Malbec in South Africa: Clonal Selection
—
🎥 In this video, we take a closer look at the gold medal wines in the South African Malbec Challenge 2021. We examine the role of both age and clonal selection in determining quality in the glass. As a launch pad for the conversation, we discuss the Druk My Niet Malbec 2015: 🥇 Another gold medalist in South Africa’s 2021 Malbec Challenge.

🗺 This wine of origin Paarl was one of the oldest wines in the competition (albeit it relatively young), and while it’s not the most malbeccy malbec out there, it shows a delightful level of balance and poise; something that was mostly lacking from the lineup of 32 Malbecs in the challenge. A must-try for fans of Paarl and Stellenbosch Bordeaux blends.

🔬 The wine is 100% Malbec (Argentine MC71 clones) from the Paarl region. The vineyard is planted in Granitic soils and runs from 180m ASL up to 240m ASL. Vines are allowed to stress a little under warm Paarl conditions, and in fairly windy circumstances, resulting in smaller berries and modest yields. Fruit is fermented with a combination of native and commercial yeasts.

💰 R180.00 (as of January 2022)

If you want to learn more about the state of Malbec in South Africa, why not check out our video on the award-winning DA HANEKOM LANGRUG MALBEC 2018.