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Cape of Good Wine

cape of good wine | Sipping my way through the Cape Winelands | A South African Wine Blog

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Cape of Good Wine

cape of good wine | Sipping my way through the Cape Winelands | A South African Wine Blog

About
- Contact Me
- Sample Policy
Musings & Ramblings
Learn with me
Interviews
Musings & Ramblings
Wine Reviews
Learn with me
- What's the Grape?
- Wine Regions
  - Constantia Wine Route
Wine Wise

de kleine wijn koop

De Kleine Wijnkoop Kreatuur Die Mounache 2018

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capeofgoodwine

🇿🇦 Cape Town based winelover
🍷 Always looking to try something new
📸 Obsessed with the old dinner table
👇🏾 Sometimes I have wine thoughts

Barbeitos Verdelho Branco DOP Madeirense 2021 Col

Barbeitos Verdelho Branco DOP Madeirense 2021

Collab time! @eversograpeful and I are reviewing the same wine. None of us should be surprised that he picked an exciting still wine from the wondrous island that is Madeira. And none of us should be surprised that he agreed to an interview (link in bio 😉).

Confession: I couldn’t help comparing this to the fortifieds that I adore. So there was irrational surprise at the saturated but paler gold tones. With a fair resonance to the aromas of salty kelp seaweed baking in a rockpool, beef broth, oyster brine (yup, see comments coz I went there), dried coriander seeds, light honey, preserved lemons, wrinkly yellow apples, pears, barely ripe white nectarines and melon. It feels wrong to claim fresh fynbos...so shall we call it laurel forest? The other irrational surprise was zero rancio and cooked fruit.

Dry and lithe with staccato-esque pithy grippy texture that becomes waxy towards the end of the sip; irrational surprisingly friendly fresh and vibrant and sensible! acidity; and a sonorous finish. An elegy of bright lemony citrus, underripe peach, bruised apples, tangerine peel zing, a hint of herbal sweet earthy fynb...erm laurel forest, a perfect generous pinch of salt, green olive brine rubato towards dried pear and meebos (salted dried apricot) that are the last notes that linger in this upbeat allegretto.

Our DM’s over the last year are the true interview (and the reason for so many musical terms above 🤣) - the man is profound, genuinely interesting and absolutely lovely. We have a long-standing lunch date (venue/country TBC)...and our wine list is now so extensive that we could keep all of your glasses full! Do check out this thoughtful interview...because I reckon you’ll want to RSVP to @eversograpeful ‘s awesomeness!

Rudolf Fürst Klingenberger Spätburgunder 2014 Thi

Rudolf Fürst Klingenberger Spätburgunder 2014

This post isn’t so much about this lovely aged Spätburgunder. It’s about an interview with the man who gifted it to me. @burgundynick has just hit 20k followers 🤗, and I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of following.

As an ode to our mutual WSET Diploma adventures, here’s a throwback to Diploma days: Medium garnet with an enticing medium (+) intensity nose of leather, damp earth, wet leaves, mulch, liquorice, oyster sauce, dried fruits like prunes and raisins, black plums, kirsch and gentle baking spices.

Dry, medium+ acidity, medium bodied, medium alcohol, smooth medium tannins, and a medium + finish. Medium (+) intensity tart fresh red fruits like cherries and red plums, tertiary dried cedar, mulch and leather, and finishing with dried fruits that leave a lovely lasting impression.

There is balance between the fresh acidity, alcohol, integrated smooth tannins and concentration of aromas and flavours; a complex potpourri of primary fruits, secondary new oak spices, and tertiary dried wood, earth and leather linger pleasantly to produce a very good quality wine. Drink now, will not improve with further ageing but will hold for 3-5 more years.

More interesting non WSET notes: empty glass sniff YUM, paired well with a black cherry flavoured sucker/popsicle, what a treat to taste an older German Pinot...yum!

I started double tapping Nick’s posts in May 2019...shortly after he reached 5k. And even back then I noticed his #GiveANewWineAGo hashtag. After years of wine inspo, swopping bottles through travelling friends (my first Hunter Valley Sem 🙏🏾❤️) and our recent AlternativeApril fun, Nick graciously agreed to an interview. If you’re (also) curious about why he chose his username and why that doesn’t contradict #GiveANewWineAGo , the link to the interview is in the bio.

Perdeberg The Dryland Collection Tenacious Syrah 2

Perdeberg The Dryland Collection Tenacious Syrah 2024 [gifted]

This arrived yesterday...and I couldn’t resist opening the bottle almost immediately. Partly because I’ve been craving a bigger red (shhh, don’t tell anyone). But mostly because I’d recently tasted their 94 pointer Grenache at the Prescient/WineMag Autumn Series event. And also coz I think they’re cool.

Think inviting deep wine red velvet couch: dark, broody, and viscous with late night suggestive glances. A subtle cologne of ripe juicy black mulberries, raspberries, red plums, dried cedar, freshly tanned leather, herbal olive leaves (guava leaves after tasting the wine). And now hold onto to your britches folks...I smell pepper! Rotundone is back, baby!

The first kiss is where it comes alive. Dry, luxuriously fuller bodied, great acidity, tannins like caressing thick velour, and a long satisfying finish. Mulberries, sweet plump damson plums, guavas, persimmons, and a little powdery bitterness that’s made me think of earthy pomegranates. Some might call it think earthy blueberries...but I think it’s more interesting than bluebs. I believe the oneliner is: a seductive ‘acquaintance inviting you to ‘catch up’ on a far too comfortable couch.

It’s always a treat to be gifted these Perdeberg wines as they’ve become a staple on my shelf ever since being (re)introduced to their full range of wines. Many thanks to the @perdebergwinery team...I’ll share a couch with you any day!

Magna Carta Red Webster’s dictionary defines blin

Soul Barrel Brewing Co Old Cellar Barleywine So e

Soul Barrel Brewing Co Old Cellar Barleywine

So erm...not wine. But there’s a reason this style of beer is called barley ‘wine’! 12.4% abv + barrel ageing + solera system + layers of deep complexity that’ll have you writing pages of descriptors. Also, the bottle shape, wax over the crown cap, and creative essay 🤣 on the label...tell me this doesn’t count as ‘wine’...ish’! This was, undoubtedly, THE most interesting beverage I tasted in 2025.

I don’t know beer tasting notes, so bear with: hazy dark brown in colour with a medium intensity nose of toffee, dark soy sauce, thick oyster sauce, a touch of sea fog, dried peaches and pears, molasses, well fermented sourdough and malt porridge (IYKYK). And all the brewy bready aromas you inhale when passing your local brewery.

Off dry, full bodied, fuckall acidity (low), a dense texture that I don’t know how to describe, and a medium (+) finish. Toasted grains, floral perfume (fresh rose petals), a touch of overripe oranges, stewed fruits, and umami yum. Behind it all is the steadfast medicinal tincture bitterness. And yup, there are delicious malty burps 🤣...coz duh, it’s beer. One liner: malt porridge topped with stewed dried fruit for breakfast.

In terms of wine, think real Tawny Port with no acidity, far less sugar, and the seaside umami that makes you think ‘shit, Tawny or Madeira?’...perhaps even similar to an insipid commercial dark Cream Sherry without the sugar.

Fun fact: my brother, who is a beer drinker, immediately nailed the abv, production methods, maturation, ageing potential, price point, pairing suggestion and target consumer. 🤦🏾‍♀️ - passionate and experienced enthusiast beats book nerd student every time!

Tell me this doesn’t count as ‘wine’...ish.

Zidarich Vitovska 2020 Uhm...Vitovska, anyone? No

Zidarich Vitovska 2020

Uhm...Vitovska, anyone? Not gonna lie, for the longest time I thought it was part of the winery name. Nope, it’s a cross between Prosecco Tondo and Malvasia Bianca Lunga that’s predominantly found in Carso in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (quite possibly my favourite wine name to say) or Kras in Slovenia. New grape unlocked.

The cloudy pale amber made promises of orange wine goodness, and it delivered on those promises with medium intensity floral jasmine green tea, subtle citrus like orange oil, peaches, herbal bitterness, beef broth and kombu salinity.

Lively acidity, light but present powdery tannins that are initially austere but quickly become 🤤, and a lengthy clean finish. Oodles of super lemony floral green tea, dried pear and peaches, brandy fumes, the wormy bit of the nectarine closest to the pip that’s slightly bitter, flinty minerality, and some salinity. Saliva inducing sweetness floods your mouth after the tincture-esque bitterness. This expands to a hint of honey, cumin and exotic cardamom on the second day...which is probably a sign that this could be decanted. Not a hint of funk. Oneliner: planting jasmine and chamomile in damp loamy soil pockets of a rockery garden where the rocks are warmed by the sun.

This is another latergram...and another extraordinary gift from my Polish besties 🙏🏾❤️ who have instilled in me a love for this part the world where vineyards transcend country borders!

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