Rainbow’s End, 2018 Cabernet Franc, Stellenbosch (Banghoek W.O.), South Africa
Cab Franc du Jour #93
The story of Rainbow’s End begins in 1978 when the property was purchased by Jacques Malan. The first vineyards were planted in 2000 and 2001, and today the estate comprises around 22 hectares, run by Jacques’s sons Anton and François. Approximately 2.6 hectares are planted with Cabernet Franc, a variety that has been a focus for the estate from the beginning, with their first single-varietal bottling made in 2005. Today three Cabernet Francs are produced: two reds and a rosé.
Stellenbosch
Today’s wine takes us to Stellenbosch, one of South Africa’s most historically significant wine districts. Stellenbosch is the country’s largest wine district by area under vine, representing approximately 16.5% of South Africa’s total vineyard plantings. The macroclimate is broadly Mediterranean, moderated primarily by three factors: cooling breezes off False Bay, altitude, and vineyard aspect.
Despite being just over 20km wide, there is considerable mesoclimatic variability across Stellenbosch, reflected in its seven official wards, each with slightly different climates, topographies, and soils. The westernmost wards, such as Polkadraai Hills, receive the strongest cooling influence from False Bay. As you move east, that oceanic moderating influence diminishes and temperatures rise, with the central wards tending to be the warmest in the district.
Banghoek Ward of Stellenbosch
Today’s wine comes from Banghoek, the easternmost ward in the Stellenbosch district. It was in fact Jacques Malan who initiated the process to register Banghoek as an official wine ward back in 2005. While still a relatively young region with most vines planted within the last 20 years, Banghoek is emerging as an exciting area for Cabernet Franc, with a growing number of examples receiving recognition both locally and internationally, including this one from Rainbow’s End.
The region begins about 4km east of the town of Stellenbosch, and the vineyard area follows the Banghoek River valley for approximately 5km from north to south. Three major mountain ranges surround and define the region’s mesoclimate: the Simonsberg Mountains to the north, the Jonkershoek Mountains to the southwest, and the Groot Drakenstein range to the southeast.
These mountains play several roles. They push vineyards to higher elevations, typically 400 to 500m above sea level, which creates a wide diurnal temperature range. Warm days are offset by considerably cooler evenings, slowing ripening, extending the growing season, and preserving natural acidity. The mountains also cast shadows across the vineyards at certain points in the day, providing additional shading from the sun. Finally, they funnel cooling southeast breezes into the valley alongside drier northerly berg winds that help moderate conditions and reduce humidity, lowering disease pressure.
The region also receives a relatively high annual rainfall of upwards of 1,000mm, the most of any ward in Stellenbosch. For Cabernet Franc, which is not drought-tolerant and benefits from consistent moisture throughout the growing season, this is genuinely advantageous. The predominant soils in the area are granite-derived, offering a good balance of drainage and water retention, the third of the three broad soil groups found across South Africa alongside Table Mountain sandstone and shale.
The Vineyard
The Rainbow’s End Cabernet Franc comes from the southern end of the Banghoek valley, on north-facing slopes in the foothills of the Jonkershoek Mountains. It is worth noting that in the southern hemisphere, north-facing slopes face toward the equator and are the warmer, sun-receiving aspects. Two blocks of Cabernet Franc totalling approximately 1.34 hectares were both planted in 2001 using Clone 1, a South African clone, and Clone 214. The vines are planted on relatively steep northwest and northeast-facing slopes at elevations of around 450 to 550m above sea level. The wide diurnal range here slows ripening and prolongs the growing season, and this is one of the latest-ripening Cabernet Franc sites in Stellenbosch, typically harvesting about two weeks behind the regional average. The soils are known locally as red oakleaf, a granite-derived sandy-clay loam with good water-holding capacity.
In the Cellar
The fruit is hand-harvested and hand-sorted, then destemmed without crushing. A three-day cold soak precedes fermentation in open-top tanks with selected yeast at around 25 to 28C. Punchdowns are performed regularly during the first third of fermentation, switching to pump-overs for the remainder until fermentation is complete. Total skin contact is approximately 35 days. After draining, the skins are pressed using a manual basket press, and the finished wine is aged for 12 months in 225L French oak barrels with 30% new oak.
Wine Details
Producer: Rainbow’s End
Region: Coastal Region
District: Stellenbosch
Ward: Banghoek
Soils: Red oakleaf, a granite-derived sandy-clay loam
Alcohol: 14.5%