A little quirky & crazy and absolutely divine for it! This stunning Portugese-esk blend is comes from Thistle & Weed where winemaker Stephanie Wiid has been named South Africa’s young winemaker of the year 2024
Nastergal is a blend that is full of soft bramble jelly notes (and yet still light and fresh). Perfect for the season! Inky black with aromas of blackberry and blueberries with intense cinnamon and savoury spices, and black pepper on the nose. The palate is more-ish, brimming with berry flavours and robust tannins.
A blend of 36% Tempranillo, 24% Alicante Bouschet, 18% Touriga Nacional, 8% Pontac, 7% Souzao, 7% Touriga Franca, the components of this wine are vinified seperately. All are fermented naturally in open top fermentors, with some whole bunch fermentation. After gentle pressing the wine matured in 2nd and 3rd fill French oak for 11 months prior to blending and bottling.
Thistle & Weed says:
‘Nastergal is driven by Tempranillo, a Spanish grape variety known for making big, bold wine. We’ve sourced our Tempranillo from shale soil found along the Berg River in Wellington, which provides plenty of backbone and ageing potential. In order to balance the big boom of Tempranillo, we’ve blended it alongside mature Alicante Bouschet grapes that are rooted in the deep red soils of the Stellenbosch Mountain and add spicy aromatics and intense colour. Small parcels of Touriga Nacional, Souzão and Touriga Francesa, also from the Stellenbosch Mountain, provide the final flourish to finish off this one-of-a-kind wine.’
The Details:
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch
Style: Perfumed, silky, juicy
Grape: Alicante Bouschet, Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Souzão and Touriga Francesa
Abv: 14.0%
Producer:
Thistle and Weed is a collaboration between the Terblanche and Wiid families established in 2015, led by Etienne Terblanche (Viticulturist) and Stephanie Wiid (Winemaker). Inspired by the encroaching weeds found amongst the vines grown in the Cape, Etienne and Steph draw parallels between thistles and weeds and the uncompromising tenacity and survival skills of grapevines. Each wine is dedicated to one of their favorite nuisances, using the colloquial Afrikaans term for each, reminding the drinker that these wines are unapologetically Kaaps (Cape Wines). Together, Etienne and Steph set out to discover the best of the Cape’s hidden gems, intent on crafting honest wines that are made with a deep connection to nature and offer the most simple expression of the terroir from which they come.
