.: A Drive through the Breede River Valley

Thursday, November 10, 2022

A Drive through the Breede River Valley

On our way to the Breedekloof area for a lovely weekend away with friends,
we stopped off at the Florida Padstal near Wellington for some additions to our food boxes

They have some quite good temptations and we ended up with crisp syrupy koeksisters,
a huge jar of honey and some date loaf

Next was a stop to taste the wines at Bovlei which is the home of Wellington Wines
They had some on-line specials, but we all wanted to taste the wines first

A very impressive tasting room

Very traditional, lovely ceilings

and great views from the stoep. We shared two tastings and were ably helped by Nxolo
who has lots of information to impart about the wines. If you buy wine, you do not pay the tasting fee

The very tropical Duke 2022 Sauvignon Blanc (R70) has some elderflower on the nose
Warm fruit, high acidity with limes and elderflower follows through on the palate
The Cave 2020 Chenin Blanc (R150) took time to open up
Initially shy with tropical fruit, lots of litchi, lovely cooked quince and apple, long flavours and a good mouthfeel
The Duke 2019 Shiraz (R80) has expensive wood notes but, sadly, also had some Brett
which gives a smell and taste of Elastoplast
The 2020 Merlot (R80) is complex and spicy on the nose, drying tannins on the palate,
with good fruit and a lot of very dark oak, it needs time
The NV Frizzante Blanc Muscato with 4% Pinot Noir (R60) was light and fizzy and slightly sweet
The Frizzante Rosé (R60) has less muscat and sweetness
They also produce a bottled aperitif called Hari Kalahari Gold which they refer to as a cider,
made from Chenin Blanc and indeed it is rather like a good semi-sweet sparkling cider, and very fresh. R120 for 6 bottles

The La Cave Chenin Blanc 2020 impressed us the most

Wonderful views over the Wellington Valley

We were heading for the Bains Kloof Pass which goes over these mountains;
it was the quickest route to our weekend destination, Seven Oaks Wine Estate

Halfway to the top of the pass, we found that the road has been much improved
and the passing places have been widened and cleaned up. We were very impressed

Looking back to the Wellington valley below

Small farms with Groenberg in the background

Up and up you wind, taking in the breathtaking scenery

And, finally, you come to the next valley, where we stopped at Bergsig estate
They have superb proteas around the tasting room

Yellow Pincushion Proteas

The tasting room

and inside it is cool, comfortable and welcoming

Lots of different seating options

We opted to taste five wines which we chose from their list
The Chenin Blanc has a good nose, tropical with a hint of muscat
Crisp acidity with long flavours of lime, pineapple, guava and apricot (R62)
The Sauvignon Blanc has more zesty tropical notes on the nose, clean and crisp
Good flavours on the lovely full palate, easy drinking, a summer wine so we bought a case (R73)
Then came the 2021 Chardonnay with a lovely classic nose, slightly leesy, full on the palate with apple and lime,
so another case was purchased (R99)
Nice to find some Gewürztraminer; so many farms have stopped making this charming wine (R85)
Lots of rose petals on the beautiful nose, easy on the palate and quite dry, as we like it (R85)
The Merlot was rather sanguine on the nose and palate with lots of green herbs

Friends Peter and Michele Roos, who accompanied us on our adventure weekend in the Breedekloof area

At the end of the weekend, on our way back to Cape Town, we called in at Du Toitskloof winery
to taste some of our favourite wines from the Rawsonville area

Their impressive new tasting room is now open

Tables all set up for tastings

We tasted the wines in the garden outside; it was a warm day and the shady tree was attractive

The Du Toitskloof 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is young, fresh and zesty on the palate,
with some tropical notes as well as some pyrazines

The 2022 Chenin Blanc has garnered several awards here and overseas
It is a wine we are quite familiar with; we take a 3 litre box in our suitcases when we travel abroad,
so that we have wine available for an aperitif before we go out to dinner, or for picnics along the way
It has a lovely tropical fruit nose, with apple, pear and pineapple on the well balanced palate,
very easy drinking and great with food

A new find for us, Du Toitskloof 2018 Dimension
a blend of Mulberry and cassis, chocolate, mocca and plum on the complex nose
a wine with great dimension and quality, layers of properly wooded wine, deep and luscious on the layered palate
a Shiraz-led bled with Pinotage, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon (R135)