Leeu Passant The Leeu Passant 2020

The Leeu Passant is something very special and well worth spending ample time with to enjoy the unique reflection of each portion of the blend, but also to take in the vast complexity of the sum of them. Bergamot orange is a signature aroma of this cuvee, which is often followed by hints of violets, black cherries and dried bramble. These flavours are amplified by a textured mid-palate, firm tannin-structure and a beautifully fresh, seamless finish.

Leeu Passant - an introduction to our Vineyards and Winery

This incredible Dry Red wine, the flagship in our Leeu Passant range, is a heritage blend from some of South Africa’s oldest registered vineyards. Both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc hail from vines grown on the mid-slopes of the iron and sandstone soils of the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch, whilst the Cinsault is from South Africa’s oldest registered red wine vineyard, made up of dry-farmed bush vines, planted on deep sandy alluvial soils in Wellington in 1900.

Iron and sandstone.

The various grape varieties were hand-harvested between 3 February and 23 March 2020 with a yield of two to six tons per hectare, which translated to the hectolitres per hectare ranging from 12 to 38.

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were destemmed into tanks while the Cinsault was left with 100% of its stems intact and gently crushed. The caps were maintained throughout indigenous yeast fermentation, with a combination of gentle punch downs and pump overs, depending on the requisite by each wine during its fermentation cycle. After an extended maceration period of five weeks, the wines were drained and pressed to barrel. Each wine was racked during the winter, meticulously blended and then transferred to large wooden Foudres.

This wine was aged for eleven months in 500L French oak barrels, of which a third was new and was then blended into seasoned 2000L Foudres for a further ten months.