Non, pas du tout! Amehlo est Xhosa pour l’oeil. Et Ingwe est Xhosa pour un guépard. Mais c’est vrai que Ingwe produire les très bonnes vins du Bordeaux. Et c’est vrai l’Amehlo rouge 2003 être en la promotion sélective.
No, not at all! Amehlo is Xhosa for eye. And Ingwe is Xhosa for leopard. But it is true that Ingwe produces very good Bordeaux style wines. And it is true that Amehlo red 2003 is on a selective promotion.
Amehlo red 2003 ****1/2
Bordeaux style blend consisting of mainly cab. sauv. (46%), merlot (25%), malbec (15%), shiraz (10%), and petit verdot, all grown on the farm. Perfumed with irresistible raspberry and cherry, the wine is rich on the palate, with complex flavours of juicy red fruit, spice and chocolate well supported by subtle tannins. Spent 14- 18 months in French oak.
French flavour for Ingwe wines
Staff Reporter Mon, 19 Apr 2004
The Cape now offers a little taste of Bordeaux in the form of two world-class red blends from Ingwe, the wine farm owned by Alain Moueix, a scion of one of the famous French wine region's most important wine families. The new releases, Ingwe’s second red vintage, are the 2002 Ingwe, a typical Bordeaux-style blend and the farm’s flagship wine, and the 2002 Amelho.
Moueix purchased the farm — situated equidistant from Somerset West, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and the False Bay shoreline — in 1997, attracted to it by his keen and innate sense of terroir. He began a planting programme of noble red varieties after in-depth soil tests had identified the most suitable sites. Plantings, which today cover 29 hectares, were mainly of the classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and some Petit Verdot. Shiraz was also planted, as was Sauvignon Blanc, which supplemented the existing vineyards on the farm.
Moueix believes that with the release of Ingwe’s second red vintage, the wines are now starting to show their full potential.
As a son of Bordeaux, Moueix is keen to make wines of fullness, refinement and length. The 2002 Ingwe is a Merlot (52 percent) and Cabernet Sauvignon (48 percent) blend, made in a classic style with refined and elegant tannins. The wine has delicate wood flavours and is suitable for long-term cellaring.
The 2002 Amelho is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (54 percent) with almost equal components of Shiraz and Merlot and a small portion of Malbec. The 2003 vintage saw the Shiraz component reduced, the Malbec increased and a small portion of Petit Verdot introduced. This full-bodied, lightly-wooded wine has a subtle style and is juicy and fruity. It is drinking well now and, owing to its good length, will benefit from cellaring for up to ten years.
From Old World to New World...
Moueix studied agriculture and viticulture at France's Toulouse university followed by a stint studying winemaking in cellars in France and California's Napa Valley. To learn more about the New World wine industry, he spent time in New Zealand at Kumeu River Wines, one of that country's most well-known and highly respected wineries.
A chance meeting in France in 1995 with South African Graham Knox, owner of the then Berg & Brook Winery in Simondium, led Moueix to the Cape, where he collaborated with Knox and gained considerable experience of local wine conditions.
At Ingwe, Moueix found the outstanding natural environment to make a unique South African red blend. True to his Bordeaux roots, Moueix and his team’s primary focus has been on establishing the Ingwe vineyards and maximising their potential for producing the highest quality fruit.
Moueix was joined by viticulturist Francois Baard in 1999, and Elsenburg-trained Ingwe winemaker PJ (Pieter Jacobus) Geyer in time for the 2002 harvest.
In addition to the red blends, the Ingwe label also produces a Sauvignon Blanc, which will next year be replaced by a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend.
The 2002 Ingwe retails at approximately R115 (including VAT), while the Amelho retails at approximately R75 (including VAT).
