Three men in a Tub with a Rubber Duck 2023

Three men in a Tub has a wonderful label and the new 2023 vintage has returned to our portfolio. It has an intense blackcurrant, plum and red fruit aromas with subtle complexities of pencil shavings and toasty oak. These lead into succulent flavours of blackfruits and raspberries with hints of pepper and cacao. A medium-bodied red in a new-world style, it is like a soft and generous Bordeaux red,  but with a fine structure, very smooth tannins, good balance and excellent length. We would recommend serving this relatively cool for a red wine at 12 – 15C to really bring out the fruit.

The playful title of Three men in a Tub, shows how old world meets new, in a wine that has the characteristics of a refined French blend with a strong fruit focus. This is a medium-bodied, elegant red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. There is a great story behind this wine which is produced by the three men, Kevin, Jacques and Raymond of Black Elephant Vintners, based in Franschhoek who call themselves ‘Rebels of the Vine’.

The story behind the label

Kevin, Jacques and Raymond took inspiration from their surnames to create their producer name, with Swart and Ndlovu to become Black Elephant and Jacques is the Vintner. They enjoy having fun with their labels, often taking ideas from music, to create something different! About this wine they say “what goes on in the tub stays in the tub…and the duck is not quacking!” Like many producers in South Africa they source grapes from various vineyards in the coastal Western Cape with each site contributing a different flavour profile to the final blend.

How the wine is produced

All fruit is handpicked and sorted in their cold room and then destemmed. The grapes are then transferred to 500kg fermentation barrels for fermentation, maceration for 3-4 days before wild-yeast fermentation starts spontaneously. Fermentation lasts from 7 to 12 days; to extract colour, flavour and tannin from the grape skins , the must is pumped over and punched down 2 – 3 times daily. A short period of post fermentation maceration softens the tannins. At this stage wine is drained and skins pressed in an old basket press and then transferred to barrel for malolactic fermentation. Following this fermentation the wine is racked and matured in older French oak barrels for 12 months.

A limited production wine; 20,000 bottles of this wine are produced.

Sells in Independent Wine Merchants for £15.99: Check out our excellent price

Food match: Grilled meats, roast chicken, mediterranean vegetarian dishes