Now in Stock: “The Dark Side of the Vine” Semillon
The 2020 Dark Side of the Vine Semillon is made by Black Elephant Vintners from the historic Franschhoek vineyard which was planted back in 1905. Here is their winemaking process, and Tasting Note…
Winemaking: All our fruit is handpicked and chilled in our cold room overnight. The following day the grapes were destemmed without crushing the berries and left to macerate on the skins for 24 hours before pressing. The pressed juice was allowed to settle, in tank, overnight and the clear juice transferred to one old French oak barrel for fermentation. The juice fermented naturally for 6 weeks at temperatures of 18-24°C. After fermentation we did batonnage once a week to add richness to the wine. SO2 was added just before spring and the wine spent 24 months in barrel before bottling.
Maturation: The wine was matured for 24 months in one old 500L French oak barrels and bottled without fining or filtration, sedimentation may occur.
Tasting note: The wine displays a wonderfully intense aromatic nose with sensational lemon and lime zest and perfume. It unfurls wave upon wave of lemon confit, fresh peach juice, dried herbs, crushed walnut, nutmeg, tangerine peel, wet stones and dry thatch nuances. The palate is beautifully full and fleshy, almost unctuous but framed with the most delicious piercing, mouth-watering acidity. Super concentrated and broad but profoundly sensual and textural, the wine finishes with pure white citrus, black currant leaf and yellow tropical fruit candy notes. Drink now or age for 8 to 10+ years. Only 760 bottles produced.
Parking at Wine & Co
There should always be an empty parking space in the corner next to our shop, but if not please feel free to stop directly in front of our shop while you are with us - this will save you time driving around looking for a parking space.
We Are Open Every Day of the Year!
- Monday to Saturday: 9am - 6pm.
- Sunday + Public holidays: 10am - 4pm.
About Us
Have you ever heard about a great wine but could never find a bottle for yourself (to share with friends, of course)? Well, the team at Wine & Company do all the hard work for you! We visit wine farms and attend tastings to find, taste, and then stock wine from the smaller Estates and independent winemakers who buy grapes and produce outstanding wine under their own labels – much the same as the French negociants have been doing for centuries. Given that these winemakers make wine in such small quantities, sometimes just a single barrel, their wine will never be found on the shelves of the major retailers, but only in specialist shops like Wine & Company on High Street, Hermanus.
In addition to the great selection of well-known local wines and MCC's, we also stock craft gin and beer, imported wines, French Champagne, Belgian Ales as well as whisky and other spirits. Wine & Company (established in 1998 by Bartho Eksteen) has a well-earned reputation for stocking hard-to-find small-batch wines and we strive to continue this great tradition. If you purchase a bottle of wine from us and it is faulty we will gladly replace the bottle and return the faulty wine to the winemaker.
Feel free to contact Wine & Company if you need a particular wine and we will do our best to source it for you. We are also able to ship wine locally and to most countries so do ask about international shipping.
Shop Online!
Please note that our website does not show the complete range of wine that we have in stock, so please do contact us if you are looking for something not listed online, especially those that are 'allocation' only.
We offer free delivery in and around Hermanus, and free shipping to major centres around South Africa for orders over R1600. Please contact us for international shipping rates.
A reminder of our website: www.wineandco.co.za/shop or scan the Wine and Co QR code to go directly to our shop:
