#131 Baleia Tempranillo 2018

Spafrica!
Baleia is an estate located in the Lower Duivenhoks river appellation (Cape South Coast Region). Their style leans away from the big, rich, heavily oaked elements that you might expect from an old-skool Rioja red, but that didn’t stop them from making a deliberate decision to import a Riojan yeast strain to perform fermentation. Which gives one pause to ask, “am I tasting yeast or terroir?” Or both. Or neither! Then again, winemaker Gunther Schultz is not averse to the odd mad scientist cellar experiment, and perhaps this is just another of those. In any event, the end result seems to justify the means.
🍷 This Tempranillo is both lithe and laser-like with pristine red cherry fruit, as well as hints of the more classic savoury tempranillo vanguard elements like leather, black olive, fynbos, terracotta and cinnamon. A delightfully fresh and elegant new world take on the world’s third most planted cultivar.
💸 R170.00