Dewaldt Heyns, the cellarmaster, had the same dreadful cold John was not enjoying, so he was pleased to sit with us in the sun for a while on the terrace and talk about the wines, while we tasted. He is a member of the Cape Winemakers Guild and has wine in this year’s auction
The outside of the winery with the iconic
Saronsberg lady of the lake
The tasting room with the art gallery above
The picture on the chimney breast is also used on
the Provenance range of wines
Dewaldt pours us a generous glass of their MCC
Brut 2011 which has 100% Chardonnay and was on the lees for three years. It is
fruity and crisp with a good mousse. It will continue to age beautifully
One of the many pieces of art in the gardens of
Saronsberg; many are witty conversation pieces
You will find this statue
of a lady on the bottles of Saronsberg wines. The mountain view across the lake
is wonderful
Her body emblazoned with a star
Inside the white wine cellar with its many tanks
and barrels stacked high
Showing us how high they have to go. They are in the
process of building a function centre and Dewaldt has had to make plan for
storage of the barrels that were in that space previously.
Pupitres with the bottles of MCC which get riddled (turned
and raised a little) on a daily basis by the valued member of staff who has the
most experience and ability
There is a lovely soft aroma of oak wood as well as maturing wine
Outside, a statue of leaping impala
And who should we meet checking out after a
deserved break over the long weekend but the Mount Nelson Hotel's Executive Chef, Rudi Liebenberg, fwith his wife. They had spent a relaxing time, with the children
staying at home with carers
Late afternoon view of the winery with the oaks in
front. They are Turkish oaks and they do not lose their leaves in winter
The building on the right hand side is where the
function venue is being installed
A lovely place to spend an afternoon by the lake
We love the Saronsberg Rose, so fresh and fruity,
dry but full of strawberries and so very like those from Provence
We absolutely loved the 2014 Grenache and Dewaldt
let us take it back to the cottage with us. More about this next week
And to finish off a lovely tasting, Dewaldt
brought us a bottle of his own 2011 Weathered Hands Chenin Blanc, made from 40
year old Swartland bush vines. It’s full of golden gooseberries and conference
pears on the nose, with a full mouth of sweet dried pears with almond notes and
good acidity. It has elegant, slightly chalky tannins and will last so well. But
it is drinking perfectly now
