Yardstick Stellenbosch À Gauche Sélection Traditionnelle 2022

	Beautiful red Stellenbosch by Adam Mason
	Harvested in grand cru vineyards
	With a nod to the famous Left Bank

Description
The À Gauche from Yardsticks winemaker Adam Mason is not only an amazing red Bordeaux blend, it also has a very good story. The wine is Adam's Cape interpretation of the famous Bordeaux wines from the Médoc and a tribute to us Dutch.

Now you may be wondering what the Dutch have to do with South Africa and Bordeaux. Well, it was Dutch settlers who brought vitis vinifera to the Cape and established Constantia in the 17th century. It was also Dutch engineers who drained the swampy Médoc and made it suitable for grape growing.

Adam makes the wine - just as is done in Médoc - predominantly from cabernet sauvignon. He harvests the cabernet about eight kilometers from False Bay, in top vineyards with soils of weathered granite and clay. He supplements the blend with merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and (unlike in Bordeaux) a pinch of syrah. He picks these grapes in steep slope vineyards between the renowned Helderberg and Stellenbosch Mountain Range, with red, iron-rich soils.

In the cellar, Adam processes the different grape varieties separately. After fermentation, the wines mature for about eighteen months in French oak barriques. Adam then blends the various components into the harmonious À Gauche, in which the strength and structure of the cabernet sauvignon are perfectly complemented by the perfume and spiciness of the other grapes.

Adam himself says of his wine: 'my intention was to capture the ripeness of the Cape summer while doing justice to the essence and refined texture of the classic Bordeaux varieties'. As far as we are concerned, he has succeeded with flying colors. What an impressive red wine, with notes of cassis, plum and cedar, a ripe, creamy and powerful taste and an endless aftertaste. It certainly lives up to its name À Gauche, referring to the famous left bank.

Drink with
Beautiful, oak-matured red wine to enjoy on its own, or as a beautiful meal accompaniment. Delicious with grill & braai, sirloin steak with garlic chips, lamb chop with fried courgettes or aged Dutch cheeses.

Tasting note
Deep ruby red wine with a seductive scent of blue and black currant, plum, cedar and pencil shavings. The taste is full and creamy with beautiful freshness and firm, ripe tannins. Long finale that fans out widely with notes of toast and laurel.