Avondale Jonty’s Ducks Pekin Red Paarl, South Africa – 2021

Named after the ducks which live on and “fertilise” the vineyard in the winter months. Made from a blend of 45% Shiraz, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The grapes were hand-picked, wild-fermented, then matured for 14 months in used French oak barrels.

This medium bodied red blend is spicy with flavours of blackcurrant, coffee and dark chocolate. It is fresh, round and silky smooth with fine, well-integrated tannins and good fruit weight. Not too much of anything, just a wonderfully easy drinking, well-balanced red to enjoy on a weekday evening. 14% alc.

Drink with beef sirloin, charred broccoli, sesame and onion dressing, onion pureé, turnips and kale

8,500 cases were produced. Drink now – 2030

Avondale Wine Estate is situated in the Paarl region, about 60km northeast of Cape Town and 40km from the nearest ocean. On the whole, Paarl is warmer than the Cape wine districts, but it has many microclimates. Avondale’s vineyards are situated on the southern slopes of the Klein Drakenstein Mountains, where cooling winds blow through the vines and the average temperature is 4C less than in the town of Paarl 4km away. The mountain slopes also receive fairly high rainfall of around 1,000mm per year, which mainly falls in winter. The soils here are very varied, with 13 different soil types, all quite poor with lots of rocks, producing low yields of very concentrated grapes. Certain soils are suited to certain grape varieties, and different locations give different characteristics to the same grape variety. So each batch of grapes from different plots is fermented and matured separately in order to maximise the unique character of each plot. Fermentation using natural yeast is a slow process, often taking up to 12 months to complete. The wines are then left for another six months before the batches are blended and bottled. This slow, natural winemaking process gives the wines extra texture and depth and preserves the core fruit flavours, giving the wines excellent ageing potential.