And indeed it did. We do enjoy these trade tastings even if there are so many wines to taste in five hours
It can become rather social as we chat to old friends in the wine industry and they show us their new vintages
but that is what we are there for
We do have to pick and choose what we want to taste,
so that we can see where certain varietals are going, see what is trending and, more importantly, what is selling
Pieter Bruwer showing his family's Springfield wines with his sister, marketing manager Jenna Bruwer Kruger
Crisp apple, lime and peach notes with some almond and brioche on the end, it has a nice prickle
The name, translated, is Etosha, a magical place in Namibia, where their grandmother grew up as free as a bird
The Albariño took us magically to Spain on a hot day, with its wonderful spicy fruity nose
It is full and exciting on the palate, a wonderful mélange of roasted nectarine and peach, a wine for food
It is full and exciting on the palate, a wonderful mélange of roasted nectarine and peach, a wine for food
We were at the launch of his Cap Classiques in the mid 2010s
His 2022 Blanc de Blanc is exactly as we like it, extra dry, clean and crisp, a good prickly mousse
and the lime and lemon stay on the palate
Aurelia Brut Rosé, the own label of Groote Post winemaker Lukas Wentzel, is 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir
Toasty on the nose, it spends 15 months in barrel, lots of red fruit before the white appears. Clean crisp and crunchy
Some spicy Chorizo sausage canapés
We tasted the Pinot Noir 2024, a Hemel and Aarde classic
Red velvet on the nose with ripe cherries, smooth on the nose and palate, sweet and sour cherries in balance
with long flavours, and vanilla oak on the end
The 2025 Marroquin Cinsault, which has lots of cherry flavours on the nose and palate
The skin contact Chardonnay is another classic on the nose and palate, clean with lime and long flavours,
barrique wood gives good support with stirred lees on the end
It is suits our warmer climate and gives so much, the flavours are amazing
Chris Willemse of B Vintners gave us a taste of their Grenache rosé
and we immediately recognised it as the Rosé we drank with Lynne's Birthday lunch at Fyn in August
It is perfect as a wine for food, especially if you are eating different courses; it's totally suited to seafood or meat
We have known him since his time as winemaker at Rickety Bridge in Franschhoek
where he made wonderful Syrah and Semillon
Now he buys in grapes from Western Cape vineyards whose terroir suits the wines he wants to make
The 25 year old Debutant Semillon vines are from Franschhoek, source of the best Semillon
Roundness on the palate with natural acidity and layers of flavour, only 11% alcohol
Pieke Steen Chenin Blanc is from old vines in phylloxera-free Piekenierskloof
It is perfumed, almost wearable
Shy initially on the nose, but wow on the palate where it continues to open for a long time
John Loubser's The Dog Star wines come from Bonnievale, Robertson
Best known for his superb Silverthorn Cap Classiques, this is his new foray into still wines
The Sur Li Chardonnay 2026 has had no wood contact
with crisp white lime, peach and pear character on the nose and palate
It has great length and depth and is a food wine
Winemaker Aldert Nieuwoudt and Sales Manager Kate de Fleuriot of Eikendal in the Helderberg quarter of Stellenbosch
The 2023 Chardonnay has the perfume of sweet fruit and is full and round on the good long palate,
with peach and nectarine flavours
The 20% oak contact just supports, a style we prefer
We tasted the 2023 Chardonnay. It has a dive-in nose, full of good fruit
Gentle on the enjoyable palate, almost oily, with freshness and good length
It has a complex nose and palate with good green pyrazines and long flavours
It is Extra Brut, which we prefer; clean, crisp, long and classic
Michaela Hindle and winemaker Thys Louw presented the Maastricht wines. The farm was established in 1700
We tasted the 2024 Merlot
It has a good nose, soft with a hint of oak. Juicy and full of great berry fruit, with fruit in layers; calls loudly for red meat
A blend predominantly of Chenin Blanc,
with Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Verdelho and Grenache Blanc
It has a rich nose, full of stone fruit, some bruléed and toasted
On the palate, apricot, lime, nectarine, peach, all open up on the palate
Food calls, particularly prawns, crayfish and trout!
The 2021 Max (named after his son) is a classic Cape Bordeaux blend
We always have to taste his excellent Bush vine Houdemoed Chenin Blanc
The 2026 is full of dimensions, full of yellow fruit, juicy with good lees on the end
The 2023 Merlot Cabernet Franc blend has red berries on its slightly shy nose
Dark berry fruit full on the palate with lots of dark oak, layered. The Cabernet Franc is present
The wine spends 24 months in 2nd and 3rd fill barrels
It has a sharp prickle in the mousse and is very clean and bone dry
The Epice 2023 Cabernet Franc is classic with its smoky nose, it is very sophisticated
Licorice and dark chocolate fill the palate with deep flavours of black cherry and good wood
It really shouts for good steak or venison
The Calcrete is crisp and classic, showing the chalky soil that is characteristic of this area
The NV Entheos, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is crisp with a good prickly mousse,
lime more than cherry on the crisp long palate
The Philip Jonker 2023 The Ring is a Blanc de Blanc, the first of that label since 2013
Perfume and limestone from the terroir, a superb Chardonnay Cap Classique
It is classic, with minerality and savouriness on the nose, with a hint of mint
On the palate, full of flavour with sweet and sour fruit in balance; it has good length and it is a food wine par excellance
The 2023 Faithful Hound Cape Bordeaux blend
The Petit Verdot is up front with violets on the nose and the Cabernet and Cabernet Franc are both detectable
Salty licorice, minerality, and the Cabernets are prominent on the palate with lots of layered dark berry fruit,
chalky tannins and earthiness from the terroir
A splendid wine
The 2023 Jonkershoek Rhône style Field Blend has spice and dark fruit on the nose
On the palate, initially soft and gentle, then WOW, hello!
Fruit and acidity wake up the palate; it's a whole bouquet of grapes
The Three Pines 2023 Syrah is a single vineyard wine and has incense wood on the good nose
Sweet berry fruit in soft, long layers; it's sappig (juicy) and calls for lamb, pork and beef
Impressive and woke up palates which were becoming jaded
The Oude Nektar Cabernet Sauvignon is quite shy and restrained initially
Silky, chalky, grippy, velvety red and black berry fruit
The wine is named for the old manor house on the estate and has nothing to do with sweetness
Jolandie Fouche with her own Wolf and Woman wines
She is also the winemaker at Kloovenberg near Riebeek Kasteel
Her Swartland Chenin has lots of fruit and is full on the palate
We really liked her Piekenerskloof Grenache Blanc, it's full of varietal flavour, silky and rounded
when we last had it with Ramen at Peter Tempelhof's Ramenhead Japanese restaurant
All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
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