Next down the road to Almenkerk, who also have superb views of the valley from their position, high on a hill
The main building, designed by Derick Henstra, which houses the wine cellar and tasting room, has won architectural awards
Derick Henstra also designed, more recently, the Norval Foundation building in Constantia
and the gardens are planted with sustainable local fynbos with a few Mediterranean additions like lavender and rosemary
We always enjoy meeting Natalie Opstaele. She and her husband Joris van Almenkerk bought an apple farm in 2002
and transformed it into a successful award winning wine farm with vines, and apples and pears
They were very busy... here greeting David Brown, an American visitor, who was also at the Mount Bullet tasting at Shannon
... but we managed to steal a picture of them together, looking very happy. Quite an achievement after a very hectic weekend
Off to the tasting counter to try some of the wines. Their Sauvignon Blanc was the best of the weekend for us, Capsicum and granadilla (for us, an Elgin signature), very drinkable on its own and a lovely crisp wine to go with food. Rock on Almenkerk and Elgin! The Chardonnay is clean and crisp with limes and citrus, full on the palate with some wood support. The 2014 Syrah is perfumed, with good fruit, sweet and sour freshness with a long end. And the 2015 Merlot has beautiful fruit on the nose, soft cherry berry flavours, outstanding with chalky soft tannins and fresh fruit acidity
All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
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