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VIDEO CONTENTS INDEX:

00:00 – WHAT’S IN THE RING OF ROCKS BLEND?

00:40 – THE CALITZDORP SHIFT TOWARDS GREAT TABLE WINES

01:20 – CALITZDORP vs THE DOURO

02:07 – WHAT DOES THE NAME “RING OF ROCKS” MEAN?

02:45 – DETAILS ON THE RING OF ROCKS 2018

03:52 – WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?

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The Boplaas Ring of Rocks Blend is unusual in make-up, but familiar in sentiment. The combination of Tinta Barocca, Sezao, Touriga Franca, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz may seem a little odd at first, but when one considers the extent to which the Calitzdorp producers have effectively adopted the traditional Port cultivars as their own, the inclusion of noble varieties  like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah in their blends begins to take on elements of the SuperTuscan narrative of the 1960s.

While the textbook “Calitzdorp Red Blend” still revolves around Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca, Souzao and Touriga Franca, Boplaas Estate explores a fascinating combination of flavours and cultivars through this particularly hard-to-find blend.

The Calitzdorp gang, including estates like DeKrans, Peter Bayly, and, of course, BoPlaas, have all but adopted the traditional Port cultivars, and are releasing a rapidly increasing standard of table wines made from Portuguese cultivars.
Lower down on the page, we’ve listed a few like-minded wines worth tracking down, but before we get there, here are some tasting notes from the Boplaas Ring of Rocks 2018 vintage.

👃🏼 Moderate nose of blackcurrant, black cherry and coffee elements, with some herbal oreganum complications, and leafy elements.

👄 Fairly savoury entry. Palate is carries med+ weight, with tightly wound blackcurrant and black cherry fruit elements. Towards the finish there is some fennel / liquorice elevation, segueing into a fairly firm finish. This guy has enough coil and concentration to age quite well for the next 5-10 years.

🔬 Wine of Origin Western Cape. 14% ABV. The blend is made up of 40% Shiraz, 39% Tinta Barocca, 10% Touriga Franca, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon & 1% Souzao. All of which is fermented in concrete tanks, and then fermented in first and second fill French oak barrels.