VINTAGE 2010

Thanks to our well drained soil, the heavy rainfalls during early summer did not negatively impact our vineyards. Our grapes achieved good ripeness with intense colour and structure. Our yield was 28.1 hectolitres per hectare.

Eisen & Viljoen 2010 is a rich and layered wine with a colorful nose of intense red cherries with hints of blueberry and flavours of plum, ripe cherries and red fruits. Finely knitted tannins build and gain on the mid-palate to a persistent finish with a touch of spice. Memories of cedar and juicy ripe fruit linger on the aftertaste. Aged in the barrel and bottle for a total of forty five months, Eisen & Viljoen is an elegant yet complex wine of uncompromising quality.

“If I was banished to an island and given a choice of only one wine to take with me, it would have to be the Eisen & Viljoen 2010. It has an earthy tight nose, palate big round and full, showing classic wet gravel, cedar and wet tobacco. It has a generous elegance with whiffs of mocha, blackcurrant, and a long lingering farewell.”  - Llyod Jusa, Sommelier, Five Hundred, The Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg.

“2010 was a very hot year but Normandie managed to not over extract. The nose [of the Eisen & Viljoen 2010] is rich in blackberries, chocolate, paprika and cinnamon with a hint of vanilla from the oak ageing. On the palate it is extremely delicate and the oak is already well integrated. The tannins are soft but the wine remains fresh due to a beautiful balance with the acidity. The berries are still present, fresher than on the nose and the finish is spicier than the nose. It is a beautiful wine to drink now and one which will also benefit from a few years in the cellar.” - Hugues Lepin, Private Client Director and former Head Sommelier at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and at Alain Ducasse, London.