- 27% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Shiraz, 5% Malbec & 5% Petit Verdot
- Made from the best fruit from several vineyard sites on the farm
- Deep red clay rich soil derived from sandstone and granite
- Aspects vary from North East through North to West, facing between 250 and 400 MASL
- Hand harvested
- Each parcel is fermented separately with indigenous yeast in open top fermenters
- Aged 23 months in seasoned French oak barriques, 20% new
- Bottling is carried out by hand with no filtration
- Aged for 5 years in bottle prior to release
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2017
Country:
South Africa
Region:
Stellenbosch
Appellation:
Stellenbosch
Variety:
Blend - Red
Color:
Red
Farming Practice:
Sustainable
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | ZA-KER-21-17 | 6/750ml |
Resources
Press & Reviews
James Suckling
Score
92
Date
2024-11-25
"This has attractive mint, chocolate and bell pepper notes to the strawberry, plum and violet aromas. It™s structured and chewy on the palate but well integrated, with firm tannins and a full body. Focused. 27% merlot, 27% cabernet franc, 22% cabernet sauvignon, 14% syrah, 5% malbec and 5% petit verdot. Sustainable. Drink or hold."
Vinous
Score
91
Date
2023-11-02
"The 2017 Amphitheatre contains Syrah (14%), unlike the previous vintage, the remainder comprising Bordeaux varieties, raised in 225-liter, mainly used barrels for 23 months. It has a very powerful nose, very floral in style thanks to that Syrah, with plenty of licorice coming through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, ripe tannins, powerful in style. It is not as subtle as the 2016, dense and grippy on its overtly peppery finish. This will need some taming, so I would cellar it for another two or three years."
Wine Advocate
Score
91
Date
2025-06-05
"The Keermont Vineyards 2017 Stellenbosch Amphitheater is a blend of 27% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Syrah, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. It delivers thick richness with hot-climate aromas of sweet blackberry preserves, spice and balsam herbs. This is a big-boned wine with ripe flavors that are a little over the top for me. The alcohol content is registered at 15%, and considering the contained numbers found across South Africa, this feels especially high. It ferments with wild yeast and spends three to four weeks on the skins with one or two punch-downs per day. It's basket-pressed and goes straight into barrel for 22 months. It spends five years in bottle before its commercial release. Production is 3,685 bottles."
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2016
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
94
Date
2020-01-01
2016
Vinous
Score
94
Date
2024-01-01
2016
Wine Spectator
Score
91
Date
2023-03-20
"This elegant red layers blackberry coulis, red licorice, soft fig and black tea leaf notes with a spicy mineral underpinning and accents of violet and graphite. Shows supple tannins that have a creamy edge and emerge to firm the lasting, smoke-tinged finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2028. - AN"
2015
Vinous
Score
95
Date
2021-11-01
2015
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
93
Date
2021-01-01
2015
Wine Spectator
Score
92
Date
2022-06-23
"A focused, well-knit red, with an expressive note of black currant preserves enriched by hints of ground coffee, date, Kalamata olive, graphite and iron. Despite the older vintage date, this is still concentrated, with good vitality and a number of years ahead of it. The spiced finish is firmed by fine-grained tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Syrah. Drink now through 2027. - AN"
2015
Wine Enthusiast
Score
91
Date
2021-01-01