As always, I'm the last person to try this wine...

Diemersdal Estate is still one of the most memorable and fun visits we've had as a wine squad. What started off as a cool, and formal tasting eventually erupted into the funniest and most fun experience - we overheard their private conversation from behind the bar and, being slightly tipsy and the only people, joined in on their convo. Immediately things became more relaxed and jovial...we chatted everything from Cape Town suburb stereotypes, to make-up, and the wine in our hands. Those two lovely wine stewards made this a memorable experience that has cemented Diemersdal as one of our favourite tasting experiences.

The Wine:

Pale lemony gold with a medium+ nose of pears, white pepper, lemon pith, grapefruit, raw green peppers, faint burned sugar…but like really burned…like ‘oh shit, I burned this’…but this dies down to faint, watered down tinned pineapple and papaya on the second day, Granny Smith apples, cream soda sherbet (I could probably replace sherbet with ‘mineral’), and light ripe peaches. Maybe I’m dreaming, but there’s also a whiff of ginger. 

Dry, medium bodied, high acidity, slightly grippy (but I think this is the grapefruit coming through) and a long finish that I was taken aback by. Burned sugar, bitter fynbos, and grapefruit play a steady bass line to the trill of peaches and apricots. The finish really is surprisingly long…but isn’t so much fruit - it’s almost hollow (reminiscent of what papayas taste like to me) through the mid palate, with a constant return to the grapefruit, herbals (maybe asparagus even), and burnt sugar….and flitting bursts of fruity brightness at the edges.

Conclusion:

Balance (1) + Length (1) + Intensity (½) + Complexity (1)  = A good wine 

Vini + Viti:

Planted on slopes facing the Atlantic Ocean exposes the vines to cool breezes, morning mists - with the South Easter adding to the moderating factors during the summer time. Dryland farmed on decomposed granite soils with a high clay content, Harvested in the early hours of morning at the beginning of March, 6 hours of skin contact before being pressed, fermented with traditional Grüner Veltliner-yeast from Austria at lower temps of 14º-16º, Post fermentation lees contact and weekly stirring for 6 months.

Final thoughts: 

This is my first SA Grüner, and it's the first and only Grüner produced in SA having been planted in 2009, with it’s maiden vintage in 2013. It’s intriguing and satisfying and fits the textbook definition.

But it lacks the precision that I expected..and I almost wish I could dial up the acidity. If anything, it almost becomes honeyed after a while.

But it's  bloody well priced, making it a must try for any South African who also’s also mind boggled by why we don’t import more Grüner wines.

Find the Wine:

www.diemersdal.co.za

Price:

R90.00