Wine of the Week - Delheim Grand Reserve 2020

Our Wine of the Week, in collaboration with wine.co.za, is a Bordeaux blend with a rich history: Delheim Grand Reserve 2020.

High on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain lies the family-owned Delheim Wine Estate. Here, the Sperling family has been making wines of character for over 8 decades. Delheim is one of the Cape’s most beloved wineries thanks to the premier terroir that shines through its excellent wines, the tradition of sustainable farming and winemaking it embraces, and a rich heritage as a family-owned and run- enterprise.

Visitors to this beautiful farm will be greeted by breathtaking views and welcomed by a true sense of family hospitality. They can enjoy unique wine tastings and pairings, and have breakfast or lunch with a view of Table Mountain in the distance. Delheim produces a range of award-winning wines led by the majestic Grand Reserve. Their ever-popular Pinotage Rosé and the quirky Spatzendreck dessert wine are just some of the other favourites that have helped turn Delheim into a household name.

Delheim Grand Reserve, their red Bordeaux-style blend, has – since its maiden 1981 vintage – amassed a reputation as one of South Africa’s foremost red wines with the Grand Reserve 2020 one of the best renditions of this wine in its illustrious history. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (69%), Cabernet Franc (12.5%), Petit Verdot (12.5%) and Merlot (6%), Delheim Grand Reserve 2020 expresses the nuances of a classic year for Stellenbosch wine.

According to Roelof Lotriet, Delheim’s winemaker, the 2020 harvest was preceded by mild conditions during berry-set, flowering and veraison, with grapes ripening evenly during a moderate summer.

“There were plenty of cooling breezes in the Simonsberg foothills where the vineyards for our Grand Reserve are grown, with some welcoming rainfall just before harvest,” says Roelof. “Yields were higher than the previous year, with small, tight grape bunches and fruit displaying intense concentration.“

Delheim’s Grand Reserve vineyards are set on the estate’s Vera Cruz property. They are southwest-facing and rooted on decomposed granite, the benchmark of Simonsberg terroir. In the cellar, the four different varieties used for the Grand Reserve are kept separate during the entire vinification and maturation process, only being blended before bottling.

“By keeping the Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot apart during vinification and barrel-aging we are able to compose a more accurate and focussed blend,” says Roelof. “Once bottled, the wine’s four components have 18 months in the bottle to integrate into the classic red wine entity Grand Reserve is known for.“

The different varieties are each fermented with brief punch-downs and pump-overs, a process taking an average of ten days. The fermented wines are left on the skins for a further three weeks allowing for maximum extraction of colour and red wine tannins.

“Maturation is done in 300 L French oak barrels, of which 30% are new,” says Lotriet. “The slightly larger barrels add further broadness and depth to the wine, and 30% is just the right amount of new wood to give ample structure and texture while allowing for supple, chalky tannins to develop during the 18 months the four various components spend in wood.“

Upon completing maturation, the wine is blended and then bottled.

The legacy of Delheim Grand Reserve goes back to the late 1970s when previous Delheim-owner Spatz Sperling and his erstwhile winemaker Kevin Arnold decided Delheim should increase its red wine focus with an icon wine of the best possible quality.

“Sperling sent Kevin to California to learn more about the use of small oak barrels – which were rare in the Cape back then – and upon his return he and Sperling committed to producing Delheim’s first premium red wine,” says Lotriet. “This was from the 1981 vintage and with the aim of portraying the best of which the farm was capable. And they called it Grand Reserve.“

The first three vintages of Grand Reserve were made exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon. Since 1984 the wine has positioned itself as a Bordeaux-style blend with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot used to complement the leading Cabernet Sauvignon component.

“Cabernet Sauvignon will always drive Delheim Grand Reserve, with other Bordeaux varieties used as determined by the quality of a specific vintage,” says Roelof. “And as far as quality goes, there are no compromises. In years when the standard of the fruit is not in line with the reputation of quality for which the Grand Reserve is known, then no Grand Reserve is made that year. An icon wine, such as Grand Reserve, can only have one reputation and that is being known for being the very best Delheim can offer.”

Delheim Grand Reserve 2020 has a dark ruby red colour with a complex nose of dark fruits dominated by blackberry and blackcurrant, followed by notes of tobacco and tomato leaf, fresh lead pencil shavings, and cassis. The palate is elegantly poised with dark red fruit and a smooth chalky tannin finish which shows true to the area.