The High Road

After visiting Dalla Cia, I figured I might as well tick off one more winery while in the area and stopped at the tasting room at High Road.

I wasn't sure if this winery was by appointment only or if you can walk in anytime, so I walked in and a lady was upstairs in the office. It turns out I was in luck, as she had some free time.

We went downstairs to do the tasting. The lady serving us was very pleasant, had been with the brand for a while so could speak confidently about the wine and made us feel very welcome.

We tasted the Classique 2010 at R115 a bottle. This is 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. It had lovely sherry/port/sweetish tones on the nose. It was light on the palate, had soft tannins and wasn't dry. It didn't have a lot of flavour. It was soft, a little spicy and approachable.

Then we tasted the Director's Reserve at R245 a bottle. This is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. It had a soft overripe fruit nose, was soft on the palate, had pleasant flavour, soft tannins, good fruit, dry, good finish, ripe flavours.

Both of these wines are Bordeaux blends and vintage specific. They buy in the grapes from the Helderberg, Devon Valley and Poladraai regions. 

Dalla Cia at Pane E Vino

The other day I needed to drop off wine samples to ViniLab so I quickly popped in to Pane E Vino to see what the Dalla Cia wine was like.

It costs R55 to taste all 4 wines. The waitress brings four glasses, pours each wine, tells you what each one is (i.e Sauv blanc, Chard etc) and leaves you to taste.

Dalla Cia Sauvignon Blanc 2014 is R125 a bottle. This had lovely tropical fruity and crisp aromas, it lacked body. It had a fresh finish, acidity was balanced, floral tones on the finish. Subtle fruit flavour. Overall a pleasant and fresh drinking wine.

Dalla Cia Chardonnay 2013 is R162 a bottle. It had an oxidative nose, light barrel character, light buttery and creamy yet fresh finish and fresh flavour on the palate. Round mouth feel but light. Overall a pleasant and fresh wine.

Dalla Cia Classico Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 at R189 a bottle. Typical Cab Sauv with that cigar box and spices on the nose. It was dry, medium bodied, shy (needs time or food?), tannins are prominent, chocolate tones and not much fruit on the palate. It was overall ok, a bit dry and lacked character.

Dalla Cia Giorgio 2011 at R295 a bottle had a sweet port/sherry nose, was light on the palate, a little spicy, little dry, balanced but again not much flavour. Overall it was ok, balanced but nothing exciting.

Pane E Vino was a nice looking restaurant, it looked like a deli/bakery kind of cafe. It had a nice atmosphere and the staff were pleasant and friendly. I didn't eat here, so I cannot comment on the food. The overall experience was fine but you don't come here for the views, vineyards, cellar etc. It is simply for the convenience of being able to try the Dalla Cia wine here (and the food if you eat here).

Springfield - tasting notes

Recently I was at Buratta and my friends ordered a Wild Yeast Chardonnay from Springfield. I was really impressed with this wine. Then I was at Schoon Oordt in Swellendam and I was introduced to the Miss Lucy which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Pinot Gris, this was also very nice.

When I found myself staring at the whole range of Springfield wines at Delish in Heidelberg, I decided to try more from their range. I purchased the Life From Stone, Reserve Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir 2010. Out of all of them, the Pinot Noir impressed me the most, the two Sauvignon Blancs were quite similar and neither jumped out at me as a wow Sauvignon Blanc. The Newstead 2014 Sauvignon Blanc is still my favourite at the moment.

Here are my tasting notes of the three Springfield wines:

Life from Stone
Pick up minerality, green tones, a bit of asparagus, guava, creamy and fruitiness on the nose. Yes I could smell the creaminess of the wine. Sure enough on the palate it was soft and creamy, it had good body and I picked up flavours similar to Feijoa on the palate. I didn't enjoy the taste of the wine. There was a bit of acidity on the finish. I think this is best drunk ice cold.

The Reserve Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc didn't have so much to offer on the nose, but what I did pick up was similar to the Life from Stone, only it was very faint. This wine was lighter on the palate and had more freshness. It had lovely tropical fruit flavours and the acidity on this was balanced. It was a pleasant Sauvignon Blanc.

Pinot Noir 2010 had a glazed cherry smell, was light on the body, had very little tannins, was light in flavour and on the finish. It was a non-offensive light red wine with a little sharp feeling right on the finish. It lingers quite nicely. Not a bad wine at all. I would buy another bottle of this wine.