De Wetshof Riesling 2020
My notes are brief as a cheese platter was about to be served...you understand, right? Picture me running to a quiet corner of the room to type my thoughts on my phone. Spotting the cheese platter making its way to the table. And, despite knowing that there'd be a brief pause for photos of the food, ignoring all typos in my haste to get to the cheese. Fromage FOMO set in and I returned to the table with these brief tasting notes:
The Wine:
Pronounced petroleum, honeysuckle, loads of lime and wax. Off dry, high acid, medium bodied, medium + finish. Pronounced lime, peach, smoky floorwax on the palate.
Vini + Viti:
Irrigated Riesling vineyards planted in 2001 in Robertson. Known for it's cold winters and warm summers, Robertson Valley is cooled in the summer by southerly breezes that slows down the ripening of the grapes.
After de-stemming and pressing the juice is settled, then racked and fermented in stainless steel at cold temperatures. After fermentation the wine racked off its gross lees and kept on its fine lees for greater complexity.
RS: 18.6 g/L | pH : 2.94 | TA : 7.7 g/L
Final Thoughts:
This was lovely, though I couldn't help but question the price point of this self declared 'House of Chardonnay'.
The estate makes 5 Chardonnays that range between ZAR100 and ZAR175, as well as the more premium 'The Site' (ZAR358), and flagship 'Bateleur' (ZAR700) Chardonnays.
At ZAR228, I wasn't sure what to think of where this Riesling is being positioned within their lineup. It's competing with the 5 entry to mid range Chards in terms of both price and occasion (unoaked, fresh, not too serious, aperitif) ...yet is markedly more expensive. 50 bucks more! It's not going to convert a Chard lover. It can't compete with oaked Chard lovers.
So this really is just for the Riesling freaks who won't be able to resist trying it.
