altitude.  The youthful-looking Gottfried Mocke has been winemaker here since 2001, which makes him a veteran by Cape standards. He trained in Germany (with visits to Burgundy), but has additional experience at Trevallon in Provence and Rex Hill in Oregon.

Gottfried turns out a superb portfolio of much acclaimed wines. The Reserve Sauvignon is a rarity in the Cape, a barrel-fermented Sauvignon with 10% Semillon which is intended to mature in the manner of a white Bordeaux: Jancis Robinson calls it a “lively, long-term wine”. The reds start with a blend called simply Rouge, which is anything but a basic wine in terms of quality. Gottfried thinks it’s the Malbec in the blend that really lifts it. Troika is  a more serious and ageworthy Bordeaux blend of three grapes (hence the name). The Reserve Pinot Noir is from the higher vineyards, at 500-600 metres of altitude and facing south-south west, so cooler. From low yields, and 80% new oak, this is a bargain which has the balance and structure to keep well too.