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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

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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

Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans 2023 You know the wine

Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans 2023

You know the wines, you covet the wines, you love the wines. I know the wines, I covet the wines, I love the wines. I also love a little wine infanticide 🤣.

Let’s see who reads these captions: save yourself some typing and drop only a 🍷 in the comments...in honour of my return to stemless glasses, courtesy of @clink_glass !

100% Chenin Blanc old dry farmed vines on Oudam farm in the Citrusdal Mountains. Wild fermented in fourdres and various sized old barrels for a month, kept on its lees for 12 months, then 6 months of rest on its fine lees in tank...no fining.

Mineral crushed slate, baking soda, salinity, and faint metallic iron shavings combine with ripe nectarines, orange sherbet, lime, subtle musty yellow apple cider, pear or barely ripe figs?, and green papayas.

Austere acidity creates a sharp tautness that delivers ‘wakey wakey’ tension, fuller bodied because there’s depth as well as a little citrus peel texture that lingers over the long ass finish. Sigh...too good!

Alvi’s Drift Albertus Viljoen Chenin Blanc 2023

Alvi’s Drift Albertus Viljoen Chenin Blanc 2023

As we gear up for Drink Chenin Day on Saturday, it feels right to tell you about last week’s marvelous visit to Alvi’s Drift, situated in the Breede River Valley (widely considered the heart of SA Chenin Blanc), to celebrate their Albertus Viljoen Icon Range.

‘Twas a glorious day with warm and welcoming hosts, some of my favourite wine people, delicious wines...and the most adorable pair of Jack Russells. You all know that I just wanted to show you pictures of cute wine farm dogs!

The Chardonnays and Bismarck red blends were fantastic. But my asterisks (my cue to purchase) were all added to the Chenin Blancs:

Starting with the ripe, rich, smoky, honeyed and unapologetic new oak of the 2012 - a wonderful treat deserving of my asterisk.

To the fine minerality, salinity and mushroom alongside fruit notes of the sophisticated 2015.

Moving swiftly to the leaner, brighter, saline (double underlined in my notes 🤣) freshness of the 2022 with its lighter spices and noticeable precision.

And then my second and biggest asterisk of the day - the 2023 in the photo. Someone from the ‘Cape Wine Masters ❤️, Master of Wines ❤️, and Old Vine legend ❤️’ side of the table uttered ‘Buchu’...and it’s the perfect descriptor for this wine that leads with its herbaceous chamomile, and then bee pollen, subtle honey, just ripe stone fruit and passion fruit. From an abandoned vineyard cut off from irrigation, this was a beauty!

The Icon Range marries heritage with passion and precision, and they’ve partnered with The Indaba Institute. Proceeds from this range support The Indaba Institute’s Montessori teacher training and early childhood development programmes in SA’s rural communities.

‘These wines honour the story of our family, but they also invite others to see their own stories in them. True mastery of craft doesn’t shout. It’s rooted, measured, and quietly uncompromising’ - Albertus Viljoen van der Merwe (third generation winemaker and grandson of Oupa Alvi, the estate’s founder).

Luddite Saboteur White 2023 Matching Botrivier Ch

Luddite Saboteur White 2023

Matching Botrivier Chenin energies with @tastingwineuk today. Coz what else do you do when one of your Insta faves posts a banging SA Chenin...you try to one up him, of course! Jokes... he’s amazing ... brilliant human, superb tasting notes, great taste in wine...and my favourite person to annoy via DM’s!

Always funny having to use the wrong end of the wine opener (crown cap warning 🤣). Funnier still is that I was today years old when I realised there’s 10% Viognier alongside the 13% barrel ferment Sauv Blanc and 77% Chenin Blanc!?!

A gloriously aromatic nose (hello Viognier!) that’s honeysuckly, yellow appley, nectariney...okay, I’ll stop(ey). There’s honey, soft chewy melt in your your mouth butterscotch, bread dough and faint dried hay.

Medium-ish acidity, medium bodied but rich, with a long finish where the palate echoes the fabulous nose. It’s one of the few Chenins I’d hold in my mouth for ages because of the gentle acidity (hello again Viognier) that highlights the mineral salinity and oyster shells. Add to this some grapefruit pith textural grip that gathers between your teeth and gums...and eventually builds on your tongue. Ultimately...it’s dangerously easy to keep sipping!

This Saboteur is pretty much a staple on my shelf because of the freaking awesome packaging! Dunno what @tastingwineuk ’s packaging looks like, but he’s a staple in my feed and DMs! Go and make friends!

Envínate Benje Tinto 2021 Mesmerising reductive

Envínate Benje Tinto 2021

Mesmerising reductive and umami seaweedy, mushroomy, beef stock, white pepper, and damp earth stank from this slight hazy vermillion shade of red. Alongside red berries and red plums.

Dry, with bright crunchy acidity that adds tension to this medium bodied red with its fine, dusty tannins. There’s a decent length to the finish, allowing the tart red cherries, early picked strawberries, musky pomegranate seeds, pink peppercorns and red plums to linger. As well as a botanical, slightly citrusy bitterness like dried lime leaves, chicory, and earth.

I was keen to see what the cloudiness was about, and the last glass showed me the tartaric leesy minerality that I rather enjoy...but decant if sediment is not your vibe.

95% Listan Prieto (95%) and Tintilla (5%) grown Santiago Del Teide in Tenerife. It’s always a treat to taste Canary Island wines, and especially Envinate. One can’t help but picture those incredulous and dramatic volcanic landscapes as you taste the wines.

Happy Chardonnay Day! The @chardonnayassociations

Happy Chardonnay Day!

The @chardonnayassociationsa kindly gifted me this duo: the Springfield Estate Méthode Ancienne Chardonnay and the Glenwood Grand Duc Chardonnay. This was the associations “invitation to discover a category redefining excellence.”

‘Redefining’ could not be more apt for this recovering ABC! As much as I still sorta roll my eyes at this grape, I’ve always known that great SA Chard is exceptional! And this year, I can truly appreciate and celebrate the grape.

Detailed first impression Coravined notes are in the carousel. Other than the varying interpretations of citrus, the use of wild yeast and lees contact (and the cut corners of the labels), these wines could not be more different.

Springfield Estate Méthode Ancienne 2020 - mineral flint and petrichor, lime and ripe oranges, Chantilly cream and savoury dried mushrooms. An intense, textural, chalk soil infused delight from the Robertson region.

Glenwood Grand Duc Chardonnay 2023 - creamy, butterscotch, orange oil, unabashed new oak...but with zesty freshness that balances the full bodied richness. Autumnal perfection with complexity for days from Franschhoek.

The association’s tagline is ‘A World-Class Journey Unveiled’. We may have only been producing Chardonnay since the eighties, but South African Chardonnays are indeed world class...and they will take you on a delicious journey...because the producers committed to this association strive for excellence in every bottle.

DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022 One of my f

DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022

One of my favourite ‘reviews’ of this DeMorgenzon Chenin Blanc reads: ‘worth the fuss and bother’. This review could also apply to my friend @shirazzmatazz whom I often rave about ❤️. He claims that I recommended this wine...when, why, where? I don’t remember the when or the where...but his latest post may explain the why. So do hop on over to his account for his thoughts on the 2019. (Yes, we planned this dual post...coz he is worth the fuss and bother of opening a delicious wine! #toughlife )

Golden straw hues swollen with sophisticated layers of ripe yellow fruits, savoury spices, mineral flint, and a subtle sense of oak: yellow apples, ripe peaches, dried apricots/peaches, dried pineapple, lemon preserve, flint, campfire, coriander, dried bay leaves, subtle nutmeg, distant toasted hazelnuts, marzipan...and, as I’m slowly recovering from the flu you might want to ignore this one...but tangy cottage cheese layered with stewed apples and drizzled with honey on a sliver of sour rye toast.

Dry and fuller bodied, with an opulent slinky texture that rests confidently on a fulcrum of fabulous clean acidity. It’s the rich but bright mouthfeel that’ll get you...while the density of flavour is sustained on the lengthy finish.

Yup, this is the winery that plays classical music (particularly Baroque) in the vineyard, winery and cellar. Plants being influenced by music is something that my non-science brain has always accepted...a choreographed facsimile of birdsong and windsong...the relatable stimulation of sound waves...and also slightly uhm pretentious. One might even whisper ‘fuss’? In DeMorgenzon’s case, I think we can agree that playing music to the vines and wines is worth the fuss and bother.

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