Wineblog

(as stolen from http://huntergatherervintner.blogspot.com/)

Allée Bleue Isabeau 2011
Allée Bleue Pinotage 2009
Alvi’s Drift AD Chardonnay 2011
Alvi’s Drift AD CVC 2011
Alvi’s Drift Viognier 2011
Anwilka 2009
Avontuur Estate Dominion Royale Shiraz Reserve 2009
Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2010
Bon Courage Jacques Bruére Brut Reserve 2007
Boplaas Cape Tawny Reserve Port 1997
Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2009
Boschendal Grande Cuvée Brut 2007
Bosman Family Vineyards Erfenis 2010
Bosman Family Vineyards Optenhorst Chenin Blanc 2010
Calitzdorp Cellar Cape Ruby 2010
Calitzdorp Cellar Touriga Naçional 2010
Cape Point Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2010
Capelands Estate Redstone 2010
Cederberg Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Cederberg Five Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Cederberg Shiraz 2009 Dalla Cia Giorgio 2007|
David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Diemersdal MM Louw Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Doolhof Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2010
Driehoek Shiraz 2010
Eenzaamheid Chenin Blanc 2011
Eikendal Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Elgin Heights Shiraz 2010
Elgin Vintners Shiraz 2008
Ernie Els Big Easy 2010
Ernie Els Proprietor’s Syrah 2010
Ernie Els Signature 2008
Glenwood Chardonnay Vigneron’s Selection 2010
Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve 2009
Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve White 2010
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay 2011
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir 2010
Jean Daneel Chenin Blanc 2010

Jordan Chardonnay 2010
Jordan Chenin Blanc 2011
Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay 2010
Jordan The Outlier Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Jordan The Real McCoy Riesling 2010

JP Bredell Wines Bredell’s Cape Vintage 2003
Kanu KCB Chenin Blanc 2009
Ken Forrester The FMC 2010
Klein Constantia Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2007
La Motte Pierneef Shiraz Viognier 2009
La Motte Shiraz 2009 Landau du Val Late Vintage Semillon Private Collection 2010
L’Avenir Grand Vin Pinotage 2009
Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2009
Lisha Nelson Cabernet Franc 2008 2008
Lomond Conebush Syrah 2008
Lomond Pincushion Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Lomond Pincushion Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Lomond Sugarbush Sauvigon Blanc 2010
Longridge Brut 2008
Longridge Chardonnay 2009
Longridge Merlot 2008
Louis Wines Louis Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Miles Mossop Max 2008
Mulderbosch Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2008
Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc Steen op Hout 2010
Mvemve Raats De Compostella 2009
Neethlingshof The Owl Post Pinotage 2010
Nitida Club Select Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Oldenburg Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2009
Oldenburg Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2011
Overgaauw Tria Corda 2009
Paul Cluver Chardonnay 2010
Rickety Bridge The Foundation Stone 2010
Rietvallei Wine Estate Special Select Esteanna White 2011
Rustenberg Stellenbosch John X Merriman 2009
Saronsberg Provenance Rooi 2010
Saronsberg Provenance Shiraz 2010
Saronsberg Shiraz 2010
Saronsberg Viognier 2010
Saxenburg Private Collection Shiraz 2007
Shannon Vineyards Sanctuary Peak Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut 2007
Stark-Conde Three Pines Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Sumaridge Chardonnay 2010
Super Single Vineyards Mount Sutherland Syrah 2009
Swartland Bushvine Pinotage 2010
Swartland Bushvine Shiraz 2010
Teddy Hall Dr Jan Cats Chenin Blanc Reserve 2010
Teddy Hall Hercules van Loon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2008
The High Road Director’s Reserve 2009
Tierhoek Straw Wine 2007
Tokara Director’s Reserve Red 2008
Tokara Director’s Reserve White 2010
Van Loveren Christina van Loveren Shiraz 2010
Vilafonté Series M 2009
Vondeling Baldrick Shiraz 2011
Vondeling Sweet Carolyn 2007
Warwick Trilogy 2009
Wildekrans Osiris Chenin Blanc Barrel Selection 2010

by Edo Heyns

There are many advantages to sharing a house with the assistant food editor of one of the top women’s magazines in South Africa. They include cupcakes, cookies, cheeses, pudding, fudge, tarts, stews and – for dinner last night – a fantastic trout, with several half bottle samples from Fleur du Cap.

As someone with a particular appreciation for noble late harvest wines, I’ve always been a fan of Fleur du Cap. And while their Unfiltered Collection has never disappointed, last night some of these wines blew me away!

It’s  no secret that the 2009 vintage was a stunner. Those in the know would also tell you that these wines need a few years’ maturation, to reach their full potential – particularly the whites. To keep this post at a reasonable blog length, I’ll elaborate only about my highlight of the evening – the Unfiltered Sémillon 2009.

The samples served for dinner were opened during lunch yesterday and were all from the 2009 vintage. I think this accidental decanting was definitely beneficial – particularly in the case of the Sémillon.

This wine shone with restrained elegance, beautifully complementing the trout, with crisp acidity and freshness. Along with this, it hinted of subtle maturation through a typical Sémillon waxiness. Despite being open for a while and facing the elements of a boot decantation, the wine clearly boasted the legs to carry it for years to come.

At 13.5% alcohol, it is also not as plump and clumsy as some of the better known wooded versions, with clean fruitiness and a crisp minerality rather takingcentre stage.

Fleur du Cap’s home, the Bergkelder, is no small winery and white winemaker (no racism intended), Pieter Badenhorst has the privilege and advantage of working with hundreds of vineyards, scooping off the cream for the Unfiltered Collection.

The wines are pretty well priced as well and I wouldn’t hesitate to fork out R95 for a bottle – particularly because I don’t have to pay for cupcakes, cookies, cheeses, pudding, fudge, tarts, stews and the occasional trout.

by Elona Hesseling

When tasting the new vintages of The Mentors range by KWV, I found it particularly difficult to decide what exactly to write about – the wines are of high quality, the five-course lunch at Laborie was fabulous and the discussions among fellow winos are always fascinating.

One of these talking points was the inevitable comparison between the two red blends in The Mentors range – the Mediterranean style Canvas and the Bordeaux style Orchestra. Both are of the 2010 vintage and sell for around R180, though the wines are quite different.

Some of the KWV winemakers responsible for The Mentors range: Johann Fourie, Izele van Blerk and Christiaan Coetzee.

The Canvas is a blend of about 70% Shiraz, with Grenache, Carignan, Mourvédre, Tempranillo, Cinsault and Viognier. It shows dark fruit, cherry tobacco and hints of spice on the nose, with mulberries and white pepper on the palate. The grapes are sourced from Paarl, Wellington and the Swartland.

Although the different varieties all contribute unique characteristics to the final product, with the added complexity of various terroirs, it is perhaps too busy. A really good wine that opens up with some time in the glass – and perhaps it will do so even more with time in the bottle – it still seems to have a bit of an identity crisis, trying to be too many things at once.

The Bordeaux style Orchestra, however, hits the blending nail on its head. A wine with a clear expression of what it is and where it comes from, it is both intense and elegant. Fresh, perfumy, smoky and slightly herby, it also has good purity of fruit, with dark berries and spice on the palate. It is smooth and opulent, yet refined – a good example of where blending brings out the best from the various components.

Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, the grapes are sourced from Stellenbosch, Paarl and Botriver. The final test of any wine is ultimately when pairing it with food. This 2010 Orchestra, as well as the 2009 vintage, was served with roasted rump of Karoo lamb with a parsley and mustard crust, prepared by chef Matthew Gordon at the Harvest restaurant at Laborie.

Picking the best vintage to complement the food is not that easy and although I am still indecisive, the current 2010 was for me the overall stand-out wine. And with that particular vintage being the first during which the dynamic team produced a single variety Cabernet Franc, perhaps it really was their year of the Cabs.