Die Verlore Bokooi 2024

Winemaker: Lukas van Loggerenberg

Bottles: 7,800

Blend:  Merlot (31%); Tannat (24%); Petit Verdot (21%); Shiraz (15%); Cabernet Sauvignon (9%)

Tasting notes: The 2024 is a fruity, full-bodied five-way blend of our red cultivars. A dance-off of fragrant spice and cool herbs on the nose, followed by lovely red fruits and hints of black tea on a lengthy palate. The higher components of tannat and petit verdot balanced by merlot’s softness ensures this Bokooi yet again punches above its weight.

Vinification: Grapes were destemmed and punched down once a day during spontaneous fermentation. Gentle and minimal handling ensures tannins stay soft and rounded so that focus falls on the fruit. After fermentation, grapes were lightly pressed and moved to old French oak the next day. Matured in oak for 10 months and minimal SO2 added before bottling in November 2024.

Note on the label: Our logo was inspired by the unique cross stitch embroidery samplers by Riza Coetzee that grace the walls of the Lowerland farmhouse. Die Verlore Bokooi’s cross-stitch sampler inspired label (by Fanakalo Studios) tells the story of the Prieska region in exquisite detail. The name “Prieska” comes from the Korana words beris+gab – place of the lost she-goat (In Afrikaans: plek van die verlore bokooi). Elements in the label include the fort built on a hill overlooking Prieska constructed from unpolished tiger’s eye mined in the area; the distinctive “Wonderdraai” turn in the Orange River and local fauna and flora – kudu, bat-eared foxes, blue goslings, doves, sociable weavers nests, aloes, quiver trees and dung beetles.