All posts in Wine Reviews

I had the pleasure of catching up with Andy Hadfield of Real Time Wines (social wine discovery app) a few days ago where he told he about his application and provided me with some interesting statistics that he felt the folks who follow iMod would enjoy.

As a wine lover myself, I wanted to share these stats with you as it’s almost Christmas, the perfect time to buy a friend or loved one a nice bottle for them to enjoy.

The top 10 trending wines in South Africa at the moment are as follows:

• The Chocolate Block by Boekenhoutskloof (2011) R180
• Chardonnay Pinot Noir by Haute Cabriere (2011) R70
• Frontier by Guardian Peak (2007) R70
• MCC Blanc de Blanc by Secret Cellar (2007) R103
• Synergy by Beyerskloof (2009) R80
• Whole Berry by Springfield (2010, Cabernet Sauvignon) R103
• Sauvignon Blanc by Diemersdal (2011) R54
• Borealis Cuvee Brut by Krone (2009, MCC)
• Chenin Blanc by Cederberg (2011) R79
•  Rabelais by Thelema (2008)

Further to this, the all time top 10 consumer choice wines via Real Time Wines are:

• 2011 Beyerskloof Pinotage
• 2010 Nederburg Baronne
• 2011 Haute Cabriere Chardonnay Pinot Noir
• 2010 Diemersfontein Pinotage
• 2008 Warwick The First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2010 Springfield Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc
• 2010 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block
• 2011 Thierry & Guy Fat Bastard Chardonnay
• 2010 Springfield Whole Berry Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2010 Cafe Culture Pinotage

Really interesting lists, I’m upset that I only recognise a handful of them and realise that I’m going to have to go shopping and stock up, because some of these sound incredibly delicious, or at least the reviews make them sound that way!

Uitkyk Manor House, built in the Stellenbosch winelands in 1788 is a superb Thibault designed example of a town house built in the country.

Estelle Lourens is the winemaker on the estate and produces, amongst others, the iconic Uitkyk Carlonet, one of my favourite wines of the 1960s.

She also makes a superb 10yr old premium brandy called Grand Reserve.

Flat Roof Manor is a range of  wines which Estelle calls them “bright and fun but they always offer an intriguing dimension to give them that special je ne sais quoi. They are playful but complex.”  now we know!

What I know is that they are eminently drinkable and offer tremendous value.  With the Pinot Rose, Estelle has made a delicious wine, so easy to quaff with characterful blush, a nose of red berries and a crisp and zesty palate.  The blend is Pinotage (70%) with Pinot Grigio (30%) to combine depth of flavour with refreshment.  Pinot Grigio is an Italian grape which makes what Jo Wadsack, British Wine Writer calls “the new Chardonnay” produces crisp and zingy wines.

Sells for around R38 a bottle.

If you would like to read more about wine visit www.crushmagonline.co.za which is my free online digital magazine.

Boets Nel is usually a step ahead when it comes to innovation on his wine estate in Calitzdorp on which he and his brother Stroebel make some outstanding ports and dry wines.  He made the first pink Port in South Africa and a delicious sweet wine called The Espresso, yes with a flavour of coffee.

Like his fellow winemakers in the Douro Valley in northern Portugal, this Laird of Calitzdorp, the Port capital of South Africa, produced a dry red wine, from only Tinta Barocca grapes, one of the stalwart South African port and red wine grape varieties.

Matured for six months on heavy toasted French oak, the Tinta Mocha is a full-bodied wine with intense mocha coffee and chocolate flavours.

But it’s not all about coffee and chocolate, Boets weaves in sweet-fruit blood plums and mulberries and ripe juicemaking tannins.

While this wine is most enjoyable now, it has the pedigree to age graciously for at least another five years.

Boets says ‘drinking the wine, slightly chilled during these last summer months.  As winter draws in drink it at room temperature.’

The De Krans Tinta Mocha 2010 will catch your eye on the shelves with its orange, copper and chocolate brown label which reflect the coffee and chocolate flavours of the wine.

Great with a stick of biltong and a sharp knife during a rugby match on TV, it will do as well with some fat sausage off the braai or a piece of steak roasted and served on some peppery rocket leaves with shavings of parmesan  and a sloshing of some good olive oil and flaky sea salt and a grind or two of pepper.

Available in a 750ml screwcap bottle, from 1 March, the De Krans Tinta Mocha 2010 retails for approximately R55 per bottle and can be purchased from the cellar and select retail outlets nationwide.

For more information on this new wine or any other wines and ports in the De Krans range, contact the farm on 044 213 3314 or email dekrans@mweb.co.za.

If you would like to read more about wine, visit my website www.crushmagonline.co.za which is my free online digital magazine.

Not the cheapest little wine in town at R140 a pop, but it is a flagship, has a good label and is of excellent provenance.

Made by the talented Gerda Willers, former winemaker for Allée Bleue, the Allée Bleue L’Amour Toujours [love always] of the 2007 vintage has just been released.

Grapes come from Piekenierskloof in Citrusdal area, Hermon and Stellenbosch

An unusual Merlot driven blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and healthy dollops of Grenache and Shiraz and a splash of Petit Verdot.  The latter never ceases to amaze me how it makes its presence felt in the form of violets on the nose.

Tank fermented and then a year in French oak barrels, 60% of which were new.

Lot of sensual stuff going on here.  Bright deep red in colour.  The Cab backbone of ripe raspberries is softened by the suppleness of the plummy fynbos whiffy Merlot and the poached desiccated fruit of the country cousin Grenache.  Spice from the Shiraz and violets from the Petit Verdot.

A generous lush-to-the-senses wine, the Allée Bleue L’Amour Toujours 2007 will age well to 2015.

The latest edition of my free online digital magazine Crush! has been released.  Please go to www.crushmagonline.com and subscribe to get your free copy.

Perfect in time for Valentine’s Day is the launch of a pink bubbly from Knorhoek Estate in Stellenbosch.

Konfetti 2010 was inspired by the many wedding functions held on the estate and some great meals in its Towerbosch Restaurant styled by that master of restaurateurs, Neil Stemmet.

An exuberant blend of Pinotage (56%), Cabernet Franc (27%), Merlot (13%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (4%) winemaker Arno Albertyn wanted the wine to light up the senses with its cheerful, candy floss pink blush.  Delicious smells of red berry fruits, it has live raspberries and strawberries on the palate and shows the class of lying on the lees for two months after fermentation and impregnation with carbon dioxide to add the vibrant bubbles.  Nice refreshing aftertaste too.

Priced for everyday drinking at R55 a pop [oooh awful pun there, Michael!] it is available from the estate only.  But as Knorhoek’s homely Guest House is ideal for families with children of all ages, honeymooners wishing to escape the hustle and bustle or to swap the boardroom for a ‘bosberaad’ breakaway with colleagues, you can drive out buy some great wine, have a good meal and then return home the next day!

For more information contact Knorhoek Cellar at Tel: 021 865 2114/5

The latest edition of my free online digital magazine Crush! Will be going out this week.  Please subscribe to get your free copy.  Go to www.crushmagonline.com

Robertson Winery, which is South Africa’s third largest wine producer, is an innovative and exciting winery, making many of my favourite wines.

Huge fun is their new range of three Light Cultivar Wines each made from a variety of grape. Sauvignon Blanc Extra Light, Chenin Blanc Light and Pinotage Rosé Light.

Immensely gluggable – low acidity and low alcohol assist here.

The Sauvignon Blanc Extra Light 2010 which has only 8.85% alc and 4.7g residual sugar rendering it officially dry, is a real refresher. Softly dry, with grassy and crushed fynbos undertow with good fruit. Great as a glass on its own or with salads, seafood or sushi. It’s all to east to drink a whole bottle! Which if course defeats the purpose of a Light Wine!

The Chenin Blanc Light 2010 which has 9.15% alcohol is of off-dry with the classical Chenin notes of fresh sliced ripe pears, tropical [mainly guava] fruit and white flower topnotes. This is poached chicken goats cheese country.

Slightly sweeter is the Pinotage Rosé Light 2010 again with a low alcohol of 9.6%- great with some ice as a glass on its own if a dry wine is not your bag. It has the sweetness of a ripe strawberry and the acidity of a raspberry.

The ability of a winery as large as Robertson to produce wines that taste as though they come from a small “hand made” winery just goes to show that the Cellar Master Bowen Botha and his team are up to the job. I wish them well with the harvest this year and am sure that the grapes are already arriving at the cellar door.

All three Light Cultivar wines retail for about R40.00 and are widely available nationally at leading merchants.

Robertson Winery tasting and sales opening hours

• Monday- Thursday: 08h00 – 17h00
• Friday: 08h00 – 17h30
• Saturday and Sunday: 09h00 – 15h00

Telephone: 023 626 3059 | Website: www.robertsonwinery.co.za

Please go to my free online digital magazine Crush for more wine information – http://is.gd/i5GPR

Named after the striking silhouette of the Karroo Acacia, with its profusion of dazzling white thorns, that commands attention in the stark leafless winter, Silverthorn has become synonymous with with John and Karen Loubser’s ethos of Afropean synergy, combining old world European heritage and knowledge; and our contemporary African environment and culture.

John and Karen produce two wines, The Green Man Blanc de Blancs and a delicious rosé called Genie Rosé Brut.

John Loubser and Roc

The Green Man is a rich gold with flashes of green and a mass of tiny fine twirling bubbles rising to the top of the glass.  Granny Smith apples vie with acacia blossom on the nose.  There is a serious minerality in the wonderful flavours backed up by toasted almond brioche.  Elegant in structure, bubbles adding great life and to the long satisfying aftertaste. I must admit to always thinking of oysters when I drink a fine MCC.

The Genie has an onion skin colour, and again those magical twirling bubbles.  Touch of French Pappa Meilland rose on the nose and lovely zippy raspberry sorbet flavours ending in a long velvet textured aftertaste.  Pata Negra ham or Spanish Jamon wrapped round fresh figs with this wine, will transport you genie-like to heaven!

My wish for you all is a merry and much blessed Christmas and a vintage 2011.

The fourth edition of Crush, my digital online magazine was launched recently, there are quite a few wines mentioned in the magazine and some great recipes for the happy hols. Go to http://is.gd/i5GPR

When I had my restaurant in Hermanus, I used to serve wines from Villiersdorp Cellar and the added bonus was that they used to make Moskonfyt which we used to use in sauces and desserts.

Surrounded by the beautiful Groenlandberg, Hottentots Holland, Franschhoek and Baviaans mountain ranges it is a very pretty place and we used to enjoy the drive up there to fetch the wines.

The cellar recently launched its Dam Good range of wines, Dam Good White, Dam Good Rosé and Dam Good Red.

“Dam good wines at dam good prices” – in line with Villiersdorp Cellar’s recent strategy to improve the quality of their wines and increase the quantity of their bottled wines, capitalising on the very favourable grape-growing conditions of the members’ farms.

A play of course on the Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest dam in the Western Cape and the area where most of the Villiersdorp Cellar’s members farm.

The Twitterverse has been alive with tweets from wine bloggers who have loved these wines.

The Dam Good White 2010, is a Chenin Blanc with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc and going for a song at around R28. It has the classical Chenin markers of ripe guava and there’s some tropical fruit there too. The fruits carry through to the palate, where there are notes of green fig and kiwi. Rated in the recently–launched Platter’s South African Wines 2011, as “exceptionally drinkable and well priced’.

The Dam Good Rosé 2010 is 100% Merlot – a stunning cherry blossom colour with abundant sweet strawberry and rose petal aromas. The mouthfeel is all candy floss and raspberry. It’s a 3 Platter star sweetie, also available at around R28.

The Dam Good Red 2009 which is a Shiraz (60%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) blend shows the Cabernet part as blackberries on the nose and the Shiraz is evident with hints of spice and smoke. The palate repeats the aromas in a well structured medium-bodied wine with delicate oaking evident. palate. lightly wooded. Selling for just over R30.

The Dam Good range of wines is currently available nationally at independent liquor stores and restaurants and at Aroma Liquors in the Western Cape.

Crush 4 was launched last week, there are quite a few wines mentioned in the magazine and some great recipes for the happy hols. Go to http://is.gd/i5GPR

I have always been a great fan of Zonnebloem Wines, this historic farm has been making wine for centuries, originally owned by the de Villiers family who  started off at Boschendal and landed up on Landskroon.

The Limited Edition Sauvignon Blanc 2010 and the Limited Edition Shiraz 2008 were released in Cape Town recently.  They represent the finest components of vineyards, tanks and barrels by the young team of winemakers Bonny van Niekerk and Elize Coetzee and viticulturist Annelie Viljoen – all women in wine! And the limited editions vary by variety from vintage to vintage.  Deon Boshoff the Cellar manager told me that the limited editions rarely number more than 5000 cases.

Grapes for the Zonnebloem Sauvignon Blanc Limited Edition 2010 are selected from vineyards growing mainly in the Darling area with 25% hailing from Stellenbosch.  Winemaker Elize Coetzee who joined Zonnebloem from Flagstone 5 years ago and is now the white wine maker at the cellar, said “the wine is rich in typical Sauvignon blanc aromas from fresh gooseberry and tropical fruit to beautifully infused green pepper, fig and asparagus which all follow through onto the palate ending in a long, lingering finish.”

The Zonnebloem Shiraz Limited Edition 2008 is made of grapes handpicked from vineyards situated in the Stellenbosch Kloof, Helderberg and Devon Valley areas.

Bonny van Niekerk, winemaker of Zonnebloem red wines describes her wine as  “rich, full-bodied Shiraz with an elegant, spicy bouquet with smokey aromas supported by whiffs of plum typical of this varietal. The palate is full and rich with a complex medley of plum, berry and wood spices supported by soft, juicy tannins developed during the 14 months in oak.” She also believes this wine, while it is drinkable now, will definitely benefit from ongoing maturation.

The wines sell at R60 for the Sauvignon Blanc  and R99 for the Shiraz.