Aslina "Umsasane" Red Blend - 2020

Name: Aslina "Umsasane" Red Blend
Brand: Aslina
SKU: 40083
Price: 30.99 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Item # 40083 750mL

Winemaker Ntsiki Biyela has an incredible history as the first female black winemaker in South Africa. Her new label, Aslina, is named in honor of her grandmother. She uses fruit from the Western Cape to make this full-bodied red blend that shows layers of complex fruit, spice and cocoa notes. The wine spends 16 mos in oak (40% new).

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Color

Red

Vintage

2020

Country

South Africa

Region

Western Cape

Producer

Aslina

Grape Variety

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Need Help Deciding? Get personal recommendations from our staff

Staff Pick Notes

A delicious Bordeaux style blend from Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa's first black female winemaker. “Umsasane” is the local name for the umbrella acacia tree, which was also the nickname of Ntsiki's grandmother Aslina, a constant source of inspiration to her. Ntsiki's journey from rural Kwazulu-Natal to the Western Cape's famed wine world is a compelling story, but let's talk about how great her wine is. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot is a knockout that could easily pass for a high class Médoc. Ripe red and black plums, smooth tannins, balanced acidity, bold vanilla, and tobacco notes with a long finish that creates a plush, comforting experience. It paired amazingly with roast beef and would be a perfect foil for steak and potatoes.

- MM

Glossary

South Africa

South Africa is often lumped together, under some arbitrary umbrella heading, with the other wine-producing regions of the southern hemisphere - South America, Australia, New Zealand, etc. This does a severe injustice both to the fantastic wines of South Africa and to the wine consumer: the region is peerless in its harmonious synthesis of New and Old World winemaking styles. Wines lately coming out of South Africa - in particular, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and...

Cabernet Franc

Relegated to moderate obscurity in modern times, Cabernet Franc is in fact the proud parent of the attention-hogging Cabernet Sauvignon (after an illicit affair with Sauvignon Blanc a hundred-odd years ago). Cabernet Franc has remained close to its roots in France, enjoying small pockets of popularity primarily in the Loire Valley (specifically in Chinon), where it is often bottled as a varietal wine, and in Bordeaux where it is still used in moderate percentages in the typical blends. In fact,...

Cabernet Sauvignon

The result of an illicit affair a hundred-odd years ago between Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon today enjoys more worldwide popularity than both of its parents combined. It is the principal grape of Bordeaux, and as such has rightly earned its place among the greatest and most long-lived wines of the Old World; of course, it is also the most heralded grape of California, positioning it at the forefront of the New World wine scene as well. Today, Cabernet Sauvignon has a...