Raats Family Wines' Dolomite Cabernet Franc is a red wine that is jam-packed with flavor and complexity. The wine is made with 100% Cabernet Franc grapes grown in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The cool, dry climate of the area gives the wine its unique character. The wine is aged for 16 months in 30% new and 70% used French oak barrels, which adds spicy notes to the fruit and balances the tannins. The wine has aromas of red fruit, black cherry, and subtle hints of oak. The palate offers an elegant blend of dark fruit, vanilla, and spice that leads to a long, smooth finish. This wine pairs well with grilled meats and roasted vegetables.

Tasting Notes

Dolomite wines express great purity of fruit and balanced elegance. The nose shows dark and red cherry. Dark berries, spiciness and herbs linger on the palate. The wine has great purity of fruit with a hint of wet-stone minerality and a velvet soft finish.

About the Winery

The Raats Family winery, founded in 2000 and situated in the picturesque Polkadraai Hills of the Stellenbosch winelands, was first a collaboration between the siblings Bruwer and Jasper Raats. Their father, Jasper Senior, served as a viticulturist throughout the winery's early years but tragically passed suddenly in 2009, leaving Bruwer Raats to carry on the family tradition. In 2010, Bruwer named his cousin Gavin Bruwer as winemaker and viticulturist, assuring that the winery's development would continue to be successful and kept within the family. Founder Bruwer Raats of this famous winery has maintained his concentration on two types since 2000 because he thinks that specialising would help him succeed. This assumption is the truth today. The Raats Family Wines is now recognised as a pioneer in South Africa's Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, consistently winning local and international acclaim.

The strict winemaking criteria used by Bruwer, Mzokona, and Gavin, who is based in Stellenbosch, the world's premier wine region, include the quality of the grapes, the land, the climate, the geography, and, of course, the influence of human hands, which together embody the essence of terroir. Raats holds many acres of property with vineyards in the Polkadraai Hills. They obtain their wine from a few very low-yielding ancient vine parcels distinguished by complex sandstone and disintegrated granite soils. These plots, which are situated an average of 249 meters above sea level in the exclusive Stellenbosch neighbourhoods of Bottelary Hills, Simonsberg, and Blaauwklippen, are completely under Bruwer's jurisdiction.

At Raats, they take pride in their dynamic nature. Their core philosophy is to put all their efforts towards adjusting to the environment's constant change. Besides creating fine wine of two varieties, another accomplishment of this winery is its eco-friendly practices. World-class wines are produced by hand harvesting, whole bunch pressing, natural fermentation, and no fining or filtration. There is no environmental impact, even from the packing.

http://raats.co.za

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