Saturday, December 18, 2021

In MENU This Week – Robertson - TheLAB, DeWetshof, Silverthorn, Springfield and Kranskop

A palm tree silhouetted against a fiery Robertson sunset

We really thought that this would be the last MENU of 2021, but decided that bombarding you with ten stories would be a bit too painful. So we’ve held five over for the final issue of the year and will try to get it out before mid-week. This week, and some of next week, is about Robertson, that beautiful and hospitable river valley on the edge of the Karoo, lush in the middle because of the Breede River and rocky and arid around the edges. It is one of our favourite places on earth and we hope you’ll like the stories and think about visiting. It is less than two hours from Cape Town, a comfortable and scenic drive.

MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 20. Robertson - DeWetshof

We made very good time coming from Knysna and reached Robertson before 12. This is our favourite wine area of them all; the people are so friendly and genuine, and the wines are excellent. We have made lots of friends there. The two valleys of Robertson and Bonnievale are very fruitful and beautiful. It is easy to get around and we like it so much that we even contemplated moving here at one time. All our appointments for the two days were ably organised for us by Renate le Roux at the Robertson Tourism office. Our first wine estate visit was to De Wetshof, which produces some of the best wines in the valley.  Read on…

MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 21. Silverthorn, Bonnievale

Our next appointment was at Silverthorn in Bonnievale. Warmly welcomed by John and Karen Loubser, we were so impressed with what they have done to the farm in the two years since we last visited. The tasting room, which they were still decorating and fitting when we were there before, is now so comfortable and relaxing. How did the farm get its name? "In the middle of winter, when the vines have shed the last of their amber leaves and roots are drawing their strength for summer; when the grey-green veld sparkles after the rain and the tallest peaks of the Riviersonderend Mountains are dusted in snow, it is the Karoo Acacia, with its profusion of dazzling white thorns, that commands attention. It is this image of one of the Karoo’s most prolific thorn trees that inspired the name Silverthorn Wines". Read on…

MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 22. Robertson - theLAB Boutique hotel

It had been a long day since we set out from Knysna and we were becoming a bit tired, so we headed for our overnight accommodation in the Klaasvoogds area. Called theLAB, it’s a very interesting place, a modern “Eco-centric guest house“ with lots of solar panels, a terrace with beautiful sunsets and views, a restaurant, and a spa. Read on…

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 lovely avenue leads you into the farm. They have improved the tasting room over the last few years and will soon enlarge it. During Covid, you need to sit outside; there is a canopy. Roses grow so well on the Robertson soils; these are really beautiful. Read on…

MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 24. Robertson – Kranskop

After our tasting at Springfield, it was time to rush off to our lunch date with Newald Marais at Kranskop. Newald has been so hospitable to us in the past and nothing has changed; we are very fond of him. The first vines were planted on Kranskop circa 1792. The craggy, rocky ledge atop Kranskop was inspiration for the hill’s name, which means wreath cap. Read on…

Our Road trip

For those who’d like to see the earlier stories about our road trip through the Karoo and the Garden Route, you’ll find them in the November and December lists in the Archive, just below the Contact panel in the Right hand column on our site at https://adamastorbacchus.blogspot.com/

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MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 24. Robertson - Kranskop

After our tasting at Springfield, it was time to rush off to our lunch date with Newald Marais at Kranskop
Newald has been so hospitable to us in the past and nothing has changed; we are very fond of him

The first vines were planted on Kranskop circa 1792
The craggy, rocky ledge above Kranskop was inspiration for the hill’s name, which means wreath head



The winery and tasting room with the new improved deck above

Good spacing of tables, a new roof, floor and a bar
A good place for small celebrations, should we ever be safe enough to hold them
And, if the weather deteriorates, they can wind down blinds to insulate the area

The views across the valley are great

Tasting through his 15 wines and enjoying his company, with a lot of industry chat, was not only fun but a great experience. The farm is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. The wines are of such good quality; Newald would have nothing else, and they are made with years of experience. He studied viticulture and pomology at Elsenburg Agricultural College near Stellenbosch and then at Weinbauschule Weinsberg in Germany. He achieved great success as wine maker at prominent wine estates, and succeeded the legendary Günter Brözel as cellarmaster at Nederburg. After retiring from that position, Newald returned to his valley of origin in 2002 to become a sought-after wine making consultant to a variety of cellars and then to own his own farm

We only had a short time and tasting through 15 plus wines was going to be a challenge, so it was a rather speedy tasting. The new Kranskop 2021 Sauvignon Blanc was crisp and crunchy, with more tropical flavours 

He provided a very good local cheese and charcuterie platter with great chutneys, pickles, green figs and dried fruit for our lunch, which we could munch while we chatted, catching up with lots of Robertson news



The drier style 2021 Viognier has quality, 20% wood fermentation and has crisp flavours and good fruit,
with almond, peach and apricots; very enjoyable

The 2021 Chenin Blanc is nice and yeasty on the classic nose; it has had partial wood fermentation
Lovely fruit with quince and yellow stone fruits and good acidity. It is from a 33 year old vineyard; a lovely wine

The 2021 unwooded Chardonnay was initially shy,
with brioche on the nose, then crisp limes and buttery lees on the long palate

The 2021 Kranskop Rosé is a 50/50 blend of Petit Syrah and Viognier, matured on the lees
Candy floss, raspberry and strawberries with a soupcon of sweetness

The 2020 Pinot Noir has rose petals on the nose with raspberry fruit
On the palate, it has intense cherries and berries, with some ripeness and warmth
12 months maturation in French oak, 20% in new barrels, the remaining 80% in third fill

The 2018 Merlot has dark berry fruit on the nose and cherry, mulberry and cassis on the intriguing palate
12 months wood maturation, 35% in new, 35% in 2nd fill & & 30% in 3rd fill French oak medium toasted barrels

 The 2018 Shiraz is very dark in colour
Juicy berries and spice on the nose, Dark berries, heavy chalky tannins and long spicy flavours on the palate

The label for the 2019 Beekeepers Block is lovely and should jump off the shelves
From a single vineyard, nearly surrounded by fynbos which attracts the bees, this Shiraz has lots of fruit initially,
then herbal & spicy notes with incense wood. On the palate, cherries, mulberries and rhubarb
The wine is nicely made, hand crafted and is a barrel selection. It has had exposure to new and old oak

Newald is known as Mr Tannat and his two wines made with the grape are excellent. Tannat is a red wine grape, historically from the Madiran AOC in South West France, and is now the most prominent grape in Uruguay, where it is considered the "national grape". It seems to have better fruit if grown in warmer terroirs. The 2015 Kranskop Tannat has dark berries and spice in layers on the attractive nose, with licorice, rhubarb, white pepper, cherry and smoke. Juicy on the palate with maraschino, black and Morello cherries; delicious. Supporting tannins and wood

The MCT is a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet and 10% Tannat. It is quite intriguing and unfamiliar on the nose. On the palate, there are strong flavours of blueberries, cherries, licorice and wood and almost biting tannins. It is juicy and definitely a great food wine for red meats and game. It spends 18 months in French oak barrels, 25% new, the rest in 2nd and 3rd fill

The 2017 Kranskop Cabernet Sauvignon has a lovely classic Cabernet nose with lots of cassis
and is followed up with even more on the palate, with deep cassis flavours and deliciousness
It has soft chalky tannins and the wood is there, but just supporting. It is very Bordeaux in style

Before we left, we managed a small tasting of the 2020 Viognier Noble Late Harvest
Pure honey on the nose and palate, with apricot, nuts and limes on the end. Yum

It was a really great tasting, if a bit speedy. and we are sorry we had to rush away to our next appointment
 Thank you again, Newald, for your generosity, your time and your friendship

and, to end the trip, more bubbles at Weltevrede (coming soon)

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Thursday, December 16, 2021

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

Then Abrie Bruwer, whom we have known for a very long time, arrived back with all the dogs 

He has a German shorthaired pointer, a Ridgeback and a German Shepherd,
all lovely dogs, which are faithful and loyal and with great energy

and the dogs ride around the farm with him on the front of his motorbike. Here he is loading them on in front of him

and off they go!



Sadly, the German Shepherd is a bit old for the bike. He looks rather sad, but he does enjoy the water


Emma took us on a tour of the spotless wine cellar. They do still use the underground kuipe (concrete tanks)


Gravity fed tanks

Preparation for next year's harvest will soon begin


It is a very large cellar


Nice clean bottles ready for their labels

and they had the bottling and labelling line working

Packing wines to go out on order


Each bottle is individually wrapped in branded tissue paper


The weather was changing and we could see a possible storm approaching from the South West


Lovely irises grow on the banks of the dam


Thank you, Emma, Abrie and Jeanette for a really superb tasting of great wines
You know we are fans of Springfield wines

Lunch and a tasting with Newald Marais at Kranskop came next (Click Here)


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