Another trade wine show this week, held at Welgemeend in
Gardens. Five wine representatives grouped together to show their wines at one
event: Sam Brown, Michelle Stewart, Hein de Jager, Miranda Rieker and Bev
Murray. Hence there were a lot of wines to taste. We can mention just a few
Karen and Danie Steytler of Kaapzicht had their Kliprug
Chenin Blanc and we kept being asked by other trade tasters if we had yet
tasted this superb wine, as they recommended that we did; it was very popular
and very good. A rich Chenin nose, soft wood on the palate with limes and
cream, sappig and very much a food
wine; so, so enjoyable
Madison Nixon, Zelda
Fox and Nicolas Follet on the Charles Fox stand. We tasted all the wines,
including the vintage 2013 Brut MCC, sweeter than we remember it, and the
Vintage 2012 Brut Rosé which has a lovely prickle and good red fruit with a dry
finish; very good. The 2013 Blanc de blancs was especially good, Granny Smith
apple and a leesy, buttery base with a richness from the base wine’s partial
barrel maturation
The space is large; they had wines in two rooms with the bar
in the middle room for beers and spirits. There were tables with cheese, biscuits and
fruit; canapés circulated
Mushrooms in filo pasty parcels
The Charles Fox bubblies on ice
Ian Corder had his Yellow Lorry and Red Lorry wines for
tasting with their striking new labels. Lynne really enjoyed his Pinot Noir,
perfumed with rose petals; full of gentle raspberries and soft wood with lots
of elegance
Best canapés; smoked salmon on cream cheese and a good dark, malty brown bread
Chicken skewers. We hope no one's palate suffered after a bite of those extremely
hot chillies?
and wraps
In one of the other rooms, people were busy working out what
to taste and then what to buy for their wine lists or shops
The Strandveld sauvignons, from the southernmost
vineyards in South Africa; they always produce excellent Sauvignons
Blanc. Adamastor, their Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend wins many awards. The 2017 First Sighting sauvignon blanc was awarded 97 points in this year’s Decanter
wine awards in London, the highest mark they have ever given to a white wine
Jorika Dreyer of Raka with their wines. We plan to visit
both these farms in the next few weeks
Their selection
Truter wines are made from bought in grapes. The Blokhuis Grenache Blanc from
Piekenierskloof was rather full of terpenes, not something one often finds on
Grenache. The Agaat Christina is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Nouvelle, Chenin
and 2% Viognier. It has a bit of a dip in the middle but time may sort that
out. You may not have heard of the Nouvelle grape.It’s a local hybrid; it was
thought that Crouchen blanc and Semillon were the parents. A paternity test in
2007, however, revealed that Ugni blanc was the father. A grape not much used
in the industry
Vriesenhof winemaker
Nicky Claasens and Delight Aitken sharing amusement. Lynne only had time to taste the excellent
and typical Pinot Noir, darker berries than most but still typically Pinot
- fruity with good wood, elegance and aging potential
John tasted the Chardonnay and really enjoyed its subtle
balance of citrus fruit and light oak structure
Morgenhof was there with some of the farm's older vintages
Tasting at the bar. They had water: Aqua V and Swig;
Hermanus Beers, a lager and a pale ale and Lanique, a liqueur tasting of Attar
of Roses, which we could not be persuaded to taste, as wine was the source of enough alcohol
for the evening
These were the two white wines that most impressed on the
evening: first, Migliarina 2016 Chardonnay made with Elgin grapes. The fruit climbs
above the wood, it does not go through malolactic fermentation, so it is so
lovely and balanced, with lemon and citrus fruit. Then the 2015 Single Vineyard Chardonnay,
also from Elgin. It has incense wood and citrus fruit on the nose, caramel
pineapple and a finish of a creamy lemon posset followed by elegant minerality.
This wonderful creaminess comes from the fermentation on the lees. This wine
will last. It is our wine of the week this week. The boutique vintner, Carsten
Migliarina who is a trained sommelier, says "I do not own a wine farm. I
am not unhappy about this, as it allows me the freedom to source the best
grapes from the best vineyards I can find”. He buys in all his grapes each year
and has many interesting and noteworthy wines, of which the Piekenierskoof
Grenache (4 star Platter) deserves mention with its almost Pinot noir nose;
pretty and floral with slightly wild red berry fruit. It is herbal and savoury
with a dark toasted end. He says his aim is to make wines with freshness,
elegance and personality, wines he enjoys drinking. They certainly have those characteristics
Nicolas Follet and
Madison Nixon
Winemaker Danie
Steytler with his Kaapzicht wines
Hein de Jager with
Karen Steytler of Kaapzicht
Danie Steytler of
Kaapzicht and David Wibberley of Oldenburg chatting about the wine industry. We
really enjoyed the Oldenburg Viognier; herbal with white peach fruit on the
nose. This food wine is fruit forward on the palate but dry and has been made
with restraint, necessary on this grape which can be blowsy and sweet. We liked
this restraint and careful wooding
A very special wine of the evening was the Ondine Malbec from
Ormonde in Darling. We often buy this wine by the case, it is so good. It is full
of violets on the nose, dark but ripe berry fruit on the palate with salt and
licorice on the end. A great wine with food. An essential in the cellar
Kirsten Stewart,
Miranda Rieker, Bev Murray, Hein de Jager, Michelle Stewart and Sam Brown - the
team who put the tasting together, representing all their wineries
The team from the Victoria and Alfred Hotel
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
