Thorne & Daughters, `Wanderer's Heart` Cape Red Blend is bright ruby in colour. On the nose, well-defined aromas of red cherry and violet combine with spicy notes of cinnamon and cardamom. On the palate, the wine is poised with supple tannins and juicy acidity, leading to a multi-layered and moreish finish.

About the region and producer

Thorne & Daughters was started in 2013 by John and Tasha Seccombe with the aim of producing authentic wines from the Western Cape. It is widely acknowledged to be one of the forerunners of the ‘New Wave’ wine movement in South Africa. Thorne & Daughters is mainly focused on producing Cape white blends, from 15 different growers in Bot River, Stellenbosch, Voor Paardeberg, Swartland, Citrusdal, Franschhoek and Overberg. Fruit sourcing has relied on a network of close winemaking friends and knocking on doors to gather the various parcels with which they work. John and Tasha did not want to be limited geographically, so the net was cast wide and has been driven by “a happy synergy of people, place, soil and vines”.

Western Cape — the most important of the five geographical units making up south africa’s production areas defined by the country’s wine of origin scheme and accounting for well over 90% of the nation’s vineyards and wineries.

Vineyard and Wine Making

The ‘Wanderer’s Heart’ is made from a blend of grapes from carefully selected growers across the Western Cape. The Grenache is sourced from dry farmed vineyards on the Paardeberg mountain in the Swartland which has a combination of clay and granite soils. The Mourvèdre is the fruit of 12-year-old vines planted on clay/gravel soils in Bot River. The Syrah also comes from Bot River from 12-year-old vines planted on shale. The vineyards are all farmed sustainably and harvesting is done by hand.

Around 60% of the grapes went into the open top fermenting vats as whole bunches, the remaining grapes were destemmed and placed on top of the whole bunches. During fermentation the cap was punched down around twice per day. The wine underwent a period of post-fermentation maceration to round out the structure before being pressed off the skins in an old basket press. The wine was then transferred to old oak barrels where it was aged for around nine months. No sulphur additions were made until just before bottling.