Rare, very unusual wine... Nero, of Bosman Family Vineyards

A rather rare, very unusual wine… Nero, of Bosman Family Vineyards

05/2023 Mike Froud Leave a comment

SOME WINES are pretty much ‘one of a kind’, almost incomparable. Some of them from the Cape winelands…

Nero is the first and only South African wine to be made from the red/black grape Nero d’ Avola, an Italian variety named after the town of Avola in Sicily, grown among the foothills of volcanoes and now also on Bosman Family Vineyards in Wellington.

At the turn of the 21st century, the Bosmans went in search of a grape that would thrive in the hot, dry climate where they have farmed for eight generations, an alternative to the French varieties grown in the Cape for centuries. Having settled on Nero d’Avola, they brought back cuttings in 2004, propagated vineyards and made their first wine from the fruit in 2013.

According to winemaker Natasha Williams: “One could say that it has the best of Shiraz, namely red fruit, spice and savoury notes, and also of Cabernet Sauvignon, namely dark fruit, grip and herbaceous notes, but… It differs in that the acidity is fresher and more pronounced. I still find it medium bodied – it feels that year on year we are getting to higher extraction levels in terms of body and colour.”

BOSMAN NERO 2019
WO Wellington. Trellised vines: 100% Nero d’Avola. Grapes hand-picked, hand-sorted, destemmed, lighly crushed. Juice and grape skins left for two days prior to fermentation, during which there were regular punch-downs for maximum colour extraction. 18 months in barrel, 20% new French oak as well as 2nd- and 3rd-fill barrels. After blending, wine matured for a few more months before bottling.
13 640 × 750ml.
Alc 14.4 | RS 2.9 | TA 5.3 | pH 3.5
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Ruby red with purple rim. Fresh red berry aromas with hints of spice. Generous palate, concentrated fruit, lingering finish. To be enjoyed within seven years after vintage.
Food Pairing Suggestion: Tomato-based dishes such as lasagne, roasted aubergine salad, grilled steak, aromatic curry.
R320pb ex-cellar, Wellington.