Doolhof Wine Estate

On Sunday my boyfriend and I visited Doolhof wine estate as we had bought a city slicker voucher which entitled us to a wine tasting, walk around the farm and a picnic.

We started with the tasting, we were told to pick 5 wines from the list of 21 wines, then take a seat and they will bring the wine out to us. They bring all 5 wines on a tray, with each one labeled. The labels were cute I have to say. The lady serving us told us that if we have any questions on the wine to just ask, otherwise we can just enjoy the tasting and take our time.

Between the two of us we tried the Signature Sauvignon Blanc 2012 R90, Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 R80, Signature Shiraz 2008 R80, Signature Pinotage 2008 R80, Signature Malbec 2010 R115, Signature Petit Verdot 2008 R115, Signature Cabernet Franc 2009 R115, Renaissance Cab/Merlot 2007 R80, The Minotaur 2008 R150 and the Lady in White 2010 R80.

Out of all these wines, I liked the Malbec the most, then the Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Lady in White.

I have to say the Petit Verdot was so interesting!! It has a sweet smell to it and then it tastes so sour!! I would never buy it but I highly recommend you taste it if you visit the winery. It is just so unique and funny!!
 

The manager at the tasting room is very welcoming and pleasant. She was polite, friendly, and always ready to answer any questions we had. She is a good ambassador for the wine estate!! No complaints from my side on the service!!

Our picnic was lovely. We found a spot near the river and enjoyed a wrap, cheese and crackers, potatoe salad, meatballs, and brownies. We were also given a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to enjoy with the picnic.

After our walk along the river, we went and checked out the maze and the horses. It was a lovely day trip and I highly recommend one takes a day to enjoy all that the winery has to offer.

Having said that, I would not drive all that way just for the wine, and if you only have one day in Cape Town, then this would not be the top of my list. But, if you are a local and have been to many wineries and have not made the effort to drive out to Doolhof, do so, and call in advance to see if you can book a picnic while there. If not, see if they will let you take your own. Relaxing at this place was what I enjoyed the most!!! It really is a lovely, tranquil and friendly wine estate.

Knorhoek Winery

On my way back from Stellenbosch I had time to visit one more winery for the day. I decided to stop off at Knorhoek Winery. There is a nice outdoor and indoor area to enjoy your tasting. The view from the patio was beautiful with the mountains in the back ground.

A tasting costs R20 here.

I only had time to try three wines, so I chose the Sauvignon Blanc 2012 at R48 a bottle. It was very smooth and had a gorgeous fruity/tropical aroma, it was a little tart, had a slight banana and pineapple taste, I wasn't keen on the aftertaste. It is a nice wine however and is very soft for a Sauvignon Blanc! It has a lot of fruity flavours coming through and it lingers for a long time afterwards.

Next I tried the Chenin Blanc 2010 which was very yellow in colour, had a fruity aroma, yet was dry on the palate. It was interesting!! Almost a little complex. The colour, smell and taste confused me. From the colour you expect something more oaked, from the smell you expected something sweeter and then it is dry on the palate. So yeah, I found it complex :-p

Last but not least, I tried the Pantere 2007 which is a Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a rich smell of licorice/cigar box/spicy/dark berries/dried fruit. It was dark crimson in colour. A soft/rounded wine. Had medium-heavy body. A lot of flavour!! It had a lingering finish. It is a good food wine. I think it may be one to cellar or decanter? It was an interesting/complex wine!!

The service was ok here. I felt the attitude of the chick serving was not ideal. It was like she was a bit over the place or the job. Perhaps it was because it was the end of the day? But she was kind enough to do a tasting with me considering I was there 30 min before closing. She made the comment that I had missed the deadline for a full tasting and that she could serve me three wines to try. I therefore got the impression that you need to get there at least an hour before closing to enjoy a full tasting.

The closing time of a winery always puzzles me. Should a winery put it's closing time as 4pm if they want to close at 5pm? Or should people respect that if a winery closes at 5pm then it means you must come at 4pm to do a tasting before they close? Or if a winery states that it closes at 5pm, do you think you can rock up anytime before 5pm and expect a full tasting? I shall have to facebook this to see what others think...

Overall, it's a nice winery. I will go back to try more wine and allow more time for a tasting :-)

Slaley Winery

Today I decided to quickly pop in to Slaley Winery on my way to an appointment. I didn't have my camera on me so sadly have no photos. Be sure to check out their website http://www.slaley.co.za/ for more information and images of their winery.

I was so surprised when I was inside the building. It is so modern and stylish. They have a nice outdoor area to relax and enjoy a wine or cocktail.

I did a quick wine tasting here. They charge R20 for a tasting and if you purchase wine they waive the fee.

They have quite a wide range of wine to try, however, they tend to only have 5 wines open at any one time. You therefore can't really choose the wines you want to try, but rather try what is open.

I tried the following:


Broken Stone Sauvignon Blanc 2009 at R50 a bottle: It's not your typical SB. It is soft, with stone fruit aromas. Has a slight peach and stone fruit flavour. Soft, rounded wine. Slight tart aftertaste, which lingers.
Slaley Chardonnay 2010 at R80 a bottle: Slight pear aroma, soft, light, approachable wine. Spent 8-10 months in barrels.

Broken Stone Pinotage 2006 at R65 a bottle: Cherry/red plum colour. Soft, rounded, very pleasant to drink. Light. I wonder if decantering would be advised for this wine? It's quite light, no major flavours coming through. A bit non-descript yet nice. For a Pinotage it is pleasantly soft and not dry! Not a heavy wine either. I was so intrigued by this wine and curious to try it again, so bought a few bottles to try it again on another day.

Broken Stone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 at R65 a bottle: Dark red/brown colour. Can see it's an older wine. Musky feel on the palate, smooth, lingering aftertase, slightly dry. Wasn't my cup of tea. It had an "aged"taste to it and was a bit tart.

Slaley Shiraz 2004 at R110 a bottle: Cherry red/brown. Smells like a port or dessert wine. Is a little dry. Had lovely character.

Overall I enjoyed my experience at Slaley. It was fantastic to have Shaun do the tasting as he knows a lot about wine and could therefore provide an informative tasting. He had a very relaxed approach and I found he spoke to your level of wine knowledge, it was very well done.

I am looking forward to going back again and relaxing on the deck with some friends and wine :-)