Richard's The Cutler Sauvignon Blanc 2017
About the wine
Crisp and versatile Sauvignon from vineyards in Elim and Elgin
- The Cutler Sauvigon Blanc is made from vineyards in two parts of South Africa - Elim and Elgin. The grapes in Elim are grown at low altitude, but close to the sea where the coastal conditions cool the grapes and give a saline note that's typical of this area, whilst he Elgin vineyards are grown in the coolest climate in South Africa on shale and granite conditions which help to give the grapes a wonderful minerality. Both areas work together to show precise and focused flavours with great amounts of natural acidity.
- I have made this wine from parcels usually reserved for more expensive wines. Luckily as I know the growers well, I have managed to secure them for a keen price so that the Angels can benefit from an excellent wine at a great price.
- This wine is from a cooler climate, so you can expect more mineral, herbal and fern-like characters instead of the full on tropical fruit you might see in a New Zealand Sauvignon. As a Sauvignon it will drink beautifully in its youth and at any time of the year, by itself in the warmer months or with some autumnal and winter dishes (especially fish) when the weather is colder.
Richard Kershaw, Winemaker
Best before
Drink now until 2020
Serving advice
Serve chilled at 8-10°C
Food match
"In a nutshell Sauvignon Blanc works best with well-flavoured fish, some chicken and light meats; vegetable and tomato based pasta particularly carrot, apple and celery), raw shellfish, smoked salmon, spicy and herb flavoured foods particularly mint, green basil, chervil, fresh fennel, badian (Chinese star anise) and parsley; goats cheese, some blue cheese and strong cheeses in general.
Some personal dishes would include: Crab linguine; sashimi and steamed dim sum. Fresh fish options would be grilled sea bass in olive oil, whitebait or simply beer-battered fish and chips. Tomato based dishes could be the raw-based gazpacho, tomato consommé, Napoletana pasta (Garlic and tomato) or Pasta Primavera/Verdura using baby vegetables and basil. If one has some time a salmon terrine with parsley, fennel and mint works very well and as mentioned above simple smoked salmon is a winner; moving east and a Tabouleh with prawns hits home as it contains mint. I reckon chicken works a treat in a salad and being the tail-end of summer have a look at a smoked haddock salad with dill, goats cheese salad with a tomato based vinaigrette or even a cucumber dill yogurt salad. Air-dried ham as a curved ball also works amazingly well with this style of minerally Sauvignon Blanc. In the cheese category, the number one pairing must be Crottin de Chavignol, a stinky soft goat's cheese but any goat's cheese perhaps served traditionally with celery sticks will work. And talking of accompaniments, green hummus and a bowl of olives sitting outside is an absolute match made in heaven.
Of course it is easy to simply enjoy a glass for a sundowner or on a lazy Saturday afternoon!"
Contains sulphites
Wine profile
Meet the winemaker - Richard Kershaw
- He's a tip-off from Rod and Richard proved he is seriously wine savvy when he became a Master of Wine. Not bad for a man from Sheffield!
- Angel funding gave Richard the jump his one-man business needed, allowing him to tap into South Africa's huge potential to make spectacular wines without hiking up the price.
- Unlike the show-off wineries in South Africa, Richard dreams of owning a shed to make wine in. So you're not paying for fancy cellar doors, marble floors, and Michelin-starred restaurants. Just raw winemaking talent, great grapes, and a shed.
Ratings
67,746
Followers
9,565