Hi ho Sylvanvale! Away!

Hi,

It's been a good while since I've sat behind my PC and emailed, and it certainly has been long overdue. Today's farm is Sylvanvale. Although it doesn't have much of a tasting room, as most of it is now occupied by the Restaurant staff, it certainly has a wide range of brandies, ports, and other quality liquors available to buy by the glassful. I did manage to taste quite a few of their wines, but I'll try and be highly selective and stick with those I truly enjoyed.

With winter time well on it's way, it's great to know that the red wines really did well here. The first that stood out was the Pinotage Reserve 2002 (R55). Having been in the bottle for quite some time, this is a great value wine, with prominent leather, mulberry and stewed fruits, it also had notes of raisons and green banana - still a bit astringent, certainly a wine that deserves time in the bottle. The Cab Sauv (R65) was remarkably smooth and ready to drink even though the smell had me thinking it was going to be a serious, heavy Cab - with coffee, leather and a hint of cedar, it was the black currant, plum and raspberry flavours that dissolved so deliciously on the tongue - absolutely perfect for a delicate red meat dish. The Shiraz (R60) was fruit-driven with a delicate white pepper spiciness, it was all blueberries and raspberries and certainly had that jammy quality that gives a good wine some depth.

The final wine was the Family Reserve (R85) which, sadly, did not impress me as much as it should've. It reminded me of biltong, with its dried meat and coriander smell, but ultimately the Cab Sauv prevailed in the blend, with black currant, mocha, cedar, plum and prunes.

I hope to get a chance to write again soon, although next week is almost a complete write-off for me with all the workshops that I'll be attending. Time is really tight at the moment, but have faith, my passion for wine shall overcome all! Hey, at least you still got wads of my old notes to read through in the meantime.

Val