Today we visited Spookfontein for a wine tasting. You need to make an appointment to do a wine tasting. It is so worth the visit, so be sure to call ahead and make a date!!
Craig the winemaker did the wine tasting with us in the cellar and it was just great!!
He showed us the egg shaped concrete barrels he uses. He also showed us the crystals he uses in his wine to bring calmness to his wine. It was great to listen to him talk about his beliefs, way of doing things and behind the scene information on how he makes his wine. We learnt a lot from this tasting with Craig.
Not only was the wine tasting interesting but the wine is really good also!! Be sure to try not only the Spookfontein wine but also Craigs wine under the label Elemental Bob. This is really good wine, and we can't wait to stock up on his wine once it is bottled!!
We tried the Spookfontein Phantom which is a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This was my favourite of the Spookfontein wine. It has a very nice smell, lovely flavours, not so dry, its smooth, velvety, I like it!! We opened a bottle of this wine on the weekend at a friends place and enjoyed it with dinner and it was very nice!!
The Spookfontein Merlot 2006 was more fruity than the Phantom and it was a little dry. Both these red wines are only R70 a bottle and I think this is a steal!! I am certainly going to stock up before they sell out!!
From the Elemental Bob range we tried the Sauvignon Blanc 2012 which I found had an interesting taste for a Sauvignon Blanc. It was smooth, a little dry, had nice flavours which were very subtle. The Elemental Bob Pinot Blanc 2012 was a new varietal he was experimenting with. It was very smooth, had a very nice fruity flavour and mineral aftertaste. I liked this. The Elemental Bob Pinot Noir 2012 was fresh and nice. The Elemental Bob Shiraz 2012 with 8% Pinot Noir had an interesting smell, lovely flavour, spices on the palate and I just loved it.
We then tried the Spookfontein Merlot 2012 from the barrels, this was very smooth and fresh with a dry aftertaste. It was not so fruity or full of flavour but still very nice.
The last wine we tried was the Spookfontein Port from the tank, this was a NV as he used 2008,2009, 2010 grapes. It is made from Merlot grapes and is very nice.
It was a really awesome experience doing the tasting with Craig. It was great trying both the Spookfontein wine and his own wine under the label Elemental Bob, and it was cool trying wine from the barrel and steel tanks.
The Elemental Bob wine was not bottled yet. We are
super keen to stock up on his wine once it is bottled.
Craig was kind enough to let us buy some of his wine from the barrels. What was cool about this is that he let us put the cork in our own bottled wine. So he got out the manual cork presser and we each had a go at putting a cork in the wine we bought. It also added to our wine tasting experience here.
The Spookfontein wines are finished with a wax top. He does each bottle by hand. With this winery being relatively small a lot of things are done manually and with a lot of time and love.
They are still building the tasting room. I like the shape of the building and the views are really nice up there too!!!
At the moment there is roadworks being done on the road and it is very hard to find Spookfontein. I therefore decided to take some photos to help you find this place. As you drive along the road towards Creation you will go through road works. Before you get to the end of these roadworks you will see a building on your right with a red roof. Look for this on your right and then you will see the gate to Spookfontein just after it. The gate has an A4 sign saying Cellar on it. If you get as far as Ataraxia, then you have gone too far.
Do yourself a favour and book
a tasting with Craig, I am sure you will appreciate the tasting just as
much as we did. This truly is an up and coming winery with great wines!!
