Howdy!
Time for another email catered for your work avoidance behaviour, since I know most of you are bored out of your skulls at work, twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to distract you. Well, since last writing, I managed to vist 12 farms, 10 in one go - a new personal record, and 2 when I went wine tasting with family on Sunday. Since it would take a big chunk of my time to write about all of them in one go, I'll divide it up (I still have a life outside of wine, afterall). For today I'll focus on writing about the few farms I visited on Sunday - which was only two farms.
Of the two farms where I went tasting at on Sunday, the first was Laborie, which was one of the first farms I visited when I started taking notes. It was really great to go back and flesh out my notes (which were nothing more than descriptors of good, great, and excellent). If I were paying attention, I would've noticed the MCC sparkling (as opposed to the non-sparkling MCC's everyone is making ;) they snuck onto the bottom of their list, and asked to taste that first. This is one of the few farms to make a straight-varietal Viognier - which is filled with stone fruit (peach, apricot), quite characteristic of the fruitier side of Viognier - and thank goodness for that, cos the last thing I feel like drinking is something that smells like parafin! The Chardonnay was also quite typical - toast, butterscotch and pineapple/lime/citrus smells and flavours. The Merlot was fruity, but the Shiraz was definitely something different, remarkably soft, slight hints of Vanilla, Turkish Delight and White Pepper. The Cab Sauv was perfect to go with wild game meats, with hints of venison, plummy on the palate, and the smell of a fresh pine forest still dripping from a fresh rain. They have a fortified wine, made from pinotage wine mixed with pot-still brandy made from Pinotage, which was a lovely example of how to make a fruity port (dried fruits like raisons and prunes) that still has a hint of roasted nuts (like slightly roasted cashews when they almost have a chocolate flavour). They also have 8-yr old brandy available for tasting, although it was too strong and overwhelming for my poor palate.
The second farm I visited was Dieu Donne, which has a spectacular tasting room and nearby restaurant (built under a hill). This farm has a spectacular view and relaxing atmosphere. Of the food we had there, only the pasta seemed to be a decent portion and quality (once you added a bit more salt). They make an incredible Don Pedro, and their smoothies are also great - perfect to take your friends for late afternoon/sunset evening drinks. This place also had a very extensive wine list, from MCC's to whites to reds to sweet wines. The MCC Brut reminded me of biscuits (kind of like lemon creams), no doubt due to the Chardonnay from which it's made, as the wooded Chardonnay had a nose of lemon, goose-berry as well as a nose of cookie dough and yeast. The merlot looked perfect for aging, with a nose of mint and coffee backed by dark plums. The Cab Sauv also had a very similar nose of mint, but the dark berries (blue & black berries) and black currant really stood out in the wine. The Noble Late Harvest was made from Chardonnay, so the pineapple/citrus and stoned fruit came out very well, and it had a superior finish. Well-layered and definitely one to keep.
Well, I hope this kept you entertained for a short while, but it's probably time you got back to work, food, or whatever it is you were busy doing.
Til next time,
Val.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Stellies the Second
On Friday, I managed to visit 8 farms... yes... eight farms - which I think is a new record for me. I made sure that I had food ready the day before, and that I got an early start, as I had 7 farms which I planned on going to (somehow an extra farm snuck in there on the day though).
My first stop was at the very beautiful farm and tasting room of Hazendal, which immediately gave a sense of history and grandness to me. They had an MCC, which, unfortunately, was not available for tasting, so I started off with a very tropical Sauv Blanc, which was actually quite pleasant for what it was. I followed this with their Konynwijn - a semi-sweet wine, which was incredibly smooth and easy going, which is perfect for a casual evening with people that aren't avid wine-drinkers, or a nice relaxed day out in the gardens or forest or around the pool. They had a bush vine chenin blanc, which I wasn't that impressed with (it was ok), but had a lot of promise as a sweet wine (which they also do make). They had a blanc de noir made with pinot noir, which made a very pleasing picnic style wine. Not really as serious a rose as I would've liked, but a nice dainty wine. They had a Reserve Red blend, which is completely unwooded, and had me surprised as I find it also very soft and quite pleasant, although it was very much a wine to be drunk now. Again, a lovely wine to share with people who aren't really into their wine. They had a good Cab Sauv/Merlot blend which was very light and fruity. The final wine was the Straw Wine, which was the bushvine chenin sweet. It really was superb, with lovely tastes of cooked prune, honey and sultanas, but ultimately it wasn't worth the price, as just down the road was a wine that was almost every bit as good and half the cost.
The next stop was Kaapzicht, which had a very family-orientated feel to it's tasting room. It had much more of a home kind of feel to it. I wasn't impressed with their whites at all, which were all very shy on the nose, and very young on the palate. Only the Chardonnay stood out a bit on the nose (although I didn't like the hint of marzipan, which was a very sharp jarring smell), but again, very disappointing on the palate. Where the whites failed, however, the reds did a phenomenal job. They had three red blends, the Classic Red, the estate red, and the bin 3. All of them were created with the same vision - which was to create a smooth, elegant and complex wine, all of them with there own distinctive character, but they all still left you with the feeling that you just drank a good wine. Their pinotage had a sweaty leather, kind of wet dog nose, which I'm sure you would've loved. The Shiraz was a bit young still, but it was delicious and showed loads of potential. The Cab Sauv was also subtle and elegant (which I think added alot to all of the blends), but unfortunately the nose immediately gave a whiff of high alcohol. It should be superb in a few years tho, and should mature into a very regal wine. Their natural sweet was much the same as the previous farms (they are neighbouring farms, and pretty much use the same technique), but the price was only R40 for a bottle - very tempting I must tell you. Finally, they had an almost-10 year old (1999) brandy there for tasting, and although they only pour a single taste of it (cos it goes for R300 a bottle), it was spectacular, and easily the best brandy I've tasted to date (not that I've tasted much). A brandy-drinker would probably differ on that opinion, but for a non-brandy drinker it was fantastic. Smooth and what an initial taste on the palate, I really wished I had more than one taste to describe it.
Following from there, I went down the road to Mooiplaas. Upon entering the tasting room, you are greeted by a caution sign warning you that the floor is uneven. Thank goodness for that warning, otherwise I might have thought I'd gotten quite drunk off of that brandy from the last farm. That aside, they did have some enjoyable olives for tasting, not too sweet, not too bitter. As for their wines, they had a largely unwooded pinotage (the wood coming from 10% Cab Sauv they put in). Wasn't really my taste in wine, but I could appreciate it. They had a very herbaceous Cab Sauv with very green, fresh forest smells to it. Their Rosalind blend was Cab Franc driven and was a dark, intense wine and was thoroughly satisfying - a glass of this and you'd be happy all day.
Moving on from Mooiplaas, the next stop was Groenland, where I was astounded by their security gate, apparently installed after the owner got robbed at gun-point, after being followed from the bank with the farm's wages. Their available wines for tasting were very small (only 3 wines), so it was over before I'd even realised it. Their reserve range was not for tasting, but all of the wines I did taste were all above average and very well priced. The three wines available for tasting were a Shiraz, a Cab Sauv and red blend called Antoinette Marie (a very dutch name). They also make a port, which I wasn't able to taste :(
Farm no. 5 was Goede Hoop, were I was served by the wine maker (who didn't tell me he was the wine-maker). I must of made such a fool of myself there, but the guy was so open and friendly that I actually don't mind. Really, this wine-maker was so charismatic that I almost feel like dropping by there with a great bottle of wine someday to share with him. He gave me the chance to smell and taste a corked pinotage, as well as an oxidised merlot and pinotage. Surprisingly the corked pinotage smelt more like damp cardboard and a musty attic, than the smells I normally associate with a corked wine, and I don't know if I would've picked it up on the nose as corked. Although it was a give-away on the palate, I still would've guessed oxidised and not corked. It was one place that I was really impressed with the Chardonnay (which apparantly aged very well from one year to the next) and it was filled perfectly with all the tertiary smells and tastes I do so love, butterscotch and toasty goodness, but remarkable still had a good tropical fruit kick to it, with peaches and melons coming through quite prominently. A perfect textbook example of a good Chardonnay. Their household/table wine red blend I thought would be spectacular to cook with, especially given its very good price. The merlot/cab sauv blend was very well-blended and complex, and complemented each other perfectly to give a real full-mouth feel. The final wine to impress me here was the Shiraz, it's seen lots of oak, and came across as almost everything but a shiraz, a pleasing smokiness bouquet filled with light red berries, although it did have a bit of the characteristic pepperiness to its nose and palate (ground cloves and black pepper, if memory serves). And I got the tasting glass for only R5 instead of R10 (cos he didn't have change and neither did I).
The next farm was a fort upon the hill. Yes, it was Fort Simon. Pity that I wasn't so impressed with the wines, save for the wooded chenin which was really gorgeous and reminded me why I love wooded chenins so much. While there was nothing wrong with the rest of the wines, and their reds, they didn't really have anything that stood out for me. They also have a Viognier Sweet, but, yes, you know it, it wasn't available for tasting.
Getting later into the afternoon, I stopped by at Bellevue, which had a very unique tasting room, filled with booths and in the same room that once had their vats filled with grapes sitting on their skins. The guy who served me couldn't believe I was from South Africa and Cape Town, and sincerely asked if I spent a few years in the States or somewhere else in the world. I actually got asked that sort of question alot (where are you from? with surprised looks when I said I've lived in Cape Town all my life). I know I'm very English, but I didn't realise my accent was that warped. Anyway, they had a huge range of wines here, and some very interesting wines to boot. They had three pinotages which were all hugely different, but all of them had their own strengths and pleasing points. The first was the Sizanami, which is their B.E.E. range, and was a very affordable and accessible pinotage. The second is the Morkel, which I bought a bottle of, just so that you could smell and taste it when you get back. It absolutely reeks of banana and vanilla - which means it must be divinely made. The final was the PK Morkel which was incredibly complex and layered, definitely well beyond what my taste-buds were capable of right then. They had several red blends (the Rozanne, the Tumara, and the Atticus), all of which were great, balanced and full-bodied red blends. They had an unfiltered Shiraz, which almost made me laugh, because they were the only ones around that I actually saw that used a proper burgandy bottle for their shiraz, instead of the claret that everybody else seemed to prefer. No shoulder to catch any of that sediment at all. All-in-all, not a particularly astounding shiraz, but as full-bodied as you'd expect an unfiltered wine to be. They also had a petit verdot which reminded me of chocolate strawberries, pretty good in my books. The Malbec was the red I really enjoyed there, and I rated it as excellent. It took me ages to pick up one of the smells, which the attendee picked up for me - cranberries, but it also had a eucalyptus nose to it which was quite remarkable, and some pencil shavings on the nose (and palate, don't ask me how I know that - I guess I just chewed too many pencils in my day).
The final, rather rushed stop was at Hartenburg, which I would like to revisit (mostly because I was a bit rushed). The attendee there was very friendly, and wasn't all to bothered about my late turn-up (especially since they had such a long list of wines, and I managed to get a few tastings that's not normally available). I tasted the Weisser Reisling, and while I wasn't too impressed with it (as it did have a parafin nose, which they denied it had), it did still have some nice peachy/apricoty and very strong honey nose (and a high alcohol level). I could already tell that it would make a remarkable sweet wine. They also had an excellent chardonnay, which was very well balanced, although leaned slightly towards the barrel characteristics I so love - buttered toast and a slight yeastiness, it was still fruity, and it had such a long finish, real great acidity. To be honest I didn't really enjoy many of the reds that I was served, mostly because I found them to be quite oxidised, but I didn't bother saying anything, because it's not like they'd open up a whole bottle just for me at the end of the day. I did manage to taste two of their premium range of wines - The Stork and The Mackenzie, both of which were charming and regal wines, really filling your mouth with flavours, and asking to be laid to rest for a few years to come back with astounding grace. But at R250 a bottle, I'll think I'll pass up on buying a bottle for now. The last two wines I tasted here were very interesting - the first was the off-list Zinfindel Natural Sweet - a very, very peculiar attempt - I was given the very special price of R20 for a bottle, so I bought one without hesitation - although I have absolutely no space for it and I'm hoping it'll be fine until Monday sitting on a shelf next to the Vin de Constance. What was truly amazing about the Zinfindel was its finish, which was remarkable dry. This is probably the only sweet wine I could imagine drinking lots of in a go, and not be completely overpowered by its sweetness. The final wine I had was the L'Estreux which was a natural sweet made from Weisser Reisling. It did, in fact, make a very good sweet wine that was complex and could go well with a nice strong blue cheese, and was incredibly affordable (R35 a bottle).
So that's a run-down of the farms I visited on Friday. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Keep well and enjoy a good bottle of wine for me!
Val.
My first stop was at the very beautiful farm and tasting room of Hazendal, which immediately gave a sense of history and grandness to me. They had an MCC, which, unfortunately, was not available for tasting, so I started off with a very tropical Sauv Blanc, which was actually quite pleasant for what it was. I followed this with their Konynwijn - a semi-sweet wine, which was incredibly smooth and easy going, which is perfect for a casual evening with people that aren't avid wine-drinkers, or a nice relaxed day out in the gardens or forest or around the pool. They had a bush vine chenin blanc, which I wasn't that impressed with (it was ok), but had a lot of promise as a sweet wine (which they also do make). They had a blanc de noir made with pinot noir, which made a very pleasing picnic style wine. Not really as serious a rose as I would've liked, but a nice dainty wine. They had a Reserve Red blend, which is completely unwooded, and had me surprised as I find it also very soft and quite pleasant, although it was very much a wine to be drunk now. Again, a lovely wine to share with people who aren't really into their wine. They had a good Cab Sauv/Merlot blend which was very light and fruity. The final wine was the Straw Wine, which was the bushvine chenin sweet. It really was superb, with lovely tastes of cooked prune, honey and sultanas, but ultimately it wasn't worth the price, as just down the road was a wine that was almost every bit as good and half the cost.
The next stop was Kaapzicht, which had a very family-orientated feel to it's tasting room. It had much more of a home kind of feel to it. I wasn't impressed with their whites at all, which were all very shy on the nose, and very young on the palate. Only the Chardonnay stood out a bit on the nose (although I didn't like the hint of marzipan, which was a very sharp jarring smell), but again, very disappointing on the palate. Where the whites failed, however, the reds did a phenomenal job. They had three red blends, the Classic Red, the estate red, and the bin 3. All of them were created with the same vision - which was to create a smooth, elegant and complex wine, all of them with there own distinctive character, but they all still left you with the feeling that you just drank a good wine. Their pinotage had a sweaty leather, kind of wet dog nose, which I'm sure you would've loved. The Shiraz was a bit young still, but it was delicious and showed loads of potential. The Cab Sauv was also subtle and elegant (which I think added alot to all of the blends), but unfortunately the nose immediately gave a whiff of high alcohol. It should be superb in a few years tho, and should mature into a very regal wine. Their natural sweet was much the same as the previous farms (they are neighbouring farms, and pretty much use the same technique), but the price was only R40 for a bottle - very tempting I must tell you. Finally, they had an almost-10 year old (1999) brandy there for tasting, and although they only pour a single taste of it (cos it goes for R300 a bottle), it was spectacular, and easily the best brandy I've tasted to date (not that I've tasted much). A brandy-drinker would probably differ on that opinion, but for a non-brandy drinker it was fantastic. Smooth and what an initial taste on the palate, I really wished I had more than one taste to describe it.
Following from there, I went down the road to Mooiplaas. Upon entering the tasting room, you are greeted by a caution sign warning you that the floor is uneven. Thank goodness for that warning, otherwise I might have thought I'd gotten quite drunk off of that brandy from the last farm. That aside, they did have some enjoyable olives for tasting, not too sweet, not too bitter. As for their wines, they had a largely unwooded pinotage (the wood coming from 10% Cab Sauv they put in). Wasn't really my taste in wine, but I could appreciate it. They had a very herbaceous Cab Sauv with very green, fresh forest smells to it. Their Rosalind blend was Cab Franc driven and was a dark, intense wine and was thoroughly satisfying - a glass of this and you'd be happy all day.
Moving on from Mooiplaas, the next stop was Groenland, where I was astounded by their security gate, apparently installed after the owner got robbed at gun-point, after being followed from the bank with the farm's wages. Their available wines for tasting were very small (only 3 wines), so it was over before I'd even realised it. Their reserve range was not for tasting, but all of the wines I did taste were all above average and very well priced. The three wines available for tasting were a Shiraz, a Cab Sauv and red blend called Antoinette Marie (a very dutch name). They also make a port, which I wasn't able to taste :(
Farm no. 5 was Goede Hoop, were I was served by the wine maker (who didn't tell me he was the wine-maker). I must of made such a fool of myself there, but the guy was so open and friendly that I actually don't mind. Really, this wine-maker was so charismatic that I almost feel like dropping by there with a great bottle of wine someday to share with him. He gave me the chance to smell and taste a corked pinotage, as well as an oxidised merlot and pinotage. Surprisingly the corked pinotage smelt more like damp cardboard and a musty attic, than the smells I normally associate with a corked wine, and I don't know if I would've picked it up on the nose as corked. Although it was a give-away on the palate, I still would've guessed oxidised and not corked. It was one place that I was really impressed with the Chardonnay (which apparantly aged very well from one year to the next) and it was filled perfectly with all the tertiary smells and tastes I do so love, butterscotch and toasty goodness, but remarkable still had a good tropical fruit kick to it, with peaches and melons coming through quite prominently. A perfect textbook example of a good Chardonnay. Their household/table wine red blend I thought would be spectacular to cook with, especially given its very good price. The merlot/cab sauv blend was very well-blended and complex, and complemented each other perfectly to give a real full-mouth feel. The final wine to impress me here was the Shiraz, it's seen lots of oak, and came across as almost everything but a shiraz, a pleasing smokiness bouquet filled with light red berries, although it did have a bit of the characteristic pepperiness to its nose and palate (ground cloves and black pepper, if memory serves). And I got the tasting glass for only R5 instead of R10 (cos he didn't have change and neither did I).
The next farm was a fort upon the hill. Yes, it was Fort Simon. Pity that I wasn't so impressed with the wines, save for the wooded chenin which was really gorgeous and reminded me why I love wooded chenins so much. While there was nothing wrong with the rest of the wines, and their reds, they didn't really have anything that stood out for me. They also have a Viognier Sweet, but, yes, you know it, it wasn't available for tasting.
Getting later into the afternoon, I stopped by at Bellevue, which had a very unique tasting room, filled with booths and in the same room that once had their vats filled with grapes sitting on their skins. The guy who served me couldn't believe I was from South Africa and Cape Town, and sincerely asked if I spent a few years in the States or somewhere else in the world. I actually got asked that sort of question alot (where are you from? with surprised looks when I said I've lived in Cape Town all my life). I know I'm very English, but I didn't realise my accent was that warped. Anyway, they had a huge range of wines here, and some very interesting wines to boot. They had three pinotages which were all hugely different, but all of them had their own strengths and pleasing points. The first was the Sizanami, which is their B.E.E. range, and was a very affordable and accessible pinotage. The second is the Morkel, which I bought a bottle of, just so that you could smell and taste it when you get back. It absolutely reeks of banana and vanilla - which means it must be divinely made. The final was the PK Morkel which was incredibly complex and layered, definitely well beyond what my taste-buds were capable of right then. They had several red blends (the Rozanne, the Tumara, and the Atticus), all of which were great, balanced and full-bodied red blends. They had an unfiltered Shiraz, which almost made me laugh, because they were the only ones around that I actually saw that used a proper burgandy bottle for their shiraz, instead of the claret that everybody else seemed to prefer. No shoulder to catch any of that sediment at all. All-in-all, not a particularly astounding shiraz, but as full-bodied as you'd expect an unfiltered wine to be. They also had a petit verdot which reminded me of chocolate strawberries, pretty good in my books. The Malbec was the red I really enjoyed there, and I rated it as excellent. It took me ages to pick up one of the smells, which the attendee picked up for me - cranberries, but it also had a eucalyptus nose to it which was quite remarkable, and some pencil shavings on the nose (and palate, don't ask me how I know that - I guess I just chewed too many pencils in my day).
The final, rather rushed stop was at Hartenburg, which I would like to revisit (mostly because I was a bit rushed). The attendee there was very friendly, and wasn't all to bothered about my late turn-up (especially since they had such a long list of wines, and I managed to get a few tastings that's not normally available). I tasted the Weisser Reisling, and while I wasn't too impressed with it (as it did have a parafin nose, which they denied it had), it did still have some nice peachy/apricoty and very strong honey nose (and a high alcohol level). I could already tell that it would make a remarkable sweet wine. They also had an excellent chardonnay, which was very well balanced, although leaned slightly towards the barrel characteristics I so love - buttered toast and a slight yeastiness, it was still fruity, and it had such a long finish, real great acidity. To be honest I didn't really enjoy many of the reds that I was served, mostly because I found them to be quite oxidised, but I didn't bother saying anything, because it's not like they'd open up a whole bottle just for me at the end of the day. I did manage to taste two of their premium range of wines - The Stork and The Mackenzie, both of which were charming and regal wines, really filling your mouth with flavours, and asking to be laid to rest for a few years to come back with astounding grace. But at R250 a bottle, I'll think I'll pass up on buying a bottle for now. The last two wines I tasted here were very interesting - the first was the off-list Zinfindel Natural Sweet - a very, very peculiar attempt - I was given the very special price of R20 for a bottle, so I bought one without hesitation - although I have absolutely no space for it and I'm hoping it'll be fine until Monday sitting on a shelf next to the Vin de Constance. What was truly amazing about the Zinfindel was its finish, which was remarkable dry. This is probably the only sweet wine I could imagine drinking lots of in a go, and not be completely overpowered by its sweetness. The final wine I had was the L'Estreux which was a natural sweet made from Weisser Reisling. It did, in fact, make a very good sweet wine that was complex and could go well with a nice strong blue cheese, and was incredibly affordable (R35 a bottle).
So that's a run-down of the farms I visited on Friday. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Keep well and enjoy a good bottle of wine for me!
Val.
Starting off in Stellies
Hey guy,
Well, I went wine tasting on Wed when I went to Stellies side. Here's a breakdown of the farms I visited:
I started off at Vriesenhof. The girl there kept apologising for everything, it was hilarious. They had a Pinot Noir there, which was actually quite cheap, but sold out very quickly because of it, so didn't get to taste that one, but I did taste the older, more expensive one, which is easily loved. They had a very nice red Cape blend which had a great nose and was well-priced, as well as a ridiculously cheap Muscat d' Alexandrie (priced at R30), which was quite accessible and perfect to go with cheeses. I bought a bottle for essentially R10, as they took off the tasting fee (of R20) if you bought a bottle.
Next I went to De Trafford, going down a long dirt road, until I saw the sign saying they are only open of Fridays and Saturdays.
I bounced back down the road and visited Waterford, which had a lovely tasting area, and it was very busy there. They also do a chocolate pairing (and tasting) with their last 3 wines. Their service there was incredibly professional and the only thing I was disappointed with was there poor spitton. Their wines were definitely made to lie down a good few years, most of them tasted a bit young with firm tannins, but with great potential, and a lot of the reds had already been lying in wait for a handful of years. The ones I enjoyed there were the Shiraz, the Cab Sauv and the Family Reserve (Heatherleigh). Unfortunately though, their wines were not cheap. I also liked their Chenin, which I thought was a perfect food wine. This was also the birthplace of The Jem, a R680 bottle of wine, which you could taste for R50. Having already heard about the wine, and being told it was an Ernie Els wine, I passed on that tasting, knowing I'd never be crazy enough to buy a bottle anyway.
Following the road, I stopped by Dornier. The tasting room moved from the building with the huge fish tank and signature curvy roof, to the restaurant at the top - which was terrible for smelling the wines as it was just down the corridor from the kitchen. That aside, I enjoyed the Cocoa Hill Red, which was definitely tasty, easy drinking and well-priced, the Cab Sauv was quite smooth and elegant, which got a rating of 'good' in my book, and an 'excellent' pinotage, more so because of it's fantastic nose than it's palate, but also well-priced.
Then, after missing a turnoff and going the really long way round, I ended up in Stellenzicht. The tasting room was tiny, elevated room and just outside was a beautiful landscape, which they didn't take advantage of at all. It was quite sad, actually. This was one place that I actually enjoyed their Golden Triangle Sauv Blanc, even though it was still not exactly my taste, I wouldn't complain if someone poured me a glass. They had an excellent wooded Semillon (9 months in wood), which left a lovely taste in the mouth, almost butter-scotch like a Chardonnay. The last really great wine that I enjoyed there was their Golden Triangle Pinotage, which had great acidity so left a nice long lingering full-mouth feel.
Only four farms on Wednesday, as I got a late start, and there were a lot of dirt roads to travel on.
Val.
Well, I went wine tasting on Wed when I went to Stellies side. Here's a breakdown of the farms I visited:
I started off at Vriesenhof. The girl there kept apologising for everything, it was hilarious. They had a Pinot Noir there, which was actually quite cheap, but sold out very quickly because of it, so didn't get to taste that one, but I did taste the older, more expensive one, which is easily loved. They had a very nice red Cape blend which had a great nose and was well-priced, as well as a ridiculously cheap Muscat d' Alexandrie (priced at R30), which was quite accessible and perfect to go with cheeses. I bought a bottle for essentially R10, as they took off the tasting fee (of R20) if you bought a bottle.
Next I went to De Trafford, going down a long dirt road, until I saw the sign saying they are only open of Fridays and Saturdays.
I bounced back down the road and visited Waterford, which had a lovely tasting area, and it was very busy there. They also do a chocolate pairing (and tasting) with their last 3 wines. Their service there was incredibly professional and the only thing I was disappointed with was there poor spitton. Their wines were definitely made to lie down a good few years, most of them tasted a bit young with firm tannins, but with great potential, and a lot of the reds had already been lying in wait for a handful of years. The ones I enjoyed there were the Shiraz, the Cab Sauv and the Family Reserve (Heatherleigh). Unfortunately though, their wines were not cheap. I also liked their Chenin, which I thought was a perfect food wine. This was also the birthplace of The Jem, a R680 bottle of wine, which you could taste for R50. Having already heard about the wine, and being told it was an Ernie Els wine, I passed on that tasting, knowing I'd never be crazy enough to buy a bottle anyway.
Following the road, I stopped by Dornier. The tasting room moved from the building with the huge fish tank and signature curvy roof, to the restaurant at the top - which was terrible for smelling the wines as it was just down the corridor from the kitchen. That aside, I enjoyed the Cocoa Hill Red, which was definitely tasty, easy drinking and well-priced, the Cab Sauv was quite smooth and elegant, which got a rating of 'good' in my book, and an 'excellent' pinotage, more so because of it's fantastic nose than it's palate, but also well-priced.
Then, after missing a turnoff and going the really long way round, I ended up in Stellenzicht. The tasting room was tiny, elevated room and just outside was a beautiful landscape, which they didn't take advantage of at all. It was quite sad, actually. This was one place that I actually enjoyed their Golden Triangle Sauv Blanc, even though it was still not exactly my taste, I wouldn't complain if someone poured me a glass. They had an excellent wooded Semillon (9 months in wood), which left a lovely taste in the mouth, almost butter-scotch like a Chardonnay. The last really great wine that I enjoyed there was their Golden Triangle Pinotage, which had great acidity so left a nice long lingering full-mouth feel.
Only four farms on Wednesday, as I got a late start, and there were a lot of dirt roads to travel on.
Val.
Something Sumptous in Somerset West
Howdy everybody,
I've reached about the quarter mark on my journey around the winelands in the Cape and I've already visited so many farms I'm really hoping I get to visit all the areas I want to before I feel the work world calling me. On Saturday I managed to continue my route that was prematurely cut short two weeks ago when my car gave up on me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the one place (Flagstone) that was the only reason for me to go wine tasting on a Saturday as I couldn't find how to get to it. The only road that looked like it went to Flagstone was closed off.
This time round I started off at a few farms I missed the last time I went to this area, so my first stop was at Avontuur (after accidentily driving past Ken Forrester's almost invisible entrance). This is where I discovered I had 0 battery power left for my camera (thanks to the power failure the evening before), so please excuse if my discriptions of the farms are a bit vague, as I'm relying on my terrible memory. Avontuur has a huge range of wines to try, including a sparkling wine, several whites and reds and a 5-year old brandy, as well as a 10 year. Avontuur also has a very nice restaurant and they are smart enough to put the tasting room far enough away from the kitchen and sealed off by glass doors and windows from the tables as well. They have 3 ranges of wine here, the Vintners (V), Estate (E) and Premium/Reserve range (R).
I could spend a whole email going through each of the wines I tasted, but I'll select a few as a taster for you 8) The E. Brut MCC (Methode Cap Classique) is made from an equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and first gave off a smell of beer yeast with a follow through of sweet fruit on the nose and citrus on the palate, with a very crisp finish that leaves you smacking your lips together. I found that I enjoyed the Sauv Blancs (R&E), as they weren't excessively crisp and on the Reserve (called the Sarabranda) I found some interesting floral notes (rose petals?) and I caught a hint of lemon grass (I think). Not an everyday wine, but if you are a big fan of Sauv Blanc, this would make an excellent birthday gift for you. The Vintner's Blend is a mixture of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and is an absolutely marvellous wine that only cost R38 a bottle - definitely an everyday drinking wine. It is a new release, so make sure to look out for a bottle before everyone realises how good it is and it gets sold out... actually maybe I should go buy some quickly... oh wait, before I do that.. uhm... it's a terrible wine... don't buy it... seriously... it's only lightly wooded and has a really icky toasty/butterscotch nose with an awful strawberry nose that leaps out of the glass and grabs you by the throat. In fact, forget I even mentioned it, and don't try it... you'll spit it out all over your lovely clothes.
The reserve Chardonnay (called the Luna de Miel) is my style of Chard, with a rich creamy butterscotch nose mixed with vanilla and slight notes of citrus. Wine like this glides down your throat like a kid going down a waterslide - with great delight. The R Pinot Noir (the Minelli) is a very complex wine with an alcohol that's just a tad bit too high - it's very fruity with dark berries, but has a dried woodland nose to it with just a subtle hint of leather. Skipping through the list, the next interesting wine was the E Cab Sauv/Merlot blend, which had that nose I'm becoming more familiar with - candied apple and turkish delight, with light red berries and a slight smell of cigar smoke. The R Bourdeux blend - the Baccarat, is a blend of Cab Sauv/Merlot/Cab Franc, with fresh forest smells, fynbos, black berries and some lovely barrel characters coming through of white pepper and milk chocolate - complex and delicious. I'll skip commenting too much on the brandy, other than to say that the 10 year old was a softer style of brandy - good for a non-brandy drinker, so it'll make a good brandy to have on stand by for high-end business executives.
My next stop was at Ken Forrester, another farm with another long list. The Sauv Blanc is a very text-book example (grass and apples), but they've done some fantastic work with Chenin Blanc here. The Petit Chenin Blanc is their quaffer with splashes of melons, peaches and guava - at R30 a bottle, it's well-worth the price-tag for a wine to enjoy throughout the summer. Their estate Chenin Blanc is ever-so-slightly wooded and has rose petal/floral smells mixed with peaches, and their Forrester Meinert Chenin is an interesting combination of a heavily-oaked chenin (10 months) mixed with their natural sweet Chenin to produce an off-dry and delicious white wine that is very highly rated. Well worth the hype, it has intensily complex aromas including: buttered toast, sweet and water-melons, peaches, flowers, honey, apricot, nartjie, litchi, vanilla and light raisons. Unfortunately, at R240 a bottle, the tasting room is about the only place that I'd see this wine touching my lips - a pity, because it's really a one-of-a-kind wine. I'd suggest going through the struggle of finding the farm, looking out at the water fountain from the tasting room and the hanging pieces of meat in the cellar, and have a sip or three of this wine if you are a wine lover. Amongst the other red wines this is one of the very few (if not only) farms to make a straight varietal Grenache. Called the Lonely Grenache, the smells are driven by an powerful cherry nose, with strawberries and raspberries complimenting it, and a slightly spicy (mostly white pepper) backbone just to give it that little extra push. The Grenache is mixed in with Shiraz to make two blends here, and I'd suggest buying the Ken Forrester Shiraz/Grenache if you want a relatively good sense of what a grenache is like, with a little added pepperiness and vanilla, and at R65 a bottle, it's very worthwhile. Especially since the Lonely Grenache is valued at R160, and the Gypsy blend (also Shiraz and Grenache) is sitting at a whopping R240 a bottle. The sweet wine was sold out, so I can't comment on that.
Dellrust was next on my list, and after a long dusty road, I arrived at the farm to the sounds of Fish Eagles. Of the white wines I had there, the slightly wooded Chenin Blanc/Semillon stood out, filled with tropical fruit - like passion fruit and mango. The Rose was an off-dry picnic style wine. Then came some interesting Red blends - the Vinehills Red Ruby Cabernet/ Tinta Barocca blend of cinnamon, pine needles, fynbos and ceder, followed by the Tinta Barocca/ Cinsaut blend of leather, black currant, cinnamon (guess that's from the Tinta) and coffee. The Merlot was well worth the price-tag of R45 a bottle - a soft, easy-drinking red filled with dark berries and plums, a smell of damp earth and mocha. The Three Vines red blend of Merlot/Pinotage/Shiraz was a very interesting wine - a mixture of leather and a kind of meaty paste (which I'm struggling to connect), which I think may be liver pate, olive paste and prunes coming in at the end. The Late Bottled Vintage Port had a delicious dried fruit (almost fruit roll) style and well-priced. They also have two Jerepigos here, white and red, although they aren't really noteworthy.
The next few farms were all farms with a lot of history behind them and all of them had gorgeous farms with large ponds and a large variety of flora. I stopped first at Morgenster (although, on hindsight, I should've stopped at Lourensford first). Morgenster has a stunning tasting room with a superb view looking out over a serene pond. They also have olive tastings here... yum. The farm was originally all part of Vergelegen and owned by Simon Van De Stel's son William. After some bad business practices, it got divided up and Morgenster came under the ownership of a French Huguenot - Jacques Malan, so it is over 300 years old (thank you google!) Although they are more well-known for their olives and especially their olive oil, they do have a small selection of wines. The wines are regal reds - strong, powerful, complex, and worthy of a throne. The Lourensriver Valley is a Merlot driven blend with Cab Sauv and Cab Franc adding complexity to the wine. A firm, gripping wine, it has flavours ranging from the barrel chacteristics of mocha, milk chocolate and a spicy black pepper, to the fruitier black berries and black currant, with an added dose of mushrooms - I'd imagine this to go well with dark-meat poultry, boar or lamb, but a must to have with an exotic old-world meal (it goes with the whole regal image). Still reasonably affordable (barely under R100 a bottle). The Morgenster is a more balanced blend of Cab Sauv/ Cab Franc/ Merlot filled with fresh forest smells, ceder/pine trees, and fruity plums, raspberries, blueberries and dark cherries - a more accessible and smooth wine, which the farm calls their 'liquid velvet' and it almost costs as much.
The second last stop was at Lourensford that had a very nice and friendly staff - they let me stay and go through almost all of their range, which was quite extensive, and even offered some off the list wine to taste, and all well past their closing time (I stayed about an hour and a half after closing time because the company was that good). Of the extensive list, I'll comment on a few of their wines. They have 3 ranges of wines here, the Lourensford Estate, the Lourensford Five Heirs, and the Eden Crest, and wine from their sister farm of Lanzerac. The Eden Crest Sauv was a typical green apple and fresh cut grass - a very textbook, typical sauv blanc at a very good price (especially since it's on promotion). The Eden Crest white blend of Sauv Blanc/ Chard has a hint of toast, but is predominantly filled with citrus/tropical flavours like pineapple, guava and a hint of passion fruit and peach. They have a wooded Estate Viognier, with which I can attribute mouth-watering flavours like peach, apricot, gooseberry, vanilla and butterscotch. The Chardonnay here was another one made in the style I like with rich butterscotch and buttered toast, but with some added smells of sweet melon and a surprising note of ginger. Blend the two together, and you have the Chardonnay/Viognier which gives off all sorts of dried fruits - apricots, peaches and pears, as well as a subtle macadamian nuttiness. Of the reds, there were a few that stood out for me, and I tasted the 5 heirs reds - the merlot had a strong mocha/cocoa flavour to it, the shiraz was a mixture of fresh meat and dark berries, and in the blend with Mouvedre, it became leathery and filled with light berries instead, the pinotage was herbaceous (thyme and italian herbs) and smelled of fresh bananas as well. The final red I managed to sneak a taste of was the Seventeen Hundred - mostly Cab Sauv with a dollup of Merlot and a drop of Shiraz, it was an intense complex wine and I picked up black currant, chocolate/coffee, blackberry and black pepper and a hint of vanilla.
I was about to go home, but decided to stop by Vergelegen again (as they were still open) to check to see if I could get a fresh taste of their Merlot (with a drop of Cab Franc) that I had last time and I thought was corked. The farm here is such a beautiful place to visit, and it's very easy to make a whole day of it wandering around the nearby grounds, having a bite to eat at the near-by restaurant, and generally have a nice relaxing day. Unfortunately, I came in the closing hour of the tasting room, and got an overwhelming sense from the help that they've had a long day, and so they were rather slow, impatient and unenthusiastic, even though my enthusiasm rubbed off a bit and they were at least a bit polite and engaging with me at times. Still, it was a good idea to go back, and I should've trusted my taste the first time, as that smell of damp cardboard that I got last time was no-where to be found and in it's place was black currant, dark plum, black pepper and fresh fynbos. By now I should've really learnt to trust my instincts and simply ask for a new bottle to be opened, even if the people behind the desk seemed rather unhelpful and unsympathetic.
Well, that's it for today. I'm sure I've given you a good few minutes reading. I haven't decided whether or not to go tasting tomorrow yet, but I've booked Friday for some tasting in the nearby Durbanville area and I'm definitely looking forward to some of their wines!
Until I find the time to write another email about the 6 Franschhoek farms I visited yesterday, you'll have to wait patiently doing your nails or whatever it is you do during the day when you're not reading my thoroughly engrossing emails.
Ciao,
Val.
I've reached about the quarter mark on my journey around the winelands in the Cape and I've already visited so many farms I'm really hoping I get to visit all the areas I want to before I feel the work world calling me. On Saturday I managed to continue my route that was prematurely cut short two weeks ago when my car gave up on me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the one place (Flagstone) that was the only reason for me to go wine tasting on a Saturday as I couldn't find how to get to it. The only road that looked like it went to Flagstone was closed off.
This time round I started off at a few farms I missed the last time I went to this area, so my first stop was at Avontuur (after accidentily driving past Ken Forrester's almost invisible entrance). This is where I discovered I had 0 battery power left for my camera (thanks to the power failure the evening before), so please excuse if my discriptions of the farms are a bit vague, as I'm relying on my terrible memory. Avontuur has a huge range of wines to try, including a sparkling wine, several whites and reds and a 5-year old brandy, as well as a 10 year. Avontuur also has a very nice restaurant and they are smart enough to put the tasting room far enough away from the kitchen and sealed off by glass doors and windows from the tables as well. They have 3 ranges of wine here, the Vintners (V), Estate (E) and Premium/Reserve range (R).
I could spend a whole email going through each of the wines I tasted, but I'll select a few as a taster for you 8) The E. Brut MCC (Methode Cap Classique) is made from an equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and first gave off a smell of beer yeast with a follow through of sweet fruit on the nose and citrus on the palate, with a very crisp finish that leaves you smacking your lips together. I found that I enjoyed the Sauv Blancs (R&E), as they weren't excessively crisp and on the Reserve (called the Sarabranda) I found some interesting floral notes (rose petals?) and I caught a hint of lemon grass (I think). Not an everyday wine, but if you are a big fan of Sauv Blanc, this would make an excellent birthday gift for you. The Vintner's Blend is a mixture of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and is an absolutely marvellous wine that only cost R38 a bottle - definitely an everyday drinking wine. It is a new release, so make sure to look out for a bottle before everyone realises how good it is and it gets sold out... actually maybe I should go buy some quickly... oh wait, before I do that.. uhm... it's a terrible wine... don't buy it... seriously... it's only lightly wooded and has a really icky toasty/butterscotch nose with an awful strawberry nose that leaps out of the glass and grabs you by the throat. In fact, forget I even mentioned it, and don't try it... you'll spit it out all over your lovely clothes.
The reserve Chardonnay (called the Luna de Miel) is my style of Chard, with a rich creamy butterscotch nose mixed with vanilla and slight notes of citrus. Wine like this glides down your throat like a kid going down a waterslide - with great delight. The R Pinot Noir (the Minelli) is a very complex wine with an alcohol that's just a tad bit too high - it's very fruity with dark berries, but has a dried woodland nose to it with just a subtle hint of leather. Skipping through the list, the next interesting wine was the E Cab Sauv/Merlot blend, which had that nose I'm becoming more familiar with - candied apple and turkish delight, with light red berries and a slight smell of cigar smoke. The R Bourdeux blend - the Baccarat, is a blend of Cab Sauv/Merlot/Cab Franc, with fresh forest smells, fynbos, black berries and some lovely barrel characters coming through of white pepper and milk chocolate - complex and delicious. I'll skip commenting too much on the brandy, other than to say that the 10 year old was a softer style of brandy - good for a non-brandy drinker, so it'll make a good brandy to have on stand by for high-end business executives.
My next stop was at Ken Forrester, another farm with another long list. The Sauv Blanc is a very text-book example (grass and apples), but they've done some fantastic work with Chenin Blanc here. The Petit Chenin Blanc is their quaffer with splashes of melons, peaches and guava - at R30 a bottle, it's well-worth the price-tag for a wine to enjoy throughout the summer. Their estate Chenin Blanc is ever-so-slightly wooded and has rose petal/floral smells mixed with peaches, and their Forrester Meinert Chenin is an interesting combination of a heavily-oaked chenin (10 months) mixed with their natural sweet Chenin to produce an off-dry and delicious white wine that is very highly rated. Well worth the hype, it has intensily complex aromas including: buttered toast, sweet and water-melons, peaches, flowers, honey, apricot, nartjie, litchi, vanilla and light raisons. Unfortunately, at R240 a bottle, the tasting room is about the only place that I'd see this wine touching my lips - a pity, because it's really a one-of-a-kind wine. I'd suggest going through the struggle of finding the farm, looking out at the water fountain from the tasting room and the hanging pieces of meat in the cellar, and have a sip or three of this wine if you are a wine lover. Amongst the other red wines this is one of the very few (if not only) farms to make a straight varietal Grenache. Called the Lonely Grenache, the smells are driven by an powerful cherry nose, with strawberries and raspberries complimenting it, and a slightly spicy (mostly white pepper) backbone just to give it that little extra push. The Grenache is mixed in with Shiraz to make two blends here, and I'd suggest buying the Ken Forrester Shiraz/Grenache if you want a relatively good sense of what a grenache is like, with a little added pepperiness and vanilla, and at R65 a bottle, it's very worthwhile. Especially since the Lonely Grenache is valued at R160, and the Gypsy blend (also Shiraz and Grenache) is sitting at a whopping R240 a bottle. The sweet wine was sold out, so I can't comment on that.
Dellrust was next on my list, and after a long dusty road, I arrived at the farm to the sounds of Fish Eagles. Of the white wines I had there, the slightly wooded Chenin Blanc/Semillon stood out, filled with tropical fruit - like passion fruit and mango. The Rose was an off-dry picnic style wine. Then came some interesting Red blends - the Vinehills Red Ruby Cabernet/ Tinta Barocca blend of cinnamon, pine needles, fynbos and ceder, followed by the Tinta Barocca/ Cinsaut blend of leather, black currant, cinnamon (guess that's from the Tinta) and coffee. The Merlot was well worth the price-tag of R45 a bottle - a soft, easy-drinking red filled with dark berries and plums, a smell of damp earth and mocha. The Three Vines red blend of Merlot/Pinotage/Shiraz was a very interesting wine - a mixture of leather and a kind of meaty paste (which I'm struggling to connect), which I think may be liver pate, olive paste and prunes coming in at the end. The Late Bottled Vintage Port had a delicious dried fruit (almost fruit roll) style and well-priced. They also have two Jerepigos here, white and red, although they aren't really noteworthy.
The next few farms were all farms with a lot of history behind them and all of them had gorgeous farms with large ponds and a large variety of flora. I stopped first at Morgenster (although, on hindsight, I should've stopped at Lourensford first). Morgenster has a stunning tasting room with a superb view looking out over a serene pond. They also have olive tastings here... yum. The farm was originally all part of Vergelegen and owned by Simon Van De Stel's son William. After some bad business practices, it got divided up and Morgenster came under the ownership of a French Huguenot - Jacques Malan, so it is over 300 years old (thank you google!) Although they are more well-known for their olives and especially their olive oil, they do have a small selection of wines. The wines are regal reds - strong, powerful, complex, and worthy of a throne. The Lourensriver Valley is a Merlot driven blend with Cab Sauv and Cab Franc adding complexity to the wine. A firm, gripping wine, it has flavours ranging from the barrel chacteristics of mocha, milk chocolate and a spicy black pepper, to the fruitier black berries and black currant, with an added dose of mushrooms - I'd imagine this to go well with dark-meat poultry, boar or lamb, but a must to have with an exotic old-world meal (it goes with the whole regal image). Still reasonably affordable (barely under R100 a bottle). The Morgenster is a more balanced blend of Cab Sauv/ Cab Franc/ Merlot filled with fresh forest smells, ceder/pine trees, and fruity plums, raspberries, blueberries and dark cherries - a more accessible and smooth wine, which the farm calls their 'liquid velvet' and it almost costs as much.
The second last stop was at Lourensford that had a very nice and friendly staff - they let me stay and go through almost all of their range, which was quite extensive, and even offered some off the list wine to taste, and all well past their closing time (I stayed about an hour and a half after closing time because the company was that good). Of the extensive list, I'll comment on a few of their wines. They have 3 ranges of wines here, the Lourensford Estate, the Lourensford Five Heirs, and the Eden Crest, and wine from their sister farm of Lanzerac. The Eden Crest Sauv was a typical green apple and fresh cut grass - a very textbook, typical sauv blanc at a very good price (especially since it's on promotion). The Eden Crest white blend of Sauv Blanc/ Chard has a hint of toast, but is predominantly filled with citrus/tropical flavours like pineapple, guava and a hint of passion fruit and peach. They have a wooded Estate Viognier, with which I can attribute mouth-watering flavours like peach, apricot, gooseberry, vanilla and butterscotch. The Chardonnay here was another one made in the style I like with rich butterscotch and buttered toast, but with some added smells of sweet melon and a surprising note of ginger. Blend the two together, and you have the Chardonnay/Viognier which gives off all sorts of dried fruits - apricots, peaches and pears, as well as a subtle macadamian nuttiness. Of the reds, there were a few that stood out for me, and I tasted the 5 heirs reds - the merlot had a strong mocha/cocoa flavour to it, the shiraz was a mixture of fresh meat and dark berries, and in the blend with Mouvedre, it became leathery and filled with light berries instead, the pinotage was herbaceous (thyme and italian herbs) and smelled of fresh bananas as well. The final red I managed to sneak a taste of was the Seventeen Hundred - mostly Cab Sauv with a dollup of Merlot and a drop of Shiraz, it was an intense complex wine and I picked up black currant, chocolate/coffee, blackberry and black pepper and a hint of vanilla.
I was about to go home, but decided to stop by Vergelegen again (as they were still open) to check to see if I could get a fresh taste of their Merlot (with a drop of Cab Franc) that I had last time and I thought was corked. The farm here is such a beautiful place to visit, and it's very easy to make a whole day of it wandering around the nearby grounds, having a bite to eat at the near-by restaurant, and generally have a nice relaxing day. Unfortunately, I came in the closing hour of the tasting room, and got an overwhelming sense from the help that they've had a long day, and so they were rather slow, impatient and unenthusiastic, even though my enthusiasm rubbed off a bit and they were at least a bit polite and engaging with me at times. Still, it was a good idea to go back, and I should've trusted my taste the first time, as that smell of damp cardboard that I got last time was no-where to be found and in it's place was black currant, dark plum, black pepper and fresh fynbos. By now I should've really learnt to trust my instincts and simply ask for a new bottle to be opened, even if the people behind the desk seemed rather unhelpful and unsympathetic.
Well, that's it for today. I'm sure I've given you a good few minutes reading. I haven't decided whether or not to go tasting tomorrow yet, but I've booked Friday for some tasting in the nearby Durbanville area and I'm definitely looking forward to some of their wines!
Until I find the time to write another email about the 6 Franschhoek farms I visited yesterday, you'll have to wait patiently doing your nails or whatever it is you do during the day when you're not reading my thoroughly engrossing emails.
Ciao,
Val.
Bottle me up in Bottelary Hills
Heya
After my local garage was nice enough to fix my garage for free, I managed to get back on the road for some more wine tasting. This time I went to 6 farms in the Greater Simonsberg and Bottelary Hills - which made for a great time on Friday.
The first farm I went to was Villiera (which kind of sounds like some sort of disease involving mosquitos). With a large selection of famous bubblies, whites, reds, sweets and ports and even some wines from the South of France, this farm is a must visit - especially if you are on a student's budget. They have three brut MCCs - all of which had deliciously yeasty nose and a smell like the crust of a freshly baked bread. Their Flagship MCC - the Monro Brut was exceptionally lively and vivacious (my word of the day) and, best of all, very affordable. The final MCC I tasted was the Brut Rose, which was filled with light berries, which reminded me mostly of freshly picked cherries and raspberries. Extremely good value-for-money bubblies.
Although the farm is known for it's bubblies, the rest of their range is every bit as good. The bush-vine sauv blanc was filled with green peppers and was surprisingly not so strapping and brash, despite it's youth and intensity of colour. The chenin blanc was a typical sweet-melon type of chenin, but they also had a toasty-good wooded chenin (The Cellardoor) at incredible value and taste - not the best I've had, but definitely good to open up for a good meal looking for a bit of romantic charm (if I recall correctly they said a curry, although I was more thinking chicken, especially in a white-sauce pasta). I had the pleasure of trying one of their french wines - a blend of Maccabeu and Viognier, which had an excellent blend of minerality and fruitiness - really perfectly blended to the last %. The next two red blends I had were also french in origin. The L'Aqueduc - a name taken from a nearby aqueduct to their farm in France, was a blend of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah, filled with dark cherries, black currant, and other dark, lush berries with juices bursting at the seams. Along with the Galamus (named after the nearby valley and monastery), these wines were incredibly smooth and elegant reds, ready to glide down like a sheet of the finest Chinese silk. Of the local reds, I fancied their Merlot, which was fruity, filled with ripe plums and cherries and it gave a great full mouth feel, perfect balance between fruit and acidity. My final note on this farm will be on the sweet wines, which included a pair of very different Noble Late Harvest - the Cellar Door (Rhine Riesling) which I expected immense honey tones, but found a surprising amount of fruitiness especially fresh apricots and saltanas with a minimal hint of honey. The Inspiration NLH, on the other hand (you have different fingers), was made from Chenin Blanc, and was aptly labeled with a bee, as it reeked of honey and was awfully sweet - I think it was still to early in the morning for that. Their port - named Fired Earth, was enjoyable, but not really noteworthy - a good standard balanced port, not too fruity, not too nutty, but tasted a bit of rotting raisons and prunes (sounds delicious, doesn't it?)
Moving on - to Koelenhof, where they also showcase some Ernst & Co wines. I visited this farm because of it's port. Although Platter seems to dislike it, I haven't found a port at this price that goes so well with cheeses of all kinds. I was told that the previous year's one was much nuttier than the latest release, the Pino Porto had a great nose and taste of raisons and nuts (more a kind of shelled nut, like walnut). I'm jumping ahead of myself again. They also have bubbly here, although not made in the traditional method, they have a Vin-Sec Sauv Blanc (which was exactly what you'd expect - sauv blanc with bubbles), and a Vin-Sec Pinotage Rose sparkling, which was better than I expected, with hints of freshly cleaned and cut strawberries. The semi-sweet Koelnektar (a gewurz) was an easy-drinking very affordable white wine - perfect for those summer days stretched out on the lawn with a big hat you've convinced yourself looks good on you. In the reds, I tasted the Ernst & Co merlot which was a textbook merlot - plum, coffee, milk chocolate. The only other one I'll mention from this farm is the Sangiovese (cos you don't see much of it around), which was filled with fresh leathery smells (like I just got into a recently cleaned luxory car) - interesting, but not really my taste in wine.
Next on my list was Hoopenburg - which got a recommendation from the first farm. When I arrived here, I realised I left my notebook behind in the last farm - cos I was too focused on taking the port with me and thinking of all the chevins, bree, camemburts (I hope I spelt those right) and other delicious blue cheeses I'd eat with the port. SOOOO I rushed back to fetch my book, and forgot to fetch my pen as well. At least Hoopenburg was so nice that they gave me a pen (which was exactly like the one I lost). So if you are looking to get some free pens - here's the place to go. They have an unwooded Chardonnay, but I was far more interested in their Integer wooded Chardonnay - which boasts a gold award from the 2007 IWC (no, not idiotic wine contest - it's the International Wine Challenge) in London last year. While I usually don't place too much stock in competitions of this kind, I must admit that the wine-maker did get this Chardonnay just right - although I'd put this into the textbook Chardonnay category - it'd be in the textbook on how to get wooded Chardonnay to be phenomenal - all those lovely wood characteristics of butterscotch and cookie-dough (on the nose), with a great citrus (pineapple and lime) tone. It has perfect acidity (which I believe was all-natural) and so it'll not only age exceptionally in my books, but will leave a long lingering taste in your mouth reminding you of the great wine you just finished. The tremendous chardonnay aside, this farm also has a light, fruity Pinot Noir at a very affordable price - especially for Pinot - a great elegant and charming wine if you want to drink a little something special on a relaxed afternoon (after a good massage). The Cab Sauv followed suit and was a medium-bodied red filled with dark berry-jammy goodness, with a bit of fynbos - reminding me of tea-time with black rooibos tea and jam-filled scones. My last wine here was a sweet Sauvignon-Blanc (first sparkling, now sweet, next they'll be making port from this!). This had an odd extra-toasted on the verge of glue nose to it, which was labeled as 'minerality'. A late harvest wine that would go fantastically with some of those brees at Anura, or any other light, sweet cheese with a bit of backbone.
The final farm in the Greater Simonsberg was De Meye (another recommended farm). I came at a bad time of year, however, as they had two sold out wines. They had a delightful family-owned farm feel to their tasting room, cob-webs and all. Unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed with their wines. There was nothing wrong with them technically, but there was nothing really special about them either. Decent value-for-money wines. The only exception (to me) was the Shiraz, which had a rich mushroom nose, with a perfectly layered pepperiness (black pepper and cloves) and fruitness (dark cherries, plums and especially freshly picked black berries). A real shame that the two sold out wines was a Shiraz Rose and a Cab Sauv/Shiraz blend, as I'd expect them to be fabulous.
Onto a farm that has become synonymous with Pinotage - Beyerskloof. They have a new tasting room, so expect a much more modernised and trendy experience here (I mean, all the kids are doing it these days!). The Pinotage Sparkling Brut Rose had lovely tones of strawberries, as did the Pinotage Rose, which was a well-balanced rose, not too light, fruity and playful, but not too serious and overpowering as a Pinotage can be. Their regular range of Pinotages are interesting, but have nothing on their reserve range (which nearly made me cry when I saw that their 2003 Reserve Pinotage is going for nearly R250). Their 2006 is readily available, and promises to be superb given a nap (lasting a few years), as it's filled with rich berries (those blue & black berries again) with a jammy quality to it, and milk chocolate - can't wait to open a bottle of this on my 30th. The Synergy Cape-blend had more of a light berry palate with a dose of white pepper (which I'm starting to pick out quite well, if the tasting notes are anything to go by). I would love to have someone else nose this wine, as I picked up an odd smell in it (Head-ache tablet) - it was quite weird. The field blend was also a remarkable wine, but unfortunately, after all the pinotage, my taste buds weren't as sharp, and their were no crackers to neutralise my palate with :( This is the wine I'm leaving behind for next time - and I'll look forward too it, as it is a complex wine worthy of contemplation and deep thought.
No time to rest for the tongue-weary, as my last stop was Louiesenhof. A very small, natural farm, with absolutely beautiful surroundings - it's a real shame that the tasting counter is so small and cramped and the attendee seemed more pre-occupied with moving boxes around than having a dialogue. Still, this was the only the 2nd farm I've been to that has Pinot Grigio, and one of the small handful that make a straight Tinta Barroca (although they haven't produced it as a straight varietal in a while). I could see why Pinot Grigio (as a varietal) is breaking some ground overseas, as this was a light, fruity white with notes of peach and litchi. Mmmm good. The Rouge is a red blend driven mostly by Tinta Barroca with a dab of merlot for extra fruit. This gave off wads of prunes and fruit cake, and made the port look very promising, especially since it was made in a cognac style. Needless to say, the port was terrific with all that fruit cake and prunes, but also filled with dark, shelled nuts. I wanted to take this home and have it with some bol de mel (literally translated into honey cake - a traditional christmas cake in Madeira made with treacle, walnuts, prunes and honey). I can see why this kind of cake became so popular their as it goes beautifully with a good port. They also have a very reasonably priced 16-yr potstill brandy (only R250), which utterly killed my taste-buds, so it was a good thing I ended here. Sadly, this farm doesn't always have all its various wines available for tasting, so you have to play lucky packet and hope you get a good set on the day. Still, the lady did hand me a great big wad of free tasting comps and this place does look like it would be great to visit when it is busier, or as a birthday/engagement party function, when they use their full tasting room, have their chef's in and all their wines open.
Well, that's all I have for you today, although I should be writing another (much smaller) email on Monday as I will be wine-tasting tomorrow with family. Until then, visit a farm and have some fun!
Val.
After my local garage was nice enough to fix my garage for free, I managed to get back on the road for some more wine tasting. This time I went to 6 farms in the Greater Simonsberg and Bottelary Hills - which made for a great time on Friday.
The first farm I went to was Villiera (which kind of sounds like some sort of disease involving mosquitos). With a large selection of famous bubblies, whites, reds, sweets and ports and even some wines from the South of France, this farm is a must visit - especially if you are on a student's budget. They have three brut MCCs - all of which had deliciously yeasty nose and a smell like the crust of a freshly baked bread. Their Flagship MCC - the Monro Brut was exceptionally lively and vivacious (my word of the day) and, best of all, very affordable. The final MCC I tasted was the Brut Rose, which was filled with light berries, which reminded me mostly of freshly picked cherries and raspberries. Extremely good value-for-money bubblies.
Although the farm is known for it's bubblies, the rest of their range is every bit as good. The bush-vine sauv blanc was filled with green peppers and was surprisingly not so strapping and brash, despite it's youth and intensity of colour. The chenin blanc was a typical sweet-melon type of chenin, but they also had a toasty-good wooded chenin (The Cellardoor) at incredible value and taste - not the best I've had, but definitely good to open up for a good meal looking for a bit of romantic charm (if I recall correctly they said a curry, although I was more thinking chicken, especially in a white-sauce pasta). I had the pleasure of trying one of their french wines - a blend of Maccabeu and Viognier, which had an excellent blend of minerality and fruitiness - really perfectly blended to the last %. The next two red blends I had were also french in origin. The L'Aqueduc - a name taken from a nearby aqueduct to their farm in France, was a blend of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah, filled with dark cherries, black currant, and other dark, lush berries with juices bursting at the seams. Along with the Galamus (named after the nearby valley and monastery), these wines were incredibly smooth and elegant reds, ready to glide down like a sheet of the finest Chinese silk. Of the local reds, I fancied their Merlot, which was fruity, filled with ripe plums and cherries and it gave a great full mouth feel, perfect balance between fruit and acidity. My final note on this farm will be on the sweet wines, which included a pair of very different Noble Late Harvest - the Cellar Door (Rhine Riesling) which I expected immense honey tones, but found a surprising amount of fruitiness especially fresh apricots and saltanas with a minimal hint of honey. The Inspiration NLH, on the other hand (you have different fingers), was made from Chenin Blanc, and was aptly labeled with a bee, as it reeked of honey and was awfully sweet - I think it was still to early in the morning for that. Their port - named Fired Earth, was enjoyable, but not really noteworthy - a good standard balanced port, not too fruity, not too nutty, but tasted a bit of rotting raisons and prunes (sounds delicious, doesn't it?)
Moving on - to Koelenhof, where they also showcase some Ernst & Co wines. I visited this farm because of it's port. Although Platter seems to dislike it, I haven't found a port at this price that goes so well with cheeses of all kinds. I was told that the previous year's one was much nuttier than the latest release, the Pino Porto had a great nose and taste of raisons and nuts (more a kind of shelled nut, like walnut). I'm jumping ahead of myself again. They also have bubbly here, although not made in the traditional method, they have a Vin-Sec Sauv Blanc (which was exactly what you'd expect - sauv blanc with bubbles), and a Vin-Sec Pinotage Rose sparkling, which was better than I expected, with hints of freshly cleaned and cut strawberries. The semi-sweet Koelnektar (a gewurz) was an easy-drinking very affordable white wine - perfect for those summer days stretched out on the lawn with a big hat you've convinced yourself looks good on you. In the reds, I tasted the Ernst & Co merlot which was a textbook merlot - plum, coffee, milk chocolate. The only other one I'll mention from this farm is the Sangiovese (cos you don't see much of it around), which was filled with fresh leathery smells (like I just got into a recently cleaned luxory car) - interesting, but not really my taste in wine.
Next on my list was Hoopenburg - which got a recommendation from the first farm. When I arrived here, I realised I left my notebook behind in the last farm - cos I was too focused on taking the port with me and thinking of all the chevins, bree, camemburts (I hope I spelt those right) and other delicious blue cheeses I'd eat with the port. SOOOO I rushed back to fetch my book, and forgot to fetch my pen as well. At least Hoopenburg was so nice that they gave me a pen (which was exactly like the one I lost). So if you are looking to get some free pens - here's the place to go. They have an unwooded Chardonnay, but I was far more interested in their Integer wooded Chardonnay - which boasts a gold award from the 2007 IWC (no, not idiotic wine contest - it's the International Wine Challenge) in London last year. While I usually don't place too much stock in competitions of this kind, I must admit that the wine-maker did get this Chardonnay just right - although I'd put this into the textbook Chardonnay category - it'd be in the textbook on how to get wooded Chardonnay to be phenomenal - all those lovely wood characteristics of butterscotch and cookie-dough (on the nose), with a great citrus (pineapple and lime) tone. It has perfect acidity (which I believe was all-natural) and so it'll not only age exceptionally in my books, but will leave a long lingering taste in your mouth reminding you of the great wine you just finished. The tremendous chardonnay aside, this farm also has a light, fruity Pinot Noir at a very affordable price - especially for Pinot - a great elegant and charming wine if you want to drink a little something special on a relaxed afternoon (after a good massage). The Cab Sauv followed suit and was a medium-bodied red filled with dark berry-jammy goodness, with a bit of fynbos - reminding me of tea-time with black rooibos tea and jam-filled scones. My last wine here was a sweet Sauvignon-Blanc (first sparkling, now sweet, next they'll be making port from this!). This had an odd extra-toasted on the verge of glue nose to it, which was labeled as 'minerality'. A late harvest wine that would go fantastically with some of those brees at Anura, or any other light, sweet cheese with a bit of backbone.
The final farm in the Greater Simonsberg was De Meye (another recommended farm). I came at a bad time of year, however, as they had two sold out wines. They had a delightful family-owned farm feel to their tasting room, cob-webs and all. Unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed with their wines. There was nothing wrong with them technically, but there was nothing really special about them either. Decent value-for-money wines. The only exception (to me) was the Shiraz, which had a rich mushroom nose, with a perfectly layered pepperiness (black pepper and cloves) and fruitness (dark cherries, plums and especially freshly picked black berries). A real shame that the two sold out wines was a Shiraz Rose and a Cab Sauv/Shiraz blend, as I'd expect them to be fabulous.
Onto a farm that has become synonymous with Pinotage - Beyerskloof. They have a new tasting room, so expect a much more modernised and trendy experience here (I mean, all the kids are doing it these days!). The Pinotage Sparkling Brut Rose had lovely tones of strawberries, as did the Pinotage Rose, which was a well-balanced rose, not too light, fruity and playful, but not too serious and overpowering as a Pinotage can be. Their regular range of Pinotages are interesting, but have nothing on their reserve range (which nearly made me cry when I saw that their 2003 Reserve Pinotage is going for nearly R250). Their 2006 is readily available, and promises to be superb given a nap (lasting a few years), as it's filled with rich berries (those blue & black berries again) with a jammy quality to it, and milk chocolate - can't wait to open a bottle of this on my 30th. The Synergy Cape-blend had more of a light berry palate with a dose of white pepper (which I'm starting to pick out quite well, if the tasting notes are anything to go by). I would love to have someone else nose this wine, as I picked up an odd smell in it (Head-ache tablet) - it was quite weird. The field blend was also a remarkable wine, but unfortunately, after all the pinotage, my taste buds weren't as sharp, and their were no crackers to neutralise my palate with :( This is the wine I'm leaving behind for next time - and I'll look forward too it, as it is a complex wine worthy of contemplation and deep thought.
No time to rest for the tongue-weary, as my last stop was Louiesenhof. A very small, natural farm, with absolutely beautiful surroundings - it's a real shame that the tasting counter is so small and cramped and the attendee seemed more pre-occupied with moving boxes around than having a dialogue. Still, this was the only the 2nd farm I've been to that has Pinot Grigio, and one of the small handful that make a straight Tinta Barroca (although they haven't produced it as a straight varietal in a while). I could see why Pinot Grigio (as a varietal) is breaking some ground overseas, as this was a light, fruity white with notes of peach and litchi. Mmmm good. The Rouge is a red blend driven mostly by Tinta Barroca with a dab of merlot for extra fruit. This gave off wads of prunes and fruit cake, and made the port look very promising, especially since it was made in a cognac style. Needless to say, the port was terrific with all that fruit cake and prunes, but also filled with dark, shelled nuts. I wanted to take this home and have it with some bol de mel (literally translated into honey cake - a traditional christmas cake in Madeira made with treacle, walnuts, prunes and honey). I can see why this kind of cake became so popular their as it goes beautifully with a good port. They also have a very reasonably priced 16-yr potstill brandy (only R250), which utterly killed my taste-buds, so it was a good thing I ended here. Sadly, this farm doesn't always have all its various wines available for tasting, so you have to play lucky packet and hope you get a good set on the day. Still, the lady did hand me a great big wad of free tasting comps and this place does look like it would be great to visit when it is busier, or as a birthday/engagement party function, when they use their full tasting room, have their chef's in and all their wines open.
Well, that's all I have for you today, although I should be writing another (much smaller) email on Monday as I will be wine-tasting tomorrow with family. Until then, visit a farm and have some fun!
Val.
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