A visit to La Bri in Franschhoek happened on Thursday morning of our visit. We had not told them that we were coming, as we did not think we would have the time, but we did manage to clean, pack and move out of our accommodation at Sunny Lane by 10 am. We were not due at our lunch appointment until 12
La Bri is involved in the Save the Rhino charity and has this cute baby in the tasting room
plus items for sale and a wine from which proceeds go to the fund
The lovely tasting room with its long table made from one piece of wood
A happy smiling Julian Johannes in the tasting room
Yes, she is wearing a mask, but her smile radiated from her eyes and she is very welcoming
She recognised us and immediately brought us a taste of their 2013 Cap Classique Blanc de Blanc, made entirely from Chardonnay; it has a good mousse, and is crisp and dry with long citrus flavours. So enjoyable. The wine spends 5 years on the lees and then 3 years in bottle
We have known her for many years and she is an extremely talented winemaker
She took us on a quick tour of the cellar
A bridge over the barrel cellar, which has expanded a lot since we were last here, connects the tasting room to the winery
And a sight you see often in good producers' cellars during harvest, just-harvested grapes coming in, being hand sorted by bunch and then, after going through the destemming machine, being hand sorted again. It slows the process, but is worth it. This makes the wine so much better, cleaner and with better flavours. All green, damaged grapes, leaves, stems etc are removed. It is an expensive process but produces such great wine
Irene showed us inside a fermenting tank
The ferment has just begun and you can see it is quite lively already
The circular design of the cellar is very clever. It was designed by specialist architect Gerard de Villiers
Time to sit down and taste. Each of these wines is linked to a specific flower – the characteristics of the wine are symbolized by that particular flower on the label. First the 2019 Clivia Chardonnay, gently wooded in 2nd fill French barrels. There is a hint of wood on the nose with white fruit and the wine is full and crisp on the palate, with white peach, pineapple and citrus and a biscuity backbone from the wood. Only stand-out grapes get a black version of the label of each wine
The 2018 Ixia Viognier is a classic of the genre. Cooked apple, apricot and honey on the nose bring to mind Condrieu in style. Older 600 litre oak barrels are used and the alcohol is a low 12 to 13%. Dry and lean, then loquat and white peach appear and delight. A food wine with long flavours
The Double Door Range introduces wines that are made from a mix of estate grapes and grapes brought in from neighbouring farms. This gives Irene the chance to be creative and produce wines that have their own distinctive style. This is the Double Door White 2017, a Rh̫ne Style Blend with a twist Рa mix of 56% Roussanne, 19% Chardonnay, 15% Viognier and 10% Semillon. We loved it; Summer in a glass. Rich, sweet English gooseberry fruit, white, crisp seedless grapes, rounded by the Semillon, delicious and juicy. Demands food
The 2017 Herb Syrah , another stand-out vintage. It goes into new barrels for 2 years. Irene was under pressure to release this vintage. It has elegance, lovely fruit, spice and pepper on the nose; soft sweet berry fruit on the palate, warmth, chalky tannins, and made in a lighter style than the usual heavy shirazes. Another good wine for food
The 2016 Watsonia Cabernet Sauvignon is made from Franschhoek Cabernet and has violets, cassis - berries and leaves - and a hint of tobacco wood on the nose. Soft and silky, it's pure cassis fruit, with grippy tannins, totally balanced and will last 20+ years
Just to show you how little we actually imbibe during a tasting. This is the row of Lynne's tasting glasses after the tasting. Sometimes you can see how much she liked a wine by the level! We bought a case of the Double Door White, a 50/50 blend of Roussanne and Semillon, and one of the 2017 Double Door Petit Verdot, a favourite grape, which is made from a unique block on the farm, giving beautiful black fruit on the nose and palate; a full body and a rich lingering finish, both wines we know and love
Thank you so much Irene and Jules! A great experience; we encourage other wine lovers to go and taste these lovely wines for themselves
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