Highlights: Nero, South Africa’s first Nero d’Avola
Bosman Family Vineyards have just launched South Africa’s first Nero d’Avola. The wine is a collaboration with actor/filmmaker Thapelo Mokoena, who is a shareholder in the project, and it’s called Nero.
Bosman wanted to find grape varieties well suited to the warm, dry climate of the Cape wine lands as a sort of insurance policy against climate change. Owner and managing director Petrus Bosman travelled to Sicily in 2004, and identified Nero d’Avola as a target. He brought back cuttings, and these were grown in the Bosman nursery. This is the debut vintage, and the wine was give a short 5 day maceration. The result is impressive, suggesting that this is a variety with a bright future in the Cape.
Bosman Nero 2019 Wellington, South Africa
13% alcohol. This is fresh, supple and juicy. It’s a lighter-coloured red wine with some sweet red cherries and strawberries, as well as some fine herby notes, and a rounded mid-palate with silky texture. Hugely drinkable and enjoyable, if not terribly complex. I love the sensitivity of the winemaking here: it’s quite Grenache-like. 89/100 (£12 Sainsbury’s)