After we checked out of Hebron on Saturday
morning, we drove back down Piekenierskloof Pass and headed for Piketberg where
we wanted to taste the wines at Org de Rac. We were invited there last year to
a media day, but were not available as we were travelling. We had meant to come
for a long while and Saturday was our opportunity, as they are not open on Sundays.
It is a beautiful farm high on a small hill overlooking the N7 and the wheat
fields
The wine cellar and tasting
room on the side of the winery building
The entrance to the tasting
room. It was far too hot to contemplate sitting outside
Org de Rac means
“organic from the vineyard”
It was the first farm in South Africa to
produce organic grapes and wine from inception
Quiet and cool inside, we
enquired about a tasting and were shown a tasting sheet. Many of the wines are
in groups and you have to pay to taste each group. We opted to do five of the
first group and share the tasting. We began with a lightly wooded Chardonnay
which has an almost muscat hint on the nose, a good mouthfeel, rich texture
with typical good chardonnay lemon, lime crisp favours, and lingering fruit
acid. Then the Verdelho, which is perfumed, has a rich mouthfeel, bitter Seville
orange marmalade and crisp acidity
And then GM and cellarmaster Frank
Meaker came into the tasting room, recognised us and asked if we would like to
taste from some of the tanks and barrels. How could we refuse? They are
harvesting, but were not picking that day, so he had the time. And what a
tasting he gave us. They specialise in Grenache, as do many of the farms in the
area. As Frank says, "When KWV sent the postman with
the message in a forked stick, to pull up all the Grenache vines, this area
(thankfully) didn't get the message. And it is now one of their biggest assets.
He fetched a bucket which we carried with us as a
First a tank sample of the
2019 Verdelho. Grapy and perfumed with fine minerality, good grapy flavours,
almost a perfumed chardonnay. One to watch. Then a tank sample of 2019 Chenin, Hanepoot
(Muscat d'Alexandrie grapes with lovely sweetness) to be processed into alcohol
by the yeast. It is going to be very good; it already has minerality and
complexity. The 2019 tank sample of the Chardonnay is clean, with minerality,
and good sweet fruit
Now we know where Jan’s wine is
made
Made for his Michelin starred restaurant in France, it will soon be
available in Woolworths
On to the barrels. The
Roussanne 2019 is smoky and with fruit in waiting, in just two first fill
barrels and two tanks, which will be blended later. The 2018 Bakhuis, the flagship
wine blend of Verdelho, Roussanne and Chenin in barrel has perfume and herbs on
the nose, some bitterness, some herbs, limes, lemons on the palate; so
interesting. Frank will add some young wine for more fruit
They are using French oak,
but also some Magreñan Spanish oak barrels made from American oak
The 2018
clone 470 Shiraz has rich, red and black fruits, white pepper, green leaves
Terribly bitter tannins on the palate and fruit acids remain, but will soften
with age
The SH9 Clone Shiraz has coffee notes, on nose and palate. Good
fruit, long flavours and bitter tannins, with pepper on the end
The 2018 SMG in new oak
barrels has Vanilla oak & good fruit on the nose, lovely sweet cherry fruit
on the palate,
grippy tannins, built to last and with a little bitterness on
the back palate
Frank is like a gazelle
climbing up the stack of barrels to extract his samples
The cellar is scrupulously
clean
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot blend has blackcurrant and black cherries on the nose and good wood
from the Boutes barrels. On the palate, grippy tannins, liquorice. It spends 24
months in barrel, but only one in new wood. It has gone through malolactic
fermentation. Then we tasted the 2018. More cassis on the nose, dry chalky
tannins, juicy below but cheek gripping tannins. This will spend longer in
barrel and then go into magnums to age
Jan's maturing wine in the barrels
Then we went back to the
tasting room to taste some of the current wines
Frank Meaker doing what he
loves, pouring his wine for others to enjoy
It was an extremely generous
tasting and we are very impressed with the wines at Org du Rac. Thank you so
much Frank
One of our favourites, which
is our wine of the week, was Die Waghuis 2017, a blend of Verdelho, Roussanne and
Chenin. Elegance on the complex nose, rather French in style. It lights up the
palate, and has that elusive but sought after tingle on the tongue, a great
blend with summer peach flavours. Such a good food wine
We tasted the 2014 Blanc de
Blanc MCC which spends four and a half years on the lees. Brioche, sherbet,
lean limes and lemons as it should be. The 2017 Roussanne was awarded 4 stars
in Platter, and 92 Points in Decanter. Shy on the nose, a warm country wine,
full on the palate with lots of peach fruit, some mutton fat and the butteriness
is from the wood. An impressive wine. Sadly, there is not enough fruit this
year, so all will go into the Bakhuis. The grapes for the Sauvignon Blanc are
grown by the Louws at Silvermist in Constantia. Full of green pyrazines, it has
nice crisp acidity with mango and litchi notes
The tasting sheet. We also
tasted two current red wines: The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon has tobacco on the
nose with cassis and cherry. Made in refurbished barrels, it has a light toast.
Sweet fruit, grippy tannins, long classic Cabernet flavours. The 2018 Merlot
has nice clean fruit on the nose, cherry fizz, tannin grip and true merlot
flavours on the palate, no mint, no greenness, and it finishes with lots of
pepper. A very attractive wine
They serve some food in the
tasting room; this is the current menu
The line up of wines
Frank ordered us a platter
and, after all the wines we had tasted, we were extremely grateful
John also enjoyed six Saldanha
Bay oysters, which he said were very good
Nico Bacon, owner of Org de
Rac, also owns the Saldanha oyster farm
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