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Judged no. 1 in the Bordeaux Red Report – Botanica Arboretum 2017
‘[Bordeaux Red Blends] is a premium category but these wines are still radically under-priced in world terms.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag
Ginny Povall from Botanica flies somewhat under the radar but is best known for her multiple Platter’s 5-star winner, the Mary Delany Chenin Blanc. Tasted blind in the 2019 Winemag Cape Bordeaux Red Blend Report, the 2017 Botanica Arboretum is the latest of her wines to impress us.
There’s a wonderful sense of quiet purpose and ‘painterly’ aesthetic to Ginny’s approach to winemaking. The vineyards on her beautiful farm in Devon Valley, Stellenbosch are now maturing which contributes to the fruit weight, ripe tannins and finessed power of this excellent 2017. It’s yet another example of the crystalline, precise nature of this great Cape vintage.
Ginny's beautiful labels feature the botanical collages created by British artist Mary Delany in the late 1700s. These remarkable works of art were handcrafted using hundreds of tiny pieces of cut paper.
Full of blackberry intensity with ripe fruit tannins in support, this is a smart wine that offers both power and finesse. The 2017 Arboretum is Botanica’s flagship wine based on Cabernet Sauvignon with 28% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and the rest made up of Petit Verdot. Sourced from high-density vineyards, planted in 2009 and 2010, on mostly decomposed granite soils, the wine was raised in 300L French oak barrels; only 10% new. This small cuvée needs a year to meld but it should reward handsomely over the next decade.
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