.: MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 23. Springfield, Robertson

The last day of our trip. We had a good breakfast at theLAB, packed the car one last time

and headed off to our first appointment of the day, Springfield at 10 am

A view of the farm from the road

A lovely avenue leads you into the farm

They have improved the tasting room over the last few years and will soon enlarge it
Under Covid conditions, you need to sit outside; there is a canopy
Roses grow so well on the Robertson soils; these are really beautiful

The view over the dam

A look into the Tasting Room area

A large table for smaller tastings

It was a lovely day and we had the tasting at the table next to the dam

Emma Bruwer welcomed us warmly and we spent some time catching up on the family news
and learning about what is happening on the farm

Some lovely olives and melba toasts on the table

We had a very comprehensive tasting of all of their very impressive wines
We think many are worth buying regularly, and we do that

We began with what is probably their best known wine, the 2021 Springfield Life from Stone, which was released on the 1st of July. It is a classic cool country Sauvignon Blanc, grown on incredibly rocky soils. The vines are 18 to 24 years old. It has green capsicum and green fig leaves on the nose; it fills the palate with crisp, juicy green fruit, limes and lots of flinty minerality

Then the sister wine, the 2021 "Special Cuvée" Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from 25 year old vines grown on sandy soils in the estate’s riverine areas. At present, it is shyer on the green nose than Life from Stone, but this can change as it ages. It is more sophisticated and delicate with more richness on the palate with long flavours of green capsicum, passion fruit and lime

Miss Lucy, is a name given to the Red Stumpnose fish by the fishermen of the Southern Cape. Abrie Bruwer is one of them. A unique blend of Pinot Gris, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, with a shy grey nose. So easy to drink with food; it is delicious and quaffable, full of green limes, juicy plums and greengages. It changes with every mouthful

Then the Albariño, which so impressed us; it speaks of the summer to come. Springfield was the first South African producer to grow and market this wine, made from a southern European grape which is found extensively in Spain and Portugal. Full of sunshine, stone fruit and citrus on the nose; full on the palate, with zingy acidity, peaches and plums, a definite food wine. We liked it so much that we bought a case

The 2020 Wild Yeast Chardonnay is unwooded. Fermented in underground cement tanks in a slow, volatile process that can take from 2 to 9 months. It’s risky but has produced a good chardonnay. It’s yeasty, shy, buttery, with long lively flavours of lime and citrus and ripe stone fruits

The 2019 Méthode Ancienne Chardonnay is made in the Burgundian style, barrel fermented using wild yeast and bottled unfiltered and unfined. It is magnificent. Initially shy on the nose, then buttery brioche appears. It has lovely depth of golden stone fruit and citrus, and will age so well. Very French in style, the wood is only just perceivable; its job is to hold the wine together

The cellar door

An appropriate charm on Emma's bracelet
Before returning to the family farm she was winemaker at Cap Classique specialist Le Lude in Franschhoek

The 2018 Pinot Noir is perfumed and has the richness on the nose of brûléed raspberries, with a hint of smoke. It just starts unfolding on the palate, like a trip through the galaxy (OK, Lynne was a bit carried away). Sweet red fruit, soft chalky tannins, with long raspberry, ripe cherry and strawberry flavours, with a good dark wood support on the end. Very well structured. Lynne just had to buy some of this delicious wine, which she scored 19½ out of 20. The three other red wines scored really highly too

2019 Whole Berry Cabernet, made with minimal intervention and whole berry fermentation, unfiltered and unfined. It is a classy Cabernet with lots of cassis, cherry and smoke on the nose, Rich with dark velvety berry fruit, depth and length, good wood. Excellent

The Work of Time 2015 is a Bordeaux blend: 32% Cabernet Franc, 31% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Petit Verdot. Vanilla wood with soft berry fruit, lighter on the palate but still juice, with nice soft chalky tannins on the end. 2 years of barrel maturation unfiltered and unfined and aged for 4 years before release

Méthode Ancienne 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon from a single vineyard of old vines, fermented in new French oak barrels with wild native yeast. Two years of barrel maturation unfiltered and unfined, aged for four years before release. Violets and pure cassis on the nose, almost Ribena pureness, with sophistication and complexity. Silky soft on the full palate, lots of fruit in layers. Very special 19/20

Thunderchild, the wine Robertson's wine farmers make for charity, was sold out but the new vintage is now available;
it has been a great success
The current, 2018, vintage is a blend of 34% Cabernet Franc, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot

In 1918, in the wake of the Great Flu Epidemic an orphanage, Die Herberg, was built by the Robertson community for the children left orphaned and destitute. In 2003, a 5 hectare vineyard was planted on the orphanage’s grounds by the same community. All planting material, soil preparation and irrigation were donated. This blend is made free of charge by sympathetic cellars and sold in aid of the children, who today are no longer all orphans but mainly from broken homes. All the grapes for this blend are grown on the orphanage’s grounds and 100% of the profit is donated to the children. Only true audited costs are remunerated, time and effort cannot be recompensed