South African & International Fine Wine
Live Auction, 14 September 2019
Session One
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Restless River is a rising star which has quietly achieved cult-status for its brilliant, Burgundian-style Chardonnay and lean Cabernet Sauvignon. The Restless River label was launched in 2012 and is managed and owned by Craig and Anne Wessels, winemaker and manager respectively. Their farm is located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and has some of the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay vines in the region (planted in 1998). Almost all their production is done by hand, resulting in limited quantities of each wine.
This was the first year of the moniker ‘Main Road and Dignity’. The Restless River Cabernet Sauvignon has quickly become a cult wine around the world.
Provenance
Wine Cellar
Critics Ratings
'Previously just with variety name. 13 poised, lively & delicious, after slighter, greener 12 (4*). One of the Cape’s more characterful & elegant cabs – properly dry, fresh & under 14% alcohol. Balanced, charming & ripe, though some find it too herbal.' – Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2017, 4.5*
'Craig Wessels is the only person to have made a success of stand alone Cabernet Sauvignon in the Hemel-en-Aarde region, but what a triumph this is. Leafy, herbal. Poised and cassis scented, with finely judged tannins and oak, refreshing acidity and a long, tapering, stony finish. Drink: 2016-22’ – Tim Atkin SA Special Report 2016, 95/100
'Bright ruby-red. Aromas of currant, boysenberry, spicecake and chocolatey oak. At once sweet and firm, boasting a tight, vibrant yet creamy and seamless core of dark berry and sexy spicy oak flavors. The wine's enticing sweetness carries past the pliant, fine-grained tannins. With its combination of suave mouthfeel and energy, this Cabernet is built to gain in complexity with more time in the cellar, but it's also supple and sweet enough to enjoy now.' – Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com (May 2017), 90/100
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