Weird Weltevrede Wines

Hi,

Weltevrede had one of the strangest tasting lists I've seen in a while. The wines were not all in the right order, causing us to go the wrong way in some of our tastings at times. Not only that, but some of the descriptions seemed more like trips of fancy than real descriptions (though, thankfully, this was only a few times). We were also fortunate enough to find another funny wine here, which my gut immediately told me was wrong - a moment later a fresh bottle was opened, and the tasting attendant immediately picked up the difference.


We started off by tasting the ultra-crisp Philip Jonker Brut (R70), which tasted of lemons and smelt of very fresh yeast - this is a bubbly that will wake you up in an instant and make you want to go out and party. Of the Sauv Blancs, I personally prefered the Travelling Stone (R44) with it's grassy, fig leaf, asparagus and a herbaceous tones. The Chardonnays ranged from the unwooded Rivers edge (Guava, granadilla, paw-paw and pineapple) to the balanced, complex Place of Rocks, which was the one I spotted was funny, (Lemon, lanolin, nartjie peel, honey and pineapple) and Rusted Soil (buttered toast, pineapple, butterscotch, butterscotch finish). While the unwooded will cost you R32 a bottle, and will work great in a white sauce pasta, the price quickly leapt up to R60-R70 for the wooded Chardonnays. The off-dry/semi-sweet Gewurz (R44) is quite a popular item and quite typical for its varietal with strong lime, litchi and rose petal smells. The Rhine Riesling sweet wine (R36) had an almost fortified quality to it, with dried fruits, prunes and saltanas leaping out of the glass.


The red blend was called Tricolore and was quite a surprise (Merlot/Syrah/Cab Sauv) as it had such a strong green smell to it with menthal, eucalyptus and lavender notes, but it kept a very fruity palate of dark berries and plums, making it the perfect food wine to go with that horribly stinky meats you carnivores so love, particularly lamb. The River's Edge Shiraz (R39) was also a step into the interesting with worn leather and roasted meat combined with heavy aniseed smells, and dark berries, black pepper and cloves on the palate. The Bedrock Black Syrah (R70) was an intensely fruity, dark, brooding red with just enough white pepper characteristics to remind you that you are drinking a shiraz (well worth the two cows they traded to get the basket-press to make the wine).


Finally, the two Dessert wines belonged to Ouma and Oupa. Ouma wanted some glazed/tinned apples and dried fruit smells and tastes in her wine to go with her sweet apple crumble pie, or as a summer drink (with a block of ice) to go with her big gardening hat. Oupa, on the other hand, prefered his wine to be blood red, and wanted something to go with his stinky blue cheeses he so loved, and so he got a red muscadel filled with raisons, saltanas, strawberries and glazed cherries.


Chat soon!
Val.