Getting Fresh at Franschhoek

'ello

Monday's madness began in Boschendal under the grand oak tree and the occasional acorn falling on my head (actually it was more like the fly's falling in my wine!) With an impressive display of 15 glasses of wine in front of me when I started, it was a great start to my day - the wine with a fly in did get replaced immediately (I demanded a fresh fly on the spot!), and an added complimentary taste of their "not for tasting" Cecil John Reserve Sauvignon Blanc was given! I'll save you from the details of each and every of the, in the end, 16 wines I tasted there. Some of the whites tasted a bit flat, so if I don't mention it, then it's probably a good idea not to buy it. The Reserve Sauv Blanc had an excellent colour, very grassy, with asparagus, fig leaf, green pepper and even a bit of flintiness to it. The Grand Vin Blanc (Sauv Blanc) also had that hint of minerality to it, fig leaf and green pepper, with a pleasing pineapple bite to it's acidity. The Cecil John Reserve was superb to taste because every last flavour was pronounced and crisp - fig leaf, green pepper and celery. The 1685 Chardonnay (R55 a bottle) had an excellent golden hue, a toasty nose with nuts (specifically brazil nuts), vanilla and a good solid dose of butterscotch - it's Chardonnay's like this that make me want to curl up in bed with a glass and never come out - in fact, I just might! Good night!

What, why are you all still just sitting there looking at me? I know I'm good looking, but geez... oh, ok, I'll finish off, but then you'd better stop glaring at me! The off-dry chenin blanc was filled with rich peaches and sweeter melons, as well as passion fruit. And the bottle I bought - Le Bouquet - named so with good reason - at R35 a bottle, each sniff will give you another smell of something delicious, as it's a blend of Muscat d' Alexandria, Weisser Reisling and Gewurztraminer (bugger me, those words are hard to spell), all of which add a whole range of fragrant smells and tastes to the wine - here are a batch that I found - creamy banana, golden delicious, pear, flowers, litchis, peach, apricot and mango, but the list could easily double that if you had enough time and skill to pick it up.

Of the Reds, the Lanoy (R50) really stood out for me. A blend of Cab Sauv/ Merlot/ Shiraz, it had a mixture of ceder, mocha, vanilla, black currant - and my favorite barrel characteristic - milk chocolate...mmmmm.... The 1685 Shiraz/ Cab Sauv was also delicious, with black currant, turkish delight, cloves, raspberry, blueberry and ripe plum all dancing around in my mouth. The 1685 Shiraz was a lighter style of Shiraz, better for lighter meals like a spiced beef sandwich, or maybe some finger foods with cold meats. All-in-all, a beautiful farm to visit, don't expect much interaction with the staff, who will pour all your drinks immediately and leave you to your own devices, unless you grab hold of them by the ear and ask them questions about the wines.

From there I drove past many farms I had recently visited (sorry if I didn't drop in to visit some of you), all the way to Moreson. Moreson have a second label (Pinehurst) which is their more affordable, everyday drinking wines. I started with their three MCC's - the Blanc de Blanc Brut (R65), made from Chardonnay, which was sugar biscuits and dough, and the Cuvee Cape (which is made from Pinotage and Chenin!) which was overwhelming beer yeast (like when you stand outside SA brewery) and the Brut Rose, made from Pinotage which is a mixture of dough and light red berries. Of the three, value for money, I'd go with the Blanc de Blanc hands down. The Sauv Blanc wasn't so bold, giving off smells like asparagus, fig leaf and golden delicious apples on the nose. The Pinotage gave off a smell like bananas that had just been picked from the ground underneath a banana tree, and still had that sand dust on it, plus an extra added bonus of black berries giving it a slight tingle on the tongue. The Merlot was a deliciously feminine and soft wine, a bit of red clay and mocha being the heaviest notes, but it was filled with blackberries, black currant, liquorice and cranberries - a good wine, if a tad bit on the expensive side (R89). Reserve this wine for a good meal - preferably a tomato-based pasta like a good Spaghetti Bolognese. The Magia is a bordeux blend of Cab Sauv/ Merlot/ Cab Franc/ Malbec/ Petit Verdoux and a delicious mixture of vanilla, dark berries (especially blackberry), cedar, cigar box, and dark plums. The Pinehurst Cab Sauv and Merlot/ Cab Sauv blend were also very easy-going good value-for-money reds - both of which are great food wines.

The third farm on the route was Rickety Bridge. The Sauv Blanc just leaps from the glass, gripping your palate with green pepper, golden delicious, guava, fig and gooseberry with an aftertaste of peach - a superb wine for those who love sauv blanc. The Duncans Creek White, made from Chenin, has all the melon goodness of a Chenin and a surprising, exotic and delightful aroma of paprika (Portuguese people love to cook with paprika, so I'm very familiar with the smell). They have an unwooded Chardonnay which is filled with stone fruit and tangy citrus fruits. The wooded version is more creamy, butterscotch, fresh butter curds, and a sweet lemon (like lemon cream biscuits). The Semillon is wooded and honey/glue smells leap out the glass, but soon fade to open up the more gentle citrus smells and a toasty aftertaste. If you are looking for an interesting and different style of Merlot, this is the place to get it - with mint/ blue-gum/ lavender, dark berries, black pepper and a slight hint of milk chocolate. The Merlot/ Cab Sauv blend had some similar notes, but with dried fruits, and mocha instead of chocolate.

Grande Provence was next up on the list - a very young farm, it has a very modern, new world, flashy feel to it. It also has two ranges - the estate range and the Angel Tears range. The Angel Tears Suav Blanc (R32) was quite enjoyable to me, with all sorts of apple and dry/unripe pear notes and it wasn't overly crisp. I followed this with the Grande Provence Chardonnay, which had all the typical medium-heavy barreled tastes you'd expect in a delicious Chardonnay - buttered toast, vanilla, lemon creams and citrus on the tastebuds. The next wine here to impress me was the G.P. Shiraz, which was a great steak wine (especially one with a light, creamy white-sauce) - mushroom, fresh meat, vanilla and white pepper. The G.P. Cabernet Sauvignon was also fantastic with a very herbaceous nose (like a freshly opened shaker of dried mixed herbs), but subtle flavours of coffee, dark chocolate, cranberry, mint, blackberries, black currant and liquorice - a king amongst wine, and I'd imagine it to go perfect with a stuffed turkey or chicken, lamb or even maybe a beef pie. The final wine I tasted was the flagship wine named after the farm - with all five of the bourdeux varietals, it was a complex blend of eucalyptus, mint, lavender, tobacco smoke, dark berries and black pepper. While it is a good wine, I wouldn't even spend R100 on it, let alone the R475 they ask for a bottle.

The final farm I stopped at was Franschhoek Cellars (which had a power failure, which, together with today's experience, makes two in a row). A long-time favorite of mine for it's good wines at ridiculously good prices, it's wines tend to be quite typical of the varietals from which they are made. Catch them at the right time of year (like we did at Bastille day) and you could walk home with a case of good wine at the price of a single bottle of similar wine else-where. I still have a case of Reserve Chardonnay from then, in which I paid R12 a bottle, and ordinarily, I'd expect to pay around R60-R80 for a bottle of similar quality. Unfortunately, the Reserve Chardonnay is sold out now, so I could only taste the estate one, which had a lovely nuttiness to it (almond and coconut- I think), buttered toast, and a hint of citrus, like pine-apple. The slightly wooded Reserve Semillon (R43) was marvellous, with a floral smell, some toastiness, and a play between lanolin and honey - although it can age, I'd rather drink this one sooner rather than later, as that lanolin might become more pronounced with time. I've enjoyed and bought several of the red wines here as well, and so I'll describe a few of them as well. The Cab Franc was filled with dry leaves and fynbos, black currant, blackberry, prunes, black pepper and cloves - not as heavy as a Cab Sauv, for sure, but more full-bodied than most reds. The Shiraz was very delicate and elegant, with vanilla, white pepper and plum being the predominant smells. The Petit Verdot (R95) was beautiful, with Raspberry and blackberry, red spices (like allspice), cinnamon and dusty red sand were the images that sprung to mind when smelling and tasting this wine - an interesting varietal that's very hard to find. They also have a pinotage port here, which is reasonably tasty, with dried fruits and fruit cake being the obvious smells and tastes. This port was not overly sweet, and at R44 a bottle, it's a steal.

Well, that's all the time I have for today. I'll hopefully get round to typing out my notes for the Paarl route I took today - only 5 farms and a whole lot of needless driving around, so it should be an easy one to write. As a side-note, and because I haven't mentioned it in a while, if anybody visits a farm I write about and has a different opinion on the wine than what I wrote, please email me about it. I'm always interested in how others perceive the same wine I've tasted.

Until I visit again, keep well!
Val