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The Lozärn marketing team might tell you that their claim to fame is that they were the first brand to release a 100% Carmenere onto the market in South Africa. And this is true. They planted the Carmenere vineyard back in 2012, and released their maiden vintage in 2017. But while their Carmenere is lovely, it is their Cabernet Franc that really captured our imagination…as Robertson Cabernet Franc has been in the habit of doing of late.

When one lines up bottles like the Rietvallei JMP Cabernet Franc, the Tanagra Cabernet Franc, Springfield’s cellar-aged Work of Time, and the Lozärn Cabernet Franc, it seems compelling evidence to give the valley a closer look in this regard.

Now when one combines the promise of Robertson Cabernet Franc with the South African Woman Winemaker of the Year for 2021 then it’s no surprise that you have something special in the glass.

The award-winning winemaker concerned is Salome Buys Vermeulen; the founding winemaker, viticulturist, and branding mastermind behind Lozärn and it’s Cabernet Franc.

Now, if you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt her wines down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs to whet your appetite:

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👃🏼 A really generous nose of roasted tomato, tobacco leaf, blackcurrant and red cherry, along with a lovely flourish of voilets.

👄 A lovely combo of red and black cherries. Tannins are delightfully fine, and push through into a finish that blends juicy red fruits, with a touch of that savoury tobacco leaf .

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🔬 Wine of origin Robertson. 1400 bottles made. All fruit harvested from Doornbosch farm. Vineyards are planted into fairly clay-rich soils, which is important for moderating excessive terrestrial radiation. After budbreak, side shoots are aggressively trimmed to reduce resultant increase in pyrazines in the bunches. There is also some green harvesting that goes on, in order to lighten the load on the vines, and ensure timeous and even ripening. After harvest, grapes are inoculated with a combination of D254 and Unaferm BDX by Lallemand and allowed to ferment in two separate parcels.

Fermentation took 11 days, before the wine was racked into french oak 300l barrels, where it undergoes malolactic conversion. After that it’s matured in 2nd & 3rd fill 300-litre oak barrels for 14 months.