Doolhof has reinforced its position as one of the leading producers of Malbec on the South African wine scene by being included in the Top 100 South African Wine Challenge.
The Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2010 was chosen from around 400 of South Africa’s top wines and one of only 51 red wines to be included in this prestigious list. The 2010 Signatures of Doolhof Malbec is the 4th Malbec vintage to be released and follows in the celebrated footsteps of the previous wines.
The 2007 vintage received double gold medals at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards, as well as the Tri Nations Wine Challenge, a gold medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards, as well as being chosen as the top Malbec in the annual Novare Terroir Wine Awards. The 2008 vintage clinched a gold medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards and the 2009 was awarded a gold medal at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards and received the honour of being chosen the Top Malbec at the Novare Terroir Wine Awards.
Doolhof is located in the historic Bovlei valley, north east of Wellington and currently 2.5 hectares of the 380 hectare farm is planted with Malbec. The Malbec vineyard was planted in 2003 and is the highest vineyard on the property situated just below the Bainskloof Pass. The location of this vineyard means that the vineyard team must compete with baboons and wild pigs for the grapes, resulting in limited production!
Doolhof Wine Estate is an accredited member of the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative which is an industry wide project to help promote the conservation of fynbos.
“One of the first decisions made on acquiring the farm was to plant Malbec, as we wanted all the Bordeaux cultivars on the property for blending purposes. It has not been an easy journey, but worth it,” says Dennis Kerrison, owner of the Estate
“I recall the 2008 vintage in particular. We planned to harvest on a Monday and on the Friday a major fire broke out below Bains Kloof burning all the way down to our farm. The Malbec was covered with ash. Then on Saturday and Sunday the heavens opened and heavy rain poured down, making it impossible to harvest on the Monday. We harvested a week later, and still managed a Decanter Gold! We dubbed this Malbec vintage Fire Rain. I am constantly amazed by the versatility of this grape and we are set to make quality Malbec synonymous with the Doolhof brand.”
The current vintage on sale is the Signatures of Doolhof 2009, at R115.00 per bottle.
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