We were very happy to receive an invitation to Vinimark's Wine Fair
at Moyo on the edge of Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden
This was a very big tasting with many wines from different producers, hard to do them all justice in one evening
We tried to taste at least one wine from each in the large room we started in
and then discovered another same-sized room full of wines, which meant some speed tasting would be required
Gus Allen of Constantia Glen chatting to the ladies at the Welcome desk
A welcoming glass of Freixenet Cava from Brad Gold CWM
Predictably popular, the Champagne and Krone bubbly tables
A glass of Nicolas Feuillet to start
followed by Pommery - yes please!
and Krone, Vinimark's own brand from Tulbagh
Allesverloren showed us their 2026 Chenin Blanc
It is green on the nose with layers of good ripe fruit on the palate. They do batonage on the lees
Boekenhoutskloof had quite a collection of their wines to taste. Some new, some exciting and ...
The Cap Maritime Coastal Chardonnay from Hemel and Aarde has lots of class and complexity,
excellent green crispness with lime, lemon and a little white peach, light wood holds it together
Two Cap Maritime Pinot Noirs: the Coastal 2024 has salty minerality and great layered berry fruit
The Hemel en Aarde 2024 has elegance on the nose with a perfume Lynne would wear
Incense wood, delicious raspberry, cherry fruit and dark oak
... some favourites that still sell extremely well, like The Chocolate Block
The Goldmine 2025 - 53% Chenin Blanc from Swartland, 24% Chardonnay from Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley,
19% Semillon from La Colline in Franschhoek and 4% Viognier
matured in a combination of barrel, foudre, concrete egg and amphora
And worth every bit of the care it is given. Full of layers of flavour and texture on the palate, it calls for food
As usual at Moyo, the canapés were excellent, this is tuna ceviche;
the prawns in a creamy sauce were spectacular.
A big smile from Bon Courage representative Michelle Elford
Always a treat to taste, the Jacques Bruére Vintage Brut Reserve 2018
and winemaker Philip Viljoen, whom we have seen rather a lot in the last week at various wine events and shows
He was the recipient of the Top Wine Estate award at the recent Terroir Awards at Lanzerac in Stellenbosch
Carolyn Martin showed her Creation range from Hemel en Aarde
The 2025 Viognier is classic and very French in style, super stone fruit with good support
The Creation Ridge Chardonnay 2024 was also remarkable
The Constantia Glen wines are always impressive and true to their terroir
The TWO is Sauvignon Blanc with 30% Semillon to the fore,
has 10% new oak and has great crisp and full fruit and is so special
The FIVE, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot
has great fruit and wood support, restrained and elegant but a big wine to come
Our recommendation: BUY!
Corlea Fourie and her team from Bosman with their exciting Hemel en Aarde wines
The Bosman Upper Hemel & Aarde Chardonnay is rounded on the nose,
very elegant, but full with sweet fruit, followed by crisp, wood as an echo
Nero Rosé is made from an Italian grape - Nero d’Avola
It is salmon pink, with perfume, red berries, pomegranate and tea tannins,
a good wine to pair with food
The Groot Constantia selection
The 2024 Chardonnay has beautiful golden fruit on the nose and palate
It is barrel fermented and barrel aged and yet the wood is gently supporting
The renowned 2022 Grand Constance dessert wine has red and white Muscat de Frontignan Grapes,
an astounding 198 gm/litre sugar, sweet and sticky and is beautifully balanced
A gem which is the reincarnation of the original, famous Constantia dessert wine, first made in the 17th Century
David Finlayson and Annemie Arendse showed his David Finlayson wines
His 2025 Chardonnay is his 16th vintage and a classic - rather French in style, floral on the nose,
elegant minerality with lime, lemon flavours on the crisp palate
Delheim had their Edelspatz Noble Late Harvest 2024 to taste
Golden richness of fruit, clean on the sweet honeyed palate, but lots of dimensions and length, a classic 120 gm/litre
De Morgenzon winemaker Anthony Sanvido showed us the 2023 De Morgenzon Maestro White, a wine we buy often
Usually an exciting blend of Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc & Chenin Blanc that pairs very well with food
It has an enticing nose, and is layered and textured and full of fruit on the palate
The Glen Carlou 2026 Chardonnay has lots of wood, with good fruit, long flavours and is a food wine
Good to see Kim and Rijk Melck of Muratie and catch up with their news. We know the wines very well
The Nitida range. We need to go and taste them on the farm soon
Their stand was very busy and we moved on, with time rushing away
Thelema's Sutherland Range of excellent wines from Elgin
Shannon wines from Elgin
We tasted the Shannon vineyards Elgin Merlot, (it is their "baby Bullet"), with its superb, deep Merlot nose
It dances on the tongue with lovely red berry fruit and has very careful wooding. A winner
The premium Mount Bullet Merlot (grown on the slopes of the Kogelberg)
has incense wood, coffee, chocolate and cherry on the nose
Satiny in texture with long fruit and chocolate on the end. You really need to taste both these "wow!" wines
Affectionate brothers Stuart, the marketer, and James Downes, the farmer, with their Shannon wines
Berene Sauls showed her own Tesselaarsdal wines, from just a little further up the Hemel and Aarde than most others
Her 2025 Tesselaarsdal Chardonnay earned a "wow"; pure stone fruit, with lovely crispness; it's made in amphora
Her Tesselaarsdal Pinot Noir is meaty and woody with chocolate notes. It was stored in old oak before bottling
Those prawns ....
Barbara Melck (niece of Rijk) with the organic Reyneke wines
We tasted the new release, the Cornerstone White -70% Sauvignon Blanc, 24% Semillon and 6% Chenin
A new classic. Good fruit blending together with long flavours that stay on the palate
Samantha O'Keefe showed her impressive Lismore wines from Greyton in the southern Cape
and it was difficult to stop tasting
Her Lismore Age of Grace Viognier is mouth filling with delight;
mango, peach, lime and lemon rolling on the palate with long flavours
A Food wine, as are all her wines that we tasted
The Lismore Chardonnay has a lovely full palate with golden fruit, with wood surrounding it. Superb
The Lismore Pinot Noir had violets, incense wood, then red fruit on the nose
Long and linear on the palate with cherry and raspberry, not overripe, long flavours and wood hints on the end
Her wines will be in the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in October
Christo and Francois le Riche showed their Le Riche Stellenbosch wines
The 2024 Le Riche Richesse slowly develops on the nose and palate
Incense wood from 3rd and 4th fill barrels, the wine has quality
It is silky on the palate, special, with lots of red and purple berry fruit
There is ripeness and restraint, then it opens out. Made to last and just asks for food to accompany it
Nina-Mari Bruwer CWM and Claire King with the Glenelly range. We tasted the 2021 Lady May
A classic Bordeaux blend with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, and some Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot
which spends 24 months in French oak. Incense wood on the shy nose, with red berry fruit
A chocolate and Cherry bomb on the palate. Amazing life in the wine; built to last and asks for cellaring
The Big Easy really was. We tasted the Ernie Els Big Easy Red Blend
Shy red fruit on the nose, full and layered on the good palate,
with very good quality and excellent value
for money
As always, this was a wonderful experience which was a very good showcase of some of South Africa's finest wines
All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
