The Morgenster Estate in Somerset West is well known for its highly acclaimed premium red wines. The estate boasts two ranges of wines, namely The Morgenster Estate Range and the recently introduced Italian Collection. The latter are wines produced from Nebbiolo and Sangiovese clones brought in by owner, Giulio Bertrand, from his native country, Italy. The Italian Collection adds a romantic operatic touch having names for the wines such as Nabucco (Nebbiolo based) and the Tosca (Sangiovese based).

Encouraged by the rise in popularity of rose wine both locally and internationally ( rose?s are currently the biggest selling style of wine in France!), Giulio added the Caruso Rose made from Sangiovese grapes to his Italian Collection. Giulio decided to name this wine after Enrico Caruso, the Italian tenor whose powerful voice was celebrated for its beauty and richness of tone!

"The Sangiovese grapes were fantastic and gave us the opportunity to create something different, just for passion, in a very small quantity, only 3000 bottles!" says Giulio. The grapes came from a section of the Sangiovese plot in the vineyard. With a little less ripeness, sugar not too high and acidity higher, the grapes were harvested very early in the morning to preserve the fruit.

According to Giulio, Sangiovese produces excellent rose wine. "In earlier times Sangiovese went only into Chianti, but in the last 20 years innovators combined it with traditional Bordeaux grapes and produced wines they called Super Tuscan. It was my idea to produce a Super Tuscan from sangiovese with merlot and cabernet that we called Tosca and released last year. Now I have produced a little brother of Tosca called Caruso," Giulio says.

The Morgenster Caruso 2009 has a beautiful deep salmon colour with gorgeous aromas of plums and black cherries, with hints of cinnamon in the background. The palate is fresh yet complex and almost full bodied with intense rich plummy, strawberry flavour and shows a perfect balance between the acid and sweetness of the fruit.

We enjoyed the wine with a scrummy salmon souffle mouse, but it was delicious on its own as well!

Expect to pay: R71.50