WORDS Spencer Fondaumiere
The 2019 vintage of Series M is jubilant with an explosion of intense red and black berries. The combination of plush fruit and sticky tannins make the wine feel like it just fills up your palate and lingers there just long enough to tempt you to have another sip..and then another.
The new vintage: Vilafonté Series M 2019
I vividly remember the first time I came across a bottle of the Vilafonté Series M. I was in a new job and wine was a big part of it. My knowledge and “booksmarts” on wine all those years ago were certainly a lot further ahead than my street smarts.
I knew nothing about this wine, wrapped in red tissue paper, except that, if it was important enough to form part of the reserve cellar library for fine wines.
As a wine enthusiast the opportunity to enjoy good wine is always a pleasure, as a sommelier the opportunity to stock, cellar and collect wines that are respected and recognised as iconic equals great memories. I remember the feeling before tasting Series M for the first time. The feeling that, “finally! Now I have my chance. This is going to be good.” …It is a lot to live up to for the wine – and this wine did not disappoint!.
The 2019 vintage of Series M is jubilant with an explosion of intense red and black berries. It is still young and fruit dominant but there are layers of interesting aniseed and cinnamon bark notes that hint towards what the wine will look like with the benefit of age. The texture though is what I enjoy the most. The combination of plush fruit and sticky tannins make the wine feel like it just fills up your palate and lingers there just long enough to tempt you to have another sip..and then another.
With my culinary background it’s always fun to think of food when tasting a wine like this – a rich slow cooked braised oxtail with pappardelle pasta. I can just taste the bright red fruit elements cutting through the rich meat and the darker fruit elements complimenting the intense slow cooked sauce. The pappardelle which absorbs sauce like no other pasta fills the palate and complement the amazing texture of the wine perfectly.
Register your interest in this wine here.
About Spencer Fondaumiere
Spencer is an ASI (Association de la Sommellerie Internationale) diploma sommelier and the president of the South African Sommeliers Association. He is a certified wine judge graduating from Michael Fridjohns wine judging academy in 2016, and has completed WSET level 3. He is a regular panellist in numerous leading wine competitions. In addition to this he is a qualified chef. He is the co-founder of Wine yard East Africa, distributors of wines and spirits in Rwanda and Kenya and Somm on Call the digital sommelier platform.
