Bellevue Atticus Cape Blend

Bellevue Wine Estate is a family-owned winery located in the prestigious Stellenbosch wine region of South Africa. The Morkel family, who established the estate in 1861, has been dedicated to crafting exceptional wines for generations. The legacy began with Philip Morkel, a German immigrant who married a local woman and settled in South Africa. His grandson, PK Morkel, transitioned the estate from a livestock farm to a flourishing winery, and today, Dirkie Morkel continues to honor the family's traditions while modernizing the estate with state-of-the-art winemaking facilities.

This wine is a quintessential Cape blend, composed of 41% Pinotage, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Petit Verdot. The vineyards, some of the oldest in South Africa, feature a mix of trellised Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, and bush-vine Pinotage, all of which thrive in high-quality soils. The grapes are handpicked and undergo a process of cold soaking before fermentation. After about four days of fermentation, the wine is transferred to a combination of French and American oak barrels, one-third of which are new, for malolactic fermentation. The components are then blended and returned to the barrels for approximately eleven months to mature.

Named after one of Bellevue’s magnificent Arabian stallions, this wine is robust when young, showing great power and restraint that softens with age. On the palate, it reveals rich notes of dark plum and ripe berry fruit, complemented by vanilla from the well-integrated oak. The wine is versatile with food, pairing beautifully with a lamb potjie or Sunday roast when young, and becoming a more adaptable match as the tannins soften with age.