The Avante Mapimpi Foundation XO

Proceeds from this lot will be donated to the MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI FOUNDATION
Focused on raising awareness around the issue of Gender-Based Violence, providing quality education to our underprivileged youth, and increasing opportunities through various sports codes.

Avante Cape Brandy is proud to introduce our very limited collaboration XO with Springbok legend Makazole Mapimpi, The Mapimpi Foundation XO.
Each bottle will be signed by Makazole Mapimpi as well as a personalized and signed card to the bid winner.

About Avante:
15 Legends of global rugby
Along with Master distillers
Have created a brandy to take on the world
The Spirit of Triumph

About Makazole - the player
The ultimate finisher and one of the most iconic Boks of the modern era, Makazole Mapimpi will go down as a great of the game. His rise in the game from relative obscurity to World Cup final try scorer will also inspire many generations to come.

About Makazole - the foundation
Focused on fostering a vibrant and inclusive community by championing the active involvement of youth in sports, music and cultural activities, The Mapimpi Foundation is dedicated to creating opportunities. All while standing as a shield against all forms of abuse. These elements are of importance to the man himself. Growing up with very little, he has always tried to find ways to support rural youth, by taking clothes, shoes and sporting equipment to children in the Eastern Cape villages. He also witnessed violence in his youth that he aims to put a stop to. His foundation is Makazole’s way of taking these causes to another level so as to have a far more meaningful impact in these areas.

About this collaboration:
Inspired baby Makazole Mapimpi (our co-founder) and his foundation, we have created a limited edition XO. In honour of the number on the back of Mapimpi’s Bok jersey, we have created only 11 bottles with proceeds going to the foundation.

About this limited brandy:
This 14 year old Cape Brandy was handcrafted from the finest Colombard and Chenin Blanc grapes. Double distilled in small copper pot stills, only the middle fraction of the second distillation was carefully retained, the purest most flavourful "heart" of the wine. The new make brandy - crystal clear and full of concentrated fruity esters - was then left alone to age in small French oak barrels for 14 long years. On reaching maturation, our brandy master carefully selected brandy from barrels of differing toasts, and married them together to create a spirit of outstanding complexity, elegance and style.

The Mapimpi Foundation XO opens up on the nose with familiar aromas of peaches and dried apricots, followed by a hint of ripe plum and subtle toasted oak. The fruit follows through to a warming mouthfeel, perfectly enhanced by decadent spices and sweeter notes of vanilla, caramel, and tobacco. The finish is long lasting, full bodied and complex, with incredible structure and balance. This elegant Cape Brandy is pure perfection, and best sipped neat in a tumbler, or with one large cube of ice.

About the bottle and the cabinet:
We have captured this rare liquid in our original bottle as a link to our brand, however the shield and the Makazole Mapimpi silhouette are both pure 18 carat gold, so as to properly celebrate the man and the foundation.
The hand made Knysna black wood cabinet is designed to house, protect and show off this rare and limited 11 run bottle.