2022 The Fledge & Co. - Tinta Barocca Praeteritus Bosstock Swartland (750ml)

The Fledge & Co. is a small, husband and wife project run by winemakers Leon Coetzee and Margaux Nel, an eighth generation winemaker, based in Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo. For this bottling, they sourced fruit from Bosstok, a certified heritage vineyard of bush vines planted in 1971 in the Swartland, one of the Cape's most dynamic wine regions. The vines grow in decomposed granite soils over clay, well drained yet deep enough to sustain dry-farmed bush vines without irrigation, conditions that push the roots deep and concentrate flavor in the fruit.

Winemaking follows a traditional, hands-on approach. Grapes are hand harvested at dawn and native fermented in open-top stone lagares, allowing indigenous yeasts to do the work. The wine then rests in old French barriques for an extended period before further time in tank ahead of bottling.

The result is a fuller-bodied red loaded with herbal cassis, thorny blackberry, and black plum, layered with cocoa and spice notes typical of Tinta Barocca. Toothsome, powdery tannins meet tart, bright acidity, giving the wine real structure alongside its rustic character. It's a fitting match for shepherd's pie, roasted root vegetables, or slow-roasted pork shoulder.