Bruce states that his mission in life is to add Joy to life. And he does
He was recently named among the Drinks Business' top 100 winemakers in the world,
and Bruce Jack Wines have featured six times in Drink's International's "50 Most Admired Wine Brands"
He produces wines from 8 different farms in different terroirs:
Daschbosch, Merwida, Riebeek, Bonnievale, Helderzicht, The Drift Estate (his own farm), Black Oystercatcher
and De Rust, source of his cider
A glass of Bruce's Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc to start the tasting
Clean and crisp with definite SB character, lots of apple and lemongrass notes, and good sparkle mousse,
very much a "start the party" wine
imported by Bruce Jack in association with Reciprocal from Coombesville in California's Napa Valley
It has good wood on the nose with cherry and dark berries with some violets
Licorice, wood, dark berry fruit on the palate with chalky tannins, and some salty minerality on the end
Different but good for being so
Bev Murray with wines imported by Reciprocal Trading
We so enjoyed the 2023 French Domaine des Melandes Chablis, true to type and style and just a bit out of our price range
We so enjoyed the 2023 French Domaine des Melandes Chablis, true to type and style and just a bit out of our price range
It brought back good memories of our last visit to Chablis
The Chablis and BY.OTT rosé from Provence
The Drift Estate Wines
The Drift Estate wines, grown in the Overberg near Napier, were very impressive, they are hand crafted by Bruce
The Penelope Cap Classique is a rosé, uniquely from the Touriga Franca grape and Chardonnay,
crisp with a good mousse, long flavours
The Estate red blend, Moveable Feast, is a spicy Shiraz
with Tannat, Malbec, Touriga Naçional, Touriga Franca, Barbera & Tinta Barocca
It is soft on the palate at first, then the other varietals climb in and wow, the wine deepens with complexity. A food wine
The best wine of the day for us was There Are Still Mysteries Pinot Noir
Perfume and fruit in layers on the nose, rich and classic, juicy and full and long on the full palate,
the red fruit required good soft tannins and wood just to support and it has it
Rather Hemel and Aarde in style and not surprising
as the grapes are sourced from selected vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Elim & Overberg Highland
The Gift Horse Barbera is another food wine, rich nose with rose and spice, good supporting wood,
lighter at first on the palate then it broadens out
Rhubarb, pomegranate fruit with long balanced sweet and sour flavours
Denzil Swarts of Zoetendal with Jean-Mari Reyneke
Denzil makes his wines on Zoetendal near Elim and is gaining a very fine reputation for them
The Off the Charts range of wines crafted from grape varieties and regions that are South Africa's viticultural cornerstones
The Viognier from the Off the Charts range has a very good varietal nose, peach and lime,
followed by wood notes and good fruit
We tasted the Ghost in the Machine range
The Clairette Blanche is complex on the palate with depth and wood
The Malbec Viognier blend has good grapes and lighter in texture on the palate, good wood and chalky tannins to support
Raath promotions representatives Brent Wessels and Elize Barnard sell The Berrio to the trade
The Berrio is one of Bruce's oldest wine brands
It is a cool-climate wine from the windswept Elim ward near Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape,
originally founded by farmer Francis Pratt and winemaker Bruce Jack
It is named after the lead ship of Vasco da Gama’s 1497 voyage
The Black Oystercatcher wines from the Elim area are some of the best and most concentrated wines
from the area which is closest to the southernmost tip of Africa, has superb soils, climate and is close to the sea
The Sauvignon Blanc is very special, complex, crisp, full of minerality and a favourite
The Oystercatcher Swart Tobie is a special Shiraz and their description of it is
“In the glass, it displays pronounced aromas and flavours of cassis, mulberry parfait, vanilla, charred oak, and star anise”
“In the glass, it displays pronounced aromas and flavours of cassis, mulberry parfait, vanilla, charred oak, and star anise”
Jacqueline Lahoud of Winemag.co.za and Bruce Jack
Lot of trade people were present to taste the wines and place orders
The range of Bruce Jack Reserve wines. The Bruce Jack Chardonnay wins awards
The 2025 has vanilla wood, crisp fruit on both nose and palate and is in balance
Bruce Jack with his Marmalade Invader orange wine
We have to admit that we are not entranced by Orange wine but it seems that the young are, so it sells well.
Some canapés to stave off hunger
Pescaluna Limelight White is a wine made specially to go with seafood,
crafted by Bruce and fisherman Gastáo Fernandes, Bruce's old school friend, as a homage to Vinho Verde
and has only 10% alcohol
This is the Awaken the Arcade range, suited for wine bars and to appeal to the younger wine consumers
Bruce says that the Orange wine The Marmalade Invader is the best orange wine in the world in his estimation
and the Wire Frame Riesling Sauvignon Blanc blend is a 50 year wine
We found it aromatic with honey and fruit on the nose, crisp and sweet on the palate
A final catch up chat with young Bruce as we left
Newly appointed Hyde Hotel executive chef Scott Hendrie discussing his new menu with Lynne
The hotel is very near to our home, with good views from the roof wine bar; we will go again to try his food
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
