The new wines from Restless River have been released and are ready to order and be delivered.

Craig and Anne Wessels have been in the Hemel-en-Aarde for almost two decades. They have dedicated themselves to making high quality, vineyard-specific wines from the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley WO.

They originally specialised in Chardonnay <Ava Marie> and, unusually for the Hemel-en-Aarde, Cabernet Sauvignon <Main Road & Dignity>. In recent years they have added a Pinot Noir <Le Luc> to the core range. All of these wines now sit in the top echelon of their respective categories in South Africa.

And they are just getting started…

Over the last five years they have been undertaking a planting regime of virgin soil across the road from their farm which looks likely to add 11 hectares of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon vines to their holdings. How these will eventually manifest in bottle is still under debate, but rest assured exciting times lay ahead.

Sadly no Le Luc this year – 2020 was due to be released – because of bad weather at fruit set. The good news is that the 2021 is locked and loaded for a 2023 release!

The Wanderlust project allows Craig Wessels to flex his creative muscles – the wine changes every year.

Red Field Blend
Appellation: Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Vineyard: Bosman Family ‘Clone Garden’

This is a very special, one-of-a-kind vineyard in the Hemel-en-Aarde. The vineyard has over 50 different cultivars used to supply mother material to the Bosman Adama vine nursery. Cuttings of the various clones of each cultivar are used to propagate new vines. This vineyard therefore has to be disease free. Some rows of cultivars are only 30m long.

Vinification
The idea behind this release of Wanderlust was to recreate the traditional field blend, where many different cultivars were planted in one small vineyard and harvested together. For this wine seven red cultivars and one white were harvested on the same day and then co-fermented in an open-top oak vat. After a natural ferment the skins were pressed in our old basket press. The wine was then matured in older French barrels for 18 months and kept in bottle for a further 18 months before release.

Grapes
Cinsault, Malbec, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tinta Barroca, Ruby Cabernet and Roussanne.

Tasting Note
Red and blue fruit, spicy with a graphite edge. Medium bodied, fresh and salty with wonderful fruit purity, a smooth texture and fine and chalky tannins. More serious than one would think. Delicate and balanced with a persistent, dry finish. Drink now however it will further reward after a few years’ ageing. A great food wine.

Christian Eedes (Winemag): “The nose shows red berries, floral perfume plus hints of herbs, pepper and spice. Good clarity of fruit, bright acidity and quite soft tannins – most appealing. 92/100.“

Appellation: Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

Ava Marie Vineyard
Our farm is situated in the cool Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. The soils are granite-based and our vineyards are positioned mid-slope at an elevation of 260m. The cold South Atlantic ocean is 5km away and acts as a giant air conditioner. These contribute to a purity of fruit and fresh acidity. This site-specific Chardonnay bears the name of its vineyard, only 2.06ha in size and is registered as a single vineyard. Slopes are mostly south and east facing. Shallow top soils vary from iron rich rocks to a light, sandy gravel. Below this is decomposed granite clay and quartz crystals, all contributing to a poised Chardonnay with texture and definition.

Vinification
Specific parcels within the vineyard were hand-picked over a period of three weeks in February. The grapes were immediately placed whole bunch into our old Vaselin basket press. After a gentle four hour squeeze, the oxidised juice was settled overnight then racked into a variety of different sized French oak barrels (10% new) and unlined Tuscan terracotta amphora. Natural fermentation took up to 30 days after which sulphur was added for the first time and the wine was aged sur lie for 11 months. It was bottled after being racked into stainless steel to settle for 3 months and bottle-aged for 18 months.

Christian Eedes (Winemag): “Aromatics of struck-match reduction before lime and lemon plus hints of oatmeal and vanilla. The palate is taut and tense – pure fruit, arresting acidity and a pithy finish. Restrained to the point of severe, this needs at least another 12 months in bottle before showing anywhere near its true potential. 95/100.”

This is the wine that first alerted us to Restless River years ago.

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is grown deep in the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir heartland of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Cool-climate Cabernet allows for a longer ripening period and thus incredibly integrated tannin. Craig’s fastidious approach results in a wine of structure and length, without relying on big, ripe flavours or lashings of new oak. Pure class.

This wine bears the names of the two vineyards from which it is made. Slopes are north-west-facing, the shallow soils range from light, well-drained gravel to mineral rich koffieklip. Below this is decomposed granite clay and quartz.

Vinification
Select parcels were hand-picked over a period of four weeks in late summer. After a light de-stemming the grapes were naturally fermented in small, open-top oak vats. A couple of short punchdowns per day kept the ferment healthy while the various strains of indigenous yeasts did their work. After a long maceration the skins were pressed in a wooden basket press. The wine was aged on lees in French oak barriques (25% new) for around 20 months. Bottle-aged for a further two years before release.

Christian Eedes (Winemag): “Black and blue berries, fennel, pencil shaving and earth on the nose. The palate is luscious and smooth textured – dense fruit plays off against fine-grained tannins, the texture presenting as smooth but there’s good freshness here, too, and the finish is deeply savoury. 93/100.“