ERNIE ELS WINES

Wines from the 2012 British Open Champion.

Since its launch more than a decade ago Ernie Els Wines has grown and matured into a successful and multi-award winning enterprise with a magnificent portfolio of six South African red wines. In 2011 we have added two new wines to our portfolio - the Big Easy White and the Cabernet Sauvignon. Ernie himself is passionate about wine and is very much involved in the tasting process. In partnership with experienced winemaker Louis Strydom their shared passion for wine is reflected in the quality of the product right across the price ranges.

The flagship Ernie Els is a signature Bordeaux style blend of all five varieties. Engelbrecht Els Vineyards is a Proprietor's Blend combining Ernie's Bordeaux style pallet and former business partner Jean Engelbrecht's love for Shiraz. Cirrus is a joint venture Jean pioneered with the Duncan family of Napa, California.

Winery Website                  Extended Portfolio

SCORE LEGEND
DC - Decanter, INT                            WE - Wine Enthusiast, INT
RP - Robert Parker, INT                     WS - Wine Spectator, INT
JP - John Platter, RSA                       TA - Tim Atkin, INT
WM - Wine Mag, RSA

2022 BIG EASY WHITE
+748655 · 12x750ml

100% Chenin Blanc.
There is an abundance of tropical fruit. Some honeysuckle blossoms, yellow stone fruit, peach and passionfruit. The bouquet is summery, with added fresh cut apple and some fynbos notes. The palate that follows is juicy with ripe melon, white peach, and fresh, bright acidity. Jam packed with fruit flavours and a citrus edge to the medium bodied lusciousness on the palate. The finish is persistent, rich fruited with an attractive youthful vibrancy.
Serve with appetizers, Camembert, Cheddar or Gruyere Cheese, Indian Cuisine, Pasta Alfredo, Seafood.

STATUS: OPEN

Current Vintage      Past Vintages

2020 BIG EASY RED
+755116 · 12x750ml

60% Shiraz, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Grenache, 5% Cinsaut, 5% Mourvèdre, 5% Viognier.
Based on Syrah, we find lots of deep red and black berry fruit, with vibrant spice notes and floral perfume from dollops of Cinsault and Grenache. The Cabernet Sauvignon adds some graphite and notes of fresh tilled earth. The palate is filled with cool fruit, lifted with spice, and fleshed out with juicy, bold yet crunchy freshness. The tannins add length and structure leading to a linear and pretty send off. There is a good mix of serious focused tannins, elegant cedar oak spice and fresh fynbos lift that makes for a clever blend that works very well and is a seamless knit of lovely, perfumed florals, and fine juicy fruit.
Great with pasta & tomato sauce; or pizza. Grilled beef medallions in a peppercorn sauce.

STATUS: OPEN

Current Vintage      Past Vintages

2017 ERNIE ELS CABERNET SAUVIGNON · MAJOR SERIES
+755117 · 12x750ml

92.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.4% Petit Verdot.
Aged for 17 months in 300 litre French Oak barrels (20% new). Red berry fruits billow from the glass with classic cigar notes over elegant crushed dried herbs, black cherry and ripe plums with red cherry freshness. The entry is inviting, fresh with a vibrant youthful energy of bouncy red fruit and an earthy undertow. The tannins are still tight, medium bodied and fresh expressing the crystalline character of the 2017 vintage. As the wine evolves in the glass there is an attractive tension between red and black fruit with a hint of liquorice over a linear focused and dry finish.
Port wine braised beef short ribs. Cabernet-braised venison cheeks. Smoked Beef fillet with Salsa Verde.

STATUS: OPEN
DC: 95 || JP: 94 || WM: 92 || TA: 91 || RP: 88
Double Gold Medal - Veritas 2020
Gold Medal - Vitis Vinifera
Top 20 Cape Cabernet Sauvignon's - Decanter Magazine, September 2020
Top 10 - Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon Report, September 2020

Current Vintage      Past Vintages

2016 ERNIE ELS PROPRIETOR'S BLEND
+721146 · 6x750ml

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Shiraz, 5% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot.
The Proprietor's Blend is once again impressive and serious in 2016. Medium to full-bodied, it is strewn with black fruits, exotic spice and shards of dark chocolate. Sweet, spicy oak melts into a dense, powerfully fruited and structured core. The majority Cabernet Sauvignon gives a cassis purity and salty edge, while the Shiraz component adds a meaty, savoury and spicy edge. The blend is rounded off by the remaining Bordeaux cultivars in a complexity explosion from start to finish. It is exquisitely textured and finely tuned. The 2016 will open up over the next 5 years and age for a decade or more.
Great when served with a big steak.

STATUS: OPEN
JP: 5* || TA: 92
Silver Medal - International Wine & Spirits Competition 2019

Current Vintage      Past Vintages

2016 ERNIE ELS SIGNATURE
+721147 · 6x750ml

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Franc.
Notes of menthol and a touch of eucalyptus add a fresh counter point to the dark, brooding fruit, typical of this vintage. Warm oak notes add gravitas and a luxurious attraction to the nose. It leads to a palate that teems with rich fruit and notes of cherry tobacco, with a further herbal edge and grippy lead pencil on the finish. A touch leaner than other vintages, this wine is nonetheless sumptuous, with dry, defined tannins and a silky, yet serious end. It will require a year or so for the lick of oak to amalgamate.
Serve with Beef Tenderloin, sumac studded, duck sauce, turnip gratin. Also great with game meats, lamb.

STATUS: OPEN
JP: 93 (4.5*) || TA: 93
Silver Medal - Decanter World Wine Awards

Current Vintage      Past Vintages

2018 SAUVIGNON BLANC
+779605 · 12x750ml

100% Sauvignon Blanc.
The 2018 is very light in colour and body but shows fine concentration from the dry 2018 vintage. Spellbinding notes of passion fruit and fig excite the nose, while hints of orange blossom and minerals give complexity. It is richly textured and dry, with a nicely balanced tropical fruit core and citrus edge. Gentle notes of creme de cassis give extra depth to a serious, yet generous palate. It is linear in style, with a spine of fresh acidity that carries layers of long-lasting fruit.
Serve with seafood, shellfish, grilled freshwater fish.

STATUS: SOLD OUT - NOT MADE ANYMORE
JP: 3.5*

Current Vintage      Past Vintages