Thorne & Daughters, Wanderer’s Heart Cape Red Blend 2020 Reserve Wines

Get to know: Thorne & Daughters, Wanderer’s Heart Cape Red Blend

Tasting Note

This is a bold and spicy ‘New Wave’ South African red made from a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes. On the nose, well-defined aromas of red cherry and violet combine with spicy notes of cinnamon and cardamom. On the palate, the wine is poised with redcurrant fruit, supple tannins and juicy acidity, leading to a multi-layered and moreish finish that goes on and on.

This would be great with some herb encrusted lamb.

Kate Says

“I love a wine that’s all about the quality of fruit. This Cape blend is flavoursome and moreish, full of character. They put a lot of effort into picking the  harvest at the right time and it shows. If you enjoy the wines of France’s Rhone Valley, you’ll love this.”

Producer Info

Thorne & Daughters is widely acknowledged as one of the forerunners of the ‘New Wave’ wine movement in South Africa. Since 2013, John and Tasha Thorne-Seccombe have been producing innovative wines sourced from selected growers across the Western Cape. In the early 2000s, winemaking took the couple around the world, and they spent a few years in the UK, where John studied viticulture at Plumpton College while working part-time at Majestic Wines and Ridgeview. Among his early achievements on an expansive CV, John’s keen eye for vineyard design led him to establish the first vineyards at Steven Spurrier’s Bride Valley in Dorset.

This wine is made up of three parcels of grapes from different vineyards across the Western Cape.

Grenache noir – 41% Voor Paardeberg (7 years, clay soil)
Syrah – 30% Swartland (14 years old) and Stellenbosch (8 years old) – granite
Mourvèdre – 29% Bot River (13 years old) – gravel/clay duplex soil

Around 60% of the grapes went into the open top fermenting vats as whole bunches, the remaining grapes were destemmed and placed on top of the whole bunches. During fermentation the cap was punched down around twice per day. The wine underwent a period of post-fermentation maceration to round out the structure before being pressed off the skins in an old basket press. The wine was then transferred to old oak barrels where it was aged for around nine months. No sulphur additions were made until just before bottling.