"Fabulous...this is the finest red wine I have ever had from South Africa...This debut release, the 2005,a blend of 37% syrah and the balance cabernet sauvignon,is world class stuff, exceptional wine...."
Anwilka Vineyard is a joint venture between Bruno Prats, former owner of Château Cos-d'Estournel, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, co-proprietor of Château Angélus in Bordeaux, and Lowell Jooste of Klein Constantia Estate.
Located in the prime red wine region of Helderberg in Stellenbosch, the vineyard was purchased in 1997, and production of Anwilka wines commenced in 2005.
Plantings comprise 40ha cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz. 3500 (x12) cases of the Anwilka blend were made in 2005 by talented young South African oenologist Trizanne Pansegrouw, with valuable input from experienced oenologists Prats and de Boüard.
The philosphy of the partners is simply to spare no cost when it comes to wine quality. Resources are not squandered on lavish gateways and buildings.
In 2006 the three partners decided to select the fruit displaying rather youthful characters from the more vigorous vines and vinify it in a more supple way to produce a second wine “ugaba” that would share the same breed as Anwilka but in a more approachable style
The name ugaba refers to a tradition of the AmaXhosa, South Africa’s second largest language group after the Zulu group. Xhosa chiefs appointed warriors who distinguished themselves by valorous acts of bravery as men of ugaba, conferring on them the task of maintaining peace and order.
