Tokara Stellenbosch
Director's Reserve Red
This is Tokara’s highly awarded flagship cuvée (there is a highly collectible tête de cuvée called TELOS made in minute quantities), a red Bordeaux blend with Simonsberg’s champion variety Cabernet Sauvignon leading the pack at 70%, darkly spiced and scaffolded by 14% Petit Verdot, then velvet-upholstered with 10% of that smiling Budha we call Merlot. Let’s call the 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec the book of poetry and shot of espresso needed to round out the wine’s personality. Structured yet refined, this wine is a benchmark for Stellenbosch WO and testament to the magical powers of the Simonberg Mountain. To put a pin in an old-world analogue, lovers of Saint-Julien without deep wallet and a patient cellar should find great solace here. From the best sections of their best blocks in their best oak for two years, indigenous fermented, unfined and unfiltered. Complex, tensile, and structured with fine dense tannins. My tasting notes include the obvious prevalence of gorgeous blackberry and cocoa but somehow also, “cold cold snow, spring thaw, and the truly perfectly ripe plum pulled right from the tree, impossible to grow where I come from.”
Region: Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, South Africa
Appellation: Stellenbosch WO
Varietal/Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec
ABV: 14.46%
Vineyard & Vine Age: Bull Swamp and Manilla vineyards in Baw Baw Shire. The vines were planted in 1961 and and 1964 respectively.
Cellar: Fruit is de-stemmed, passes through a mechanical sorting table, then a hand sorting table. Crushed directly into tanks for fermentation (gravity fed only). Cold maceration for up to 5 days before fermentation starts (spontaneously, with indigenous yeast) in stainless steel and upright oak fermenter foudres. Pump-overs, délestage, and punching down of the cap are all used as best determined for ideal extraction, implemented twice a day until fermentation was complete. A discretionary post fermentation maceration is carried out. The wine's then racked to french oak for MLF, after which it is again racked, sulphured, and put back to barrel. The wine ages for a total of twenty-two months in 47% new French oak barriques, 27% second fill barriques, the remainder being older oak barriques. During maturation the wines received four racking’s, all done barrel to barrel. The wine was bottled in January 2022 without fining or filtration.
CSPC: 124086
Winemakers Note: The wine has a vibrant crimson colour with an intense dark centre and a ruby rim. The nose showcases complex aromas of black cherry, subtle cocoa, dried currants, tobacco leaf and graphite. The wine enters the palate with incredible purity and focus, with flavours of dark cherries, blackberries and plum skin. Sumptuous and full there is a hint of tension on the mid-palate which leads to fine dense tannins and a lengthy finish. Food pairing: Grilled ribeye steak served with Béarnaise sauce, and potato Dauphinoise.
What the Critics are saying:
2021 Vintage: "Stellenbosch (14.5%) The aim here is “elegance”, according to Stuart Botha, and there’s no denying that he’s achieved it with this brilliant new Director’s Reserve release. Partnering Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. Focused and aromatic, it has layers of mint, pepper and subtle spices, granular tannins and a core of bramble, cassis and redcurrant. Drink from 2025-30." - 95, Tim Atkin MW, (tied for) Red Bordeaux Blend of the Year
"The 2021 Red Director’s is a barrel selection that’s made in a more classical style than the Reserve. Matured for 22 months in 47% new French oak, it clearly has a more introverted bouquet than the Reserve, slightly more tertiary with sous-bois-infused black fruit and a touch of fireside hearth. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. There’s a sweet core of black fruit, a hint of licorice and a dash of cracked black pepper on the finish. This is a strong follow-up to the 2020, though it will benefit from two or three years in bottle. Drink from 2027-2040." 92, Vinous ~ Neal Martin
"The Tokara 2021 Stellenbosch Director's Reserve Red is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec that ages for 22 months in 225-liter French oak, with 47% new oak. The elements are aged separately for 15 months, blended and put back into barrel for seven more months. The wine then spends one year in bottle. What you get is a very polished and smooth expression, elegant too, with sweet blackberry, baked plum, spice and leather. The Director's Reserve shows a nice roundness with restraint, and that quality is one of the things I like most about South African wines. They show power but they are never overdone. This is a release of 35,000 bottles." 93, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate ~ Monica Lerner
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Region: Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, South Africa
Appellation: Stellenbosch WO
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TECHNICAL INFO
Varietal/Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec
ABV: 14.46%
Vineyard: Estate fruit from the Simonsberg mountain. Only grapes from the best blocks and from the best parts of these blocks were used. The average yield is between 5 and 8 t/ha. The grapes were hand-picked at optimal ripeness between the 4th of March and the 16th of April.
Cellar: Fruit is de-stemmed, passes through a mechanical sorting table, then a hand sorting table. Crushed directly into tanks for fermentation (gravity fed only). Cold maceration for up to 5 days before fermentation starts (spontaneously, with indigenous yeast) in stainless steel and upright oak fermenter foudres. Pump-overs, délestage, and punching down of the cap are all used as best determined for ideal extraction, implemented twice a day until fermentation was complete. A discretionary post fermentation maceration is carried out. The wine's then racked to french oak for MLF, after which it is again racked, sulphured, and put back to barrel. The wine ages for a total of twenty-two months in 47% new French oak barriques, 27% second fill barriques, the remainder being older oak barriques. During maturation the wines received four racking’s, all done barrel to barrel. The wine was bottled in January 2022 without fining or filtration.
CSPC: 124086
Winemakers Note: The wine has a vibrant crimson colour with an intense dark centre and a ruby rim. The nose showcases complex aromas of black cherry, subtle cocoa, dried currants, tobacco leaf and graphite. The wine enters the palate with incredible purity and focus, with flavours of dark cherries, blackberries and plum skin. Sumptuous and full there is a hint of tension on the mid-palate which leads to fine dense tannins and a lengthy finish. Food pairing: Grilled ribeye steak served with Béarnaise sauce, and potato Dauphinoise.
What the Critics are saying: 2021 Vintage: "Stellenbosch (14.5%) The aim here is “elegance”, according to Stuart Botha, and there’s no denying that he’s achieved it with this brilliant new Director’s Reserve release. Partnering Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. Focused and aromatic, it has layers of mint, pepper and subtle spices, granular tannins and a core of bramble, cassis and redcurrant. Drink from 2025-30." - 95, Tim Atkin MW, (tied for) Red Bordeaux Blend of the Year
"The 2021 Red Director’s is a barrel selection that’s made in a more classical style than the Reserve. Matured for 22 months in 47% new French oak, it clearly has a more introverted bouquet than the Reserve, slightly more tertiary with sous-bois-infused black fruit and a touch of fireside hearth. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. There’s a sweet core of black fruit, a hint of licorice and a dash of cracked black pepper on the finish. This is a strong follow-up to the 2020, though it will benefit from two or three years in bottle. Drink from 2027-2040." 92, Vinous ~ Neal Martin
"The Tokara 2021 Stellenbosch Director's Reserve Red is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec that ages for 22 months in 225-liter French oak, with 47% new oak. The elements are aged separately for 15 months, blended and put back into barrel for seven more months. The wine then spends one year in bottle. What you get is a very polished and smooth expression, elegant too, with sweet blackberry, baked plum, spice and leather. The Director's Reserve shows a nice roundness with restraint, and that quality is one of the things I like most about South African wines. They show power but they are never overdone. This is a release of 35,000 bottles." 93, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate ~ Monica Lerner
Giovanni Autuori
Calgary + Alberta South
T: 403-971-1898
E: giovanni@vinoalvino.ca
Joe Gurba
Edmonton + Alberta North
T: 780-203-5284
E: joeg@vinoalvino.ca
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TECHNICAL INFO
Country: South Africa
Region: Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, South Africa
Appellation: Stellenbosch WO
Climate: Moderate Mediterranean
Altitude: 150-215m
Soils: Deep, red volcanic soil
Varietal/Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec
Fermentation: Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in old oak puncheons.
Ageing: Aged in old oak puncheons.
Vineyard & Vine Age: Bull Swamp and Manilla vineyards in Baw Baw Shire. The vines were planted in 1961 and and 1964 respectively.
ABV: 14.46%
Produced Cases: 50
CSPC: 124086
Calgary + Alberta South
Andrew Stewart
403-604-0408
andrew@vinoalvino.ca
Edmonton + Alberta North
Joe Gurba
780-203-5284
joe@vinoalvino.ca
Saskatoon + Saskatchewan South
Kerrie Gavin
306-290-0277
kerrie@vinoalvino.ca
