.: Independent wine producers show their wares at Villa 47

'Tis the season of wine trade shows after a long gap

and, recently, we were invited by Riana Smit to attend NT Wines tasting at Villa 47 in Bree Street
There is quite a diverse range of wineries represented, so we knew we were in for some surprises and some delights
We tried to taste at least two wines from each producer and were tasting for quite a long time
We have to increase our capacity as we are a bit out of practice!

The restaurant kept a table of lovely things to munch during the tasting when we needed some light relief,
with rather good charcuterie

Old friends Paul and Nikki Wallace showed their wines, lovely to see them
Lynne began the tasting with some Little Flirt 2021 Elgin Sauvignon Blanc, always a favourite,
showing all the excellent characteristics of that cool verdant valley and its terroir, crisp,
full and long flavours, with hints of fig leaf and good fruit

The elegant, herbaceous Black Dog Malbec is a firm favourite

and a lovely Chenin Blanc, Off The Record, made by their sons Mark and Bobby,
which has lovely citrus and apple blossom perfume on the nose, which appears on the palate as well
The wine is complex, rich and layered, with lime, apple and lemon flavours, length and is very satisfying
Bobby Wallace, assistant winemaker at Iona, has now produced an Off The Record Syrah from Ceres grapes
Only 1180 bottles were produced from the 2021 harvest
The wine is rich in fruit, spice, and flavour, hints of violet, white pepper and good wood on the nose,
dark berry flavours from this cool climate area, with finesse and elegance and supporting tannins and wood

Alvi's Drift wines from Rawsonville, presented by Junel van der Merwe CWM
The reserve Sauvignon Blanc was a classic showing the terroir of the valley it is grown in
The Albertus Viljoen barrel fermented Chenin blanc was impressively rich and will benefit from cellaring for a few years

More dear old friends, winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger and Dirkie Morkel of Bellevue Estate in Bottelary, Stellenbosch
We love the wines they produce
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and lively and excellent and received 18/20 from Lynne
The Reserve Collection Chardonnay 2019 has depth, great fruit and lots of golden oak
The Bellevue Cinsault 2020 shows its Pinot like character and is packed with attitude
A lovely nose, with incense wood, lots of mulberry and raspberry fruit which continues on the elegant & complex palate, very satisfying
And the 2019 Bellevue Malbec is superb. Dark mulberry, black cherry fruit, juicy with umami flavours,
a lovely texture and so enjoyable, and a food wine par excellence

The stunning Reserve Chardonnay with its many awards

Bernard Dewey, Sales & Marketing Manager of Chamonix
The stand was always busy so Lynne did not get to taste this time, perhaps we need another visit to the farm soon
We love their Sauvignon Semillon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Annalie van Dyk – Winemaker at Hidden Valley, Stellenbosch
Their Sauvignon Blanc was soft and juicy and would be lovely with spicy food
The Cap Classique Brut Rosé is 50/50 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has rose petals on the nose,
a lovely prickle and juicy red plums on the palate, unusual but delish

Wim Braak showed the wines of Peter Falke
The PR Blanc de Noir (white wine made from red grapes) was full of creamy toffee, vanilla, peaches and cream
It is smooth and silky and then a little wood appears

The Peter Falke Kanoa 2017 was awarded 95 points in the Prescient Cape Bordeaux Red Blend Report 2022

Mark Fletcher and talented Meerhof winemaker Jaco Brand
Jaco's wines from warm country varietals blew Lynne away
Both the whites are food wines and should be on many restaurant menus
The 2021 Arbeitsgenot Grenache Blanc has notes of pears and grass on the nose,
lovely layers of fruit explode on the palate, a bit like popping candy, full of exciting ripe pear and peach flavours
The 2012 Arbeitsgenot Verdelho has a characteristic grey nose, like a Semillon and some old wood notes,
zingy and complex on the fruity, layered palate with ripe orange melon (spanspek), apple & grapefruit, it begs for food
The 2020 Premium Shiraz/Grenache has vanilla oak on the spicy nose
Dark berry/cherry fruit, with milk chocolate, spice and crisp plums with good tannin support. One to age?

Annelien Loubser showing the Stettyn wines to Magda of Pink Olive restaurant in Sunningdale
They have a good, warm country 2022 Chenin Blanc that was enjoyable
The Babelki* tank sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir is popular in the market at its price,
a fun bubbly with peach and strawberry, slightly off dry

Luan Aucamp - Sales Manager at Ridgeback wine
Lynne was impressed with the Ridgeback 2019 Chenin Blanc
it is very much in the style of the Loire, but with quite a lot of oak supporting

Alta Saayman, Marketing Manager at Riebeek Cellars who used to sell us these wines when we had our wine shop
The Pieter Cruythoff sparkling wine is always impressive with its crisp classic flavours
and the Klein Kasteelberg Brut Chardonnay Pinot Noir was nicely zesty and crisp

Bernard le Roux, winemaker at Zorgvliet had us entranced
Richelle is one of his top wines, a classic Bordeaux blend, perfumed on the nose,
with good dark cherry berry fruit, soft chalky tannins and long elegant flavours
Simoné is a very good Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend, zesty, lively and full of quality and length
His Merlot knocked our socks off, superb layers of fruit, sumptuous, rich and deep with no hard edges,
supported with good wood and no mint
We liked his classic Cabernet Franc and the Petite Verdot has the classic delicate violets on the nose
followed by a blockbuster of a wine full of salty umami flavours

Bernard was describing his second label Silver Myn Sauvignon Blanc to Lynne,
made from grapes harvested on a neighbouring farm, but she was tasting something so different from his description;
it’s a clean, lean style with minerality and green figs and peppers, so good. One for us to buy soon