Lovely Creatures Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Where: Western Cape, South Africa
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon
Body: Full
Category: Red Wine

Enticing aromas of blackberry and plum. On the palate, sage is revealed, and there is a light smokiness. Velvety in texture, with a delicately grippy finish.

Sustainable  // hand harvested // woman winemaker // vegan

2021  //  750ml  // ABV 14%

The second vintage of the Lovely Creatures Cabernet Sauvignon is a monumental effort given the nominal price tag.  There is a lot of wine in this bottle.  Stephanie rang a friend to source fruit located on the awe-inspiring slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch.  The vineyard was planted nearly 20-years-ago and due to the steep mountain slope is trained on trellising. Some of the fruit also comes from Banhoek Valley and the lower slopes of the  Helderberg in Stellenbosch. The soils are primarily a clay-driven sandstone mix that provides the power and intensity in the background of the wine.

The grapes were hand-harvested and fully destemmed before being gently crushed.  The wine fermented in small 1-2 ton lots with inoculation used where necessary.  After ten days on the skins the grapes were pressed to tank to settle overnight then racked to older French barriques (with 10% new) for aging.  In the spring the wine was lightly sulfured and after a total of 14 months aging it was racked to blend and bottled without a vegan fining, bulk filtration, and just another small sulfur addition.

Yes, Lovely Creatures is a nod to the eponymous album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but it is also an homage to the often-overlooked critters that make up the ecosystem of a vineyard. From regal praying mantises to butterflies and bees, these animals help to bring a distinctive balance to their liana-speckled habitats.

Like these little creatures, these wines are unassuming and, yet, so lovely. They are made by Stephanie Wiid of Thistle & Weed, and though these are school night wines, they are still marked by her trademark intensity and elegant finish. The line is currently made up of two single-variety wines, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, which both come from single-vineyard sites in the Swartland and Stellenbosch, respectively, that are nearly two decades old. The clay-driven granitic soils provide texture and power to the wines, and native yeast fermentation offers an even deeper appreciation for the “lovely creatures” who take on the lofty task of turning ripe fruit juice into alcohol.