The 2022 Taaibosch Crescendo is the fifth vintage of this revived Stellenbosch icon, and it is, again, a brilliant, beautiful wine. It will launch officially later this year, but as with the previous vintages, members have the first chance (in the world) to buy this latest release from The Wine Society now.
Order by midday on Tuesday 7th April
Formerly known as Cordoba Crescendo, this cabernet franc-driven Bordeaux blend became something of a cult wine in the Cape in the late 1990s, made by cellarmaster Chris Keet. 2003 was the last vintage before the property was sold and wine production ceased, though grape growing continued.
This stunning estate on the slopes of the mighty Helderberg mountain was then bought by the Oddo family in 2017 and rechristened Taaibosch – and it has been reimagined and regenerated under the charismatic Schalk-Willem Joubert, former head winemaker and CEO at Rupert & Rothschild (pictured above with me, last month). All alien vegetation has been removed, and native fynbos has been reestablished on the farm. Now around 60% of the estate is fynbos, with 30 hectares under vine (planted to approximately 60% cabernet franc, 30% merlot and 10% cabernet sauvignon). The farming is very much in tune with nature, including using organic methods, most recently experimenting with a no-till system to protect the soil, and integrating Nguni cattle who spend winter in the vines and summer in the fynbos.
Schalk was no stranger to the fruit these vineyards yield when he took on this role. At Rupert & Rothschild, he had bought grapes from the estate and observed that the quality was always ‘next level.’ He dreamt of making a single wine from this fruit. And this dream has been realised! Since Taaibosch was founded nine years ago, the team have not deviated from the ambition to recreate the legendary Crescendo, and momentum grows with each vintage, reaching new heights with last year’s release of the 2021.
As with the original blend, Taaibosch Crescendo has cabernet franc at its heart, which infuses the wine with fragrance and freshness – a connecting thread I find through all of Schalk’s vintages to date, along with a real sense of presence and intention and a remarkably fine texture.
The new 2022 has instant appeal and immediately reminds me of the charming and delicious 2020 which members have been buying enthusiastically from our web range. I know you’re going to love it!
If you have the tightly coiled 2021 in your Reserves, keep it right there (it needs time), and buy the 2022 to drink while you wait. It’s worth nothing that there will be no 2023 Crescendo; the harvest rains on the farm interfered significantly with quality, sadly, due to the high clay content of the soils.
