.: Highlands Road wines in Elgin

Our visit to Highlands Road in Elgin nearly didn't start, as their neighbour shares the road into the farm and is having part of it resurfaced. The recent heavy rains - and Elgin is one of our wettest places in the Cape - had stopped the bricklaying work and made the road a quagmire. Luckily, we could phone the farm and they came to get us in the farm bakkie (pickup), so we could leave our car (which is not a 4x4) here

When we arrived, there was a car stuck in this mud and the bricks to be used for the new surfacing were piled in the way

Into the tasting room on this wet, chilly day

It is a nice long room with views of the wine cellar and they had a large order about to go out

Sadly, winemaker Vanessa Simkiss had to go into town urgently, so we had the tasting with Christal Jacobus
who has worked at the farm for the past ten years. She knows her wines and was very, very helpful

We began with the whites

The 2019 Highlands Road Sauvignon Blanc. It has a herbal green nose;
lemon, lime, nectarine crispness and fig leaf make this a very satisfying expression of the grape and the area

The 2017 Wooded Sauvignon Blanc Reserve has hints of the wood on the nose and palate, with herbal notes
It has concentrated fruit of fig, citrus and nectarine on the palate, a classic Blanc Fumé
It has, deservedly, scored many good awards

One of our favourites has always been the very satisfying and complex Sine Cera (the meaning is “honest” or “true”)

It is a blend of 50/50 Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Shy nose initially, with a hint of wood,

then filling the glass and palate are stone fruits in layers, nectarines, apricots, plums

It has a lovely mouthfeel from the Semillon and it is a very good wine with food

The 2018 Highlands Road Chardonnay has a hint of sweet incense smoke and baked apple on the nose
It is lovely and rich on the palate, with baked apple and apricots - delicious;
wood does not overcome this wine. It has earned many awards

The Highlands Road 2019 Semillon has a typical nose with grey notes, richness
and hints of fig, cherry blossom and beeswax with light wood notes
Round and full on the palate with baked apple, nectarine, guava and lime and with dark toast on the end
You just want to keep quaffing
The 2018 was awarded Platinum at Michelangelo

The 2015 Pinot Noir has cola on the nose with raspberry, rose and rhubarb
The palate is full of fruit, some brûléed, cherry, strawberry and rhubarb pie with the crust!
The crust for us is the pale wood. It has long and deep flavours

The 2016 Highlands Road Syrah has an attractive nose;
spicy, with dark deep fruit, plums, cherries, fudge and caramel wood
It’s a dive in nose. Brûléed berry fruits, cinnamon, pepper, allspice and more berries;
it’s a good expression of the varietal

The final wine was the 2017 Highlands Road Noble Late Harvest, made from Sauvignon Blanc
It has a sugar candy nose and 126gm/l residual sugar. Sweetness of ripe yellow peach and lime nicely in balance
this is not a heavy, syrupy expression of the style