Rickety Bridge The Bridge 2008

Not timid.

Over the past two nights, bottle no. 1 736 out of a total of 2 500 made of The Bridge 2008, an ultra-premium bottling of Cabernet Sauvignon from Franschhoek winery Rickety Bridge. Hefty R395-a-bottle price tag, lavish packaging and an abv stated as being 15% on the back label, it was difficult not to be a little sceptical of what this wine might be all about.

In the end, it provided a curious but not unpleasant drinking experience. From bush vines bearing 1.2 tons a hectare and having spent 24 months in 100% new French oak, it’s not short on structure.  On night one, it proved hugely rich and powerful with flavours of jammy dark fruit, chocolate and mint. It showed massive concentration with very polished, dense tannins and I found myself not particularly enamoured with it.

Night two, however, and the wine now presented as much more savoury and less obvious and I was inclined to like it a lot more. I suspect it needs another two years of bottle maturation before it starts showing anywhere near its true potential but no doubt a serious effort in a particular style. Score: 16/20.