Land’s End Cape South Coast Syrah 2018
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| Image Credit – Letitia Fourie |
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| Image credit - winemag.co.za |
The beauty of this one I believe have everything to do
with the Southern Cape Coastal region’s cool-climate grapes, because the grapes
for this amazing wine are sourced from many areas along the beautiful Cape
South Coast of the Western Cape region of South Africa.
Unfortunately for us this one is ranked under the Top 10
preferred South African Shiraz wines and a staggering 90% of the Land’s End
wines are exported all over the world. Luckily we can still order it from the
website, and I have found them being on the shelves at our local Pick ‘n Pay
Hypermarket from time to time.
This wine the Land’s End Cape South Coast Syrah 2018
is awesome, although the spiciness of the shiraz/syrah is clearly there, the
tannin structure is perfectly balanced to make it smooth and easy to drink, and
very fruity. For me it was a perfect companion for the Lamb Potjie, and I will definitely
have it again.
Get the full Tasting Notes
Watch this short clip from the Lands End Facebook page
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Land’s End Cape South Coast Sauvignon Blanc
2019
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| Image Credit – Letitia Fourie |
I must admit that Sauvignon Blanc has and will always be one of my most favourite white wines, especially those that are on the fruity side of the spectrum, and for me the Land’s End South Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2019, part of the Du Toitskloof portfolio, ticks all the right boxes. I am honest that I knew about the Land’s End wines as I have seen them at our local Pick ‘n Pay, but I never tasted it up to now, and it is quite a pity because the Land’s End South Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is super smooth and packed with fruity flavours on the nose and on the taste buds, so I cannot wait to taste the rest of their portfolio.
Like all the Land’s End
wines the Cape South Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2019
got its fair share of awards such as a Grand Gold Medal (93+ points) by the
South African Wine Index, a Decanter Award (91 points), a second place in a
blind of 20 Sauvignon Blancs by The Wine Of The Month Tasting Panel, and a 4
star Platters by the Diners Club South African Wine Guide. The tragic part of
Land’s End Wines is that the largest part (90%) of these beauties are exported
to countries like the USA, UK, Belgium, Germany China and a few African
countries. So if you get an opportunity to grab one of them do so immediately.
Get the full Tasting Notes Here
My choice of the Curry Chicken Potjie our eldest daughter
prepared for us for Christmas day was spot-on and, for me, the perfect meal
choice to have with this beautiful wine.
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Mellasat "M" Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
When we started drinking wine back in the mid 70’s all we
knew about red wine was what our parents taught us, and the main cultivar, which
they called “ox-blood” was of course Cabernet Sauvignon. At that stage my best
friend and I just finished our compulsary army training, and started our
studies at the then called Potchefstroom University in the Northwest Province
of South Africa.
Look, our view of this whole wine drinking culture was
that if you want to be reckoned as an expert you MUST drink red wine. Well, I must
admit when we bought our first bottle we could clearly understand why the Cabernet
Sauvignon was called “ox-blood”, because our limited knowledge and uncultured palates
had quite a shock to such an extend that we for a very long time stayed away
from the “ox-blood”
During the late 90’s, which was about halfway through our
long, exciting wine journey we revisited Cabernet Sauvignon, and today it is
still one of our favourite red wines.
I firmly believe that the owner of Mellasat Vineyards,
Stephen Richardson, and his winemaker, Gizelle Coetzee, are a team to be
reckoned with not only by producing this remarkable Cabernet Sauvignon, but
also because of their entire portfolio which includes the amazingly unique
white Pinotage which I also posted about earlier.
How many of the possible aromas and tastes in the diagram
can you pick in the Mellasat “M” Cabernet Sauvignon.
I was very priviledged to taste this premium flagship Mellasat2013 “M” Cabernet Sauvignon. What one must realise wines like this do not come
cheap, but in the end if you can lay your hands on one of these, it is all
worth it. What impressed me most of all is that although it is a full-bodied
intense wine, the tannins were amazingly smooth, and the savoury, fruity character just lingers on.
My choice of Jan Braai’s “Steak Shish Kebabs” was an
ideal partner for it and the combination pairs very well.
Watch the video
review of the Mellasat "M" Cabernet Sauvignon by Mellasat’s owner, Stephen
Richardson.
Mellasat Vineyards is owned by the Richardson family since 1996 and is located near Paarl just 45 mins from Cape Town.
Bellevue Rosé
I am sure that for those of
you who have been following my Instagram journey it will be quite clear that I
am a very keen admirer of all the Bellevue Wine Estate’s products, and
especially it’s winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger. I have previously said that in my
humble opinion Wilhelm is one of the most underestimated winemakers in South
Africa and definitely one of the top 5 without any doubt. He just has the
ability to make “magic” of every wine he produces, and my chosen wine for this
post, the
Bellevue Rosé, is just another example of what I
mean.
When I asked Wilhelm to give
me some background information about this amazing wine he replied
in the following way “it is quite an unconventional Rosé. In order to get the salmon pink colour in stead of the onion
skin, amber orange I took a relatively neutral unwooded Chardonnay and
blended it with a small % of Petit Verdot until I achieved the colour I wanted.
The RS was increased to approximately 6-7g/l to get a nice friendly body, and
the TA was increased to 6g/l to deliver a beautiful tight and clean wine and
assist to keep the colour stable and in conclusion to round it off it was made
protein and tartrate stable to get the final product”
I love the fruity freshness and
lingering aftertaste of the easy-drinking Bellevue Rosé and it was without
doubt the perfect match for my Hamburger. This is one of those wines that one
can easily have too much of, but so what it is all worth it. Wilhelm I salute
you once again for another winner from the Bellevue stable.
Strange Bru Ruby Cabernet
Ruby Cabernet is also one of
those lesser known grape varieties that actually produces some amazing wines
when bottled as a single cultivar.
Although it is used to a large extent in red wine blends, there are quite a few winemakers, like the Wildeberg Winery team of Ryno Booysen and JD Rossouw who once again produced the amazing Strange Bru Ruby Cabernet.
The wine itself displays a deep purple colour with a rich, fruity mix of aromas and taste. For me the tannin structure is very smooth, which make this wine easy to drink very quickly.
Franschoek in the Western Cape in South Africa. The Wildeberg Winery is high up the mountain with the most awesome scenery one can imagine.
and was first developed in 1936 by dr Harold Olmo at the University of California, Davis, in the USA. The main purpose of the breed was to harvest the advantages of both varieties, namely the superior quality of the Cabernet mixed with the Carignan’s ability to do well in heat
Black Oystercathcer Rose
There was a stage that my wife and I, especially she,
were very fond of Rose wines, but as the traditional Rose’s were mostly
semi-sweet to sweet, we moved away from it as our wine journey progressed to
the dry wine side.
As I haven’t done any tastings or promotions for the
Black Oystercatcher winery, I haven’t previously tasted it.
However, our eldest daughter told me that they were very
much impressed with this wine, and suggested that I must try it. So, I purchased
a bottle, and boy was I surprised. This is a beauty par excellence.
On
the nose you will experience a lot of fruit aromas, such as pomegranate, red
cherries and strawberries with a lingering dry, crisp mineral aftertaste on the
palate.
Both portions of this free-run juice blend of 60%+ Merlot
and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, are picked at an early stage, with limited skin
contact and a cold fermentation technique is used to produce this beautiful
wine.
The
Black Oystercatcher Rose was a perfect choice for my Smoked Salmon Pizza with Tomato, Rocket, Capers and
Lemon Crème, but it can also be enjoyed just as much with a large selection of
fresh salads and light seafood.
If you haven’t tasted it yet, I would suggest you get a bottle or six
the moment this crazy liquor lockdown is lifted again, I can assure you, you
will not regret it.
Over the last couple of years the dry Rose wines started
to emerge, and as some beautiful gems, such as the Black Oystercatcher Rose,
appeared on the scene, the popularity of Rose is on a steep upward trend.
The Black Oystercatcher Winery is located on the Human
family’s Moddervlei farm, situated between the small towns of Agulhas, Elim and
Bredasdorp in the Overberg region of the Western Cape in South Africa. The
father of the family, Dirk Human, is not only the owner, but also the wine
producer, winemaker and viticulturist of Black Oystercatcher boutique wines.
The wines were named by Dirk Human after the rare Black Oystercatcher birds, which he felt, like the grapes, thrive along the coastline around the cool tip of Africa, and the first boutique wines were bottled in 2003.
Image Credit - BOC Instagram
Raka Biography Shiraz
I have always agreed with the sentiment that when the winter months arrive it is time for the red wines to be counted, but for me the Shiraz cultivar’s wines were always a bit too bold, a bit too full-bodied and a bit too spicy. Having said that, it was my view before I first had the opportunity to experience this one from the Dreyer family’s Raka stable.
Biography Shiraz - Image Credit Raka Facebook Page
The reason why Raka Biography Shiraz changed my view of the Shiraz cultivar is that although it displays an abundance of full bodied herbs and smoky soft spicy tones, especially black pepper, complimented by succulent hints of sweet blue and black berry fruits, it boasts amazingly well balanced tannins and is super smooth on the palate with a beautiful rich and long finish.
The Dreyer family, led by patriarch Piet, the “barefoot skipper” are all involved in the family business from winemaking, viticulturist to tastings. Piet achieved many highlights during his life, and so has the Biography Shiraz by winning its fair share of awards since it was first released in 2002. Included amongst these are, John Platter Wine Guide 4.5 stars, Top 100 SA wines, 2019 NWC Top 100 – Double Platinum and the National Wine Challenge Award for the past 10 years.
The Biography Shiraz begs for a thick, succulent medium-rare Steak which was my main reason for having it with the amazing Biltong and Avocado recipe of @janbraai featured in the previous post. Treat yourself to this exquisite combination. It is a gold medal winning combination.
When in the area a visit to Raka Wines farm, 17 kilometres from Stanford nestled in the Kleinrivier Mountains with the Klein River flowing through, should definitely be a bucket list item. The farm was bought in 1982 by the Dreyer family and named after owner Piet Dreyer’s black fishing vessel and his love of the sea.
Check out this short video review by Shanté from wine.co.za
Mellasat Dekker's Valley Seraphic
Middelvlei Unoaked Chardonnay 2018
This is the home of the Momberg family,
who have been wine farmers since 1919. The brothers Tinnie and Ben, have learnt
well from their father, Stiljan, ever since he handed over the running of the
farm to them in 1995
All Middelvlei wines are produced from their own grapes in their own cellar that boasts a combination of both old and new techniques which have been developed and finetuned over a period of more than 100 years by this wine making family.
Bellevue Wine Estate Malbec 2015
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| Wilhelm Krizinger |
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