Strandveld Vineyards – The Navigator 2013 – Cape Agulhas – Elim, South Africa

The nose is aromatic, relatively powerful and offers a fine intensity. It reveals notes of coffee / wood and cassis associated with small notes of blackberry, strawberry as well as small notes of pepper (gray pepper and Cuben pepper) and undergrowth. The palate is fruity, well-balanced, racy, relatively gourmande and offers a nice mineral frame a nice definition, a good “guideline”, suavity, fat, a fine unctuosity, a racy minerality, a nice freshness as well as a good volume / roundness. In the mouth this wine expresses notes of crushed Boysen berry, crushed cassis and small notes of wild black berries combined with fine touches of ripe / crushed raspberry, ripe red berries as well as small touches of chocolate, caramelized oak, vanilla and an imperceptible hint of black pepper. Tannins are fine and very slightly chewy. Good length.