Technical details

Varietal: 44 % Cab. Sauv., 35 % Merlot, 11 % Cab. Franc, 7 % Petit Verdot, 3 % Malbec

Alcohol: 14%

Total acidity: 5,9 g/l

pH: 3,59

Residual sugar: 2,6 g/l

Tasting notes

A new release of our most popular wine the Ladybird Red. It seems like yesterday when we released the first ever certified organic wine from the Stellenbosch appellation. That was our vintage 2003 released in 2004. The wine has a huge following and for many it is the benchmark organic wine in South–Africa for quality and value. Volumes of this wine have grown steadily and we still managed to make the final blend only of grapes grown and farmed on our farm.

We do not change much at Laibach so the style for us is freshness and purity of fruit. We bottle with very little sulfur and absolutely no finings, like egg white, casein and gelatin etc. As pure as possible, as dry as possible and as drinkable as possible.

The grapes are all grown organically on our farm. Vineyards aged between 8 and 20 years so very much in their prime. It is a blend of the five classic Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec.

We do not have irrigation on our reds, which adds to the uniqueness of our terroir. Very deep clay soils not only keep moisture well, but also keep the temperatures lower around the roots. We do not have a lot of vigour in our canopies which helps us to have good, slow ripening which usually results in lower alcohol wines. If you farm dryland vineyards you just get a different tannin expression and much more structured wines.

All grapes are handpicked and if necessary, cooled until destemming. All grapes are hand sorted with modern vibrating tables before crushing. We take out all green herbaceous stems and other unwanted material. It is a slow process but a very important one for our style of wine.

Fermentation is mostly done at warm temperatures in 5 ton open top fermentation vessels with regular manual punch downs and pump overs. No fixed recipes are allowed in our cellar and we adjust vintage to vintage. The wine is all aged in small French oak barrels for 12 months before sterile bottling.

Deep dark colour. Oodles of fruit with blackberry, sour cherry and wild spice evident. Some leather, tomato cocktail and cherries on the palate with just a hint of oak. A medium bodied wine with soft plummy tannins and a beautiful long finish. Good complexity and dimension to really over deliver. A wine to drink 3–7 years after harvest.