The Fledge & Co Veld Versnit "Stoksielalleen" 2019

Maybe it was the Alicante Bouschet that drew me to this bottle...or maybe (definitely) it's because it’s another exciting wine from Fledge & Co...

The Wine:

Medium ruby with a medium nose of red fruits (cherries, cherry liqueur, cranberries, tart red plums) maybe some florals (rose petals), spices like cardamom and cinnamon, fresh fennel fronds, and a teensy bit of meat on the 3rd day.

Dry, medium bodied, high acidity and light tannins. All the red fruits again on the palate. A medium+ finish that ends in spices and a touch of herbal thyme that mellows out on the 3rd day.

Maybe it’s because I knew that there was 10% Alicante Bouschet in this field blend, along with majority Cinsault and 20% Cabernet Franc, I found the wine slightly disjointed, but in a intriguing way. I kept searching for what the Alicante Bouschet added to the majority Cinsault. And I think my answer is it lifts the juicy fruitiness even more. I expected the Cab Franc to come in swinging with it’s tannins…but it’s behaved itself, and no doubt lends extra structure to the mix.

And then I wolfed down a burger…and wow did the fruit and acid in this wine just explode in my mouth. So darned great. Almost enough to make me want to consider food and wine pairings more seriously. Almost!

Vini + Viti:

This is far better summed up by Leon Coetzee, one of winemakers who own The Fledge & Co:

"It’s our maiden vintage and only two wines are made from this vineyard, so even we don’t quite know how it is “supposed to behave” ..."

"The % of the blend is simply a SAWIS approved number based on records, BUT the vineyard is literally a third of each variety - we only receive 2 tons, hand harvested ‘n intermixed, co-fermented & bottled unfined unfiltered after about 9 months. It’s literally a snapshot of a Stellenbosch vintage in one day.

We only craft 200 cases of the Veld Versnit & 2020 is going to bottle soon for release September 2021 & it’s looking good. We’re keeping a bit of each vintage back to see what happens. “Stoksielalleen” pretty much sums up what 2020 was & @kristenduff’s photo is just so idiosyncratically Eastern Cape. It’s also a cool David Kramer song - so keep the neighbours up with a braai & pumping the treffers on vinyl. "

Conclusion:

Balance (½) + Length (1) + Intensity (½) + Complexity (1)  = A good wine 

Drink now, suitable for ageing for a couple of years, but best consumed young. I think this wine sings as a fruity and easy going young wine that will see you through both summer and winter. 

Final thoughts: 

As with all the Fledge & Co wines, particularly their experimental range, this was a wine geek's dream...thought provoking, unusual, and far too easy to drink!

Find the wine:

I picked this up through VinoPronto, but you can find out more about the wine brand here:

www.thefledge.co.za

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