Klein Roosboom

A wine friend and I visited two wineries in Durbanville area today; Hillcrest and Klein Roosboom.

The last time I went to Klein Roosboom was on my birthday a few years ago, and prior to that when they had a Sauvignon Blanc wine festival in 2011. When my friend suggested we go there today I thought it was about time I revisited the place.

We walked in and went all the way down to the end of the tasting room. As we walked through the room, past the long table in the middle of the room, struggling to get past, we looked in to each room on the side, where people could enjoy a tasting in "private". As I walked past each room and peered in to see how each room was uniquely decorated, I felt like I was walking through a brothel. It was weird. So weird, I didn't take photos of the rooms, it didn't seem right to peer in to a room and take a photo of the people in the room. The concept is cool, but it just had a weird feeling as you look in and people look up at you, wishing you weren't looking.

After walking all the way in to the tasting room, struggling to get past the tables and the staff serving them, we walked all the way back out, yet again looking in to every room with different themes in each one, and sat outside for our tasting. I felt much better once outside. It was spacious and lighter than inside.

My friend Janine

My friend had done a sabrage last time she was at this winery, so we asked to do it this time also, which we did. You pay for the bottle of MCC and to experience the sabrage is at no extra cost. It was awesome getting to do it with the sabor and the MCC was delicious too. They had sold out of their own MCC, so they alternate with various MCCs in the area. This in my opinion is pretty dam cool that they are willing to show a neighbours wine at their own tasting room. I take my hat off to them. There are few wineries that would do this. The MCC was very delicious also. Next time we visit I look forward to tasting the Klein Roosboom MCC.

The tasting was amazing. The guy serving us was so passionate and enthusiastic and informative. The wines were ok, but not great enough to buy a bottle. Last time I visited this place I thought the Sauvignon Blanc was nice and did buy a bottle that time. As you would know, wine is one of those things that is subjective, and not everyone is going to like the same wine. I loved the experience here so much that I would still come back.

We followed the tasting with a cheese and charcuterie board. This was divine.

This is a very nice option for if you are visiting the Durbanville wine region. We had a great time and hope you will too.

Chris Alheit Cartology

Today was one of those days that I got to tick off a box from my bucket list. I got to meet Chris Alheit at his winery and taste his wines. What a treat, what an experience and what an honour.

I was lucky to get this opportunity as I had offered to drive a guest from Japan to visit some wineries in the Hemel-en-Arde wine route while she was here in SA.

Through her involvement in the wine industry in Japan, she was invited to see a few of the top winemakers in SA, one of which was Chris Alheit.


We started off with a cellar tour, he showed us the different vessels he uses and explained the way he makes his wines.

Chris uses a minimal interference wine making style where he leaves the grapes to do the talking. He simply guides the grapes in to the bottle.







We then went through to the office to taste his wines. We started with the two Flotsam and Jetsam wines. The Cinsault is one of my favourite red wines here in SA. It is super easy to drink, juicy, vibrant and fantastic with or without food.

The other favourites of mine were the..... Cartology, Magnetic North, La Colline Vineyard and the Hemelrand Vine Garden. All of these wines are made in very small quantities. They are hard to come by so if you find a bottle in the store, buy it, immediately! His wines sell out FAST!

If you ever get the chance to meet and/or taste Chris Alheit's wine, you must take the opportunity with open arms. If you don't get the opportunity to taste with him, then be sure to either buy yourself a bottle of his wine to enjoy at home or next time you see it at a restaurant, order it, you won't be disappointed. His wines are breathtaking.

Lynx

Today I was very lucky to have a private cellar tour and tank tasting during harvest, with the winemaker Helgard van Schalkwyk.

We started off by tasting the bottled Lynx Rose which was followed by various tank samples of the Lynx Rose in the cellar. It was interesting to see how the colour of the wine varies depending on whether it has started fermentation, is half way through fermentation or has completed fermentation. If I remember correctly, the wine went lighter in colour after fermentation. 

Lynx Rose before and after fermentation

We tasted some red wines from barrel and then finished in the tasting room to go through the rest of the range. We were really spoiled and this was truly such an awesome experience. I was really surprised to see they use a basket press in the cellar and that they have the old fashion fermentation tanks. This winery is far more back to basics in their wine-making style than I realised.

Helgard is a really lovely person, very down to earth, friendly and passionate about his work. I mean, who agrees to meet someone on a Sunday at work, to show them what they are working on? :-p But he appeared to love every moment, so I think that says a lot about his passion and enthusiasm for the job.

I have been to this winery on one other occasion which was during the Uncorked wine festival, where they had tastings in the tasting room, live music outside and a food truck serving Mexican food. It was a lovely set up and very relaxed.

I can highly recommend visiting Lynx. The building is simple but the service is superb and the wines are fantastic. Be sure to check it out.

Bouchard Finlayson

I have had an interesting relationship with Bouchard Finlayson winery. The first time we visited was around 5 years ago, and it wasn't a great experience. Then through SASA I attended a Bouchard Finlayson tasting with Peter Finlayson and it was amazing. We tried 12 different wines, some the same wine from different vintages, some of his CWG wines and some international wines for comparison.

Mr Finlayson was so kind, informative and generous. We tasted wines in four flights and with canapes courtesy of The Open Door.

After such a great experience, I decided to go back to the winery again. The place was busy as it was over Christmas but we had a great tasting and the Pinot Noirs really stood out for me. I also loved the Crocodiles Lair Chardonnay.

My thoughts on this winery has changed. If you are really in to your wine go here. Buy wine to age and to enjoy with food. Buy the wine to enjoy at special ocassions and with special people. These wines are classic and a must have in your cellar.

Wijnskool

It was nice to get back in to some wineries this weekend, while spending a weekend in Hermanus. One place on my list was Wijnskool, as I was a big fan of Bartho Eksteen's wines at HPF so I had to see what he was up to now with his own winery.

Sadly Bartho was not at the winery the day I visited, but we were happy to do the tasting with his son Pieter Willem.  About 5 or 6 years ago when we did a vertical tasting of HPF #3 Sauvignon Blanc, Bartho's son also did the tasting with us. Since then, he has finished university and is very hands on, working with his father at Wijnskool.It was awesome to see what he has achieved in the past few years.

The Eksteen family are fun, friendly and very passionate about wine and the industry. The same comes through in the wine. They put a lot of energy and focus in to what they are making and it shows.

Their purpose in what they are trying to achieve in their wines comes through, they have a set goal and style in mind and they go out to achieve that.

View from the tasting room

View from the tasting room

View of the tasting room from the car park

The tasting room is very humble and rustic. It is in a lovely setting. It is very relaxing and calming.




We sat inside for our tasting to start with and moved outside once the group had left.  Bartho's son told us many stories and it was great to catch up and see what they were doing post HPF.


The wines were lovely and you can feel comfortable ordering any of their wines from a wine list.

Out on the patio you can sit and enjoy the tasting

I don't have my tasting notes on me now. I will upload these as soon as I find them. In the meantime, what I can tell you from memory, is their Sauvignon Blanc rocks. We had it blind at a tasting a few months ago, and from the nose, I was almost convinced it was a NZ Sauvignon Blanc due to the pronounced tropical fruit aromatics. It is a beauty and worth finding a bottle.

Kleinood

I contacted the winery an hour in advance to let them know I was wanting to come for a tasting. They were very accommodating and happy for me to come through.

I was greeted by Jessica in the tasting room, and was led to a map on the wall. She explained that the farm is 12 hectares, 10 of which vines have been planted and two are planted with olive trees. When the farm was purchased in 2000, extensive soil tests were done and it was decided that Syrah would be the ideal grape here. 8 of the 10 hectares have been planted with Syrah, 1 hectare is for Viognier and another hectare for Mourvedre.

The wine farm is called Kleinood which is an Afrikaans word meaning small and precious. The wine however is called Tamboerskloof which I found interesting. I asked Jessica why the wine was called this and she explained that the owners used to live in the Tamboerskloof area in Cape Town for 25 years and with their fondness and memories from this area they decided to name their wine Tamboerskloof. Tamboerskloof means the valley of the drums.

We then sat down at the long table in the tasting room and tasted three wines. Here are my notes on the wines:

Tamboerskloof Rose is 100% Syrah (R76 a bottle). They use the free run juice of this grape to make the rose. Unlike many wineries, Kleinood doesn't use the leftover grape skins to make red wine. These grapes are designated for Rose. The wine was lovely, the aromatics were medim-pronounced in intensity. It had strawberries/red berrries on the nose, fresh, citrus and lime flavours. This wine was named after the owners daughter, Katharien.

Next we tasted the Tamboerskloof Viognier (R108 a bottle). This consists of 90% Viognier and 10% Roussanne.  They mature this wine in 300L and 500L old french oak barrels. This wine had a pronounced nose with fruit and spice. It was delicate, soft, light on the palate, with marmelade and spice on the finish. It needs to breathe and open up to get the full impact of body and flavour on the mid palate. Ideally you wouldn't want to serve this wine too cold either.

Tamboerskloof Syrah 2011 has 5% Mourvedre and 1% Viognier (R145 a bottle). Spent 20 months in barrel, 10-15% new oak. This had a deep ruby colour, was shy on the nose, smooth, savoury on palate, rich flavour, a little spicy, and a lovely mouth-feel. It was a very elegant wine.

The wines are all good quality and I feel very good value for the price.

On my way out, I admired the beautiful grounds just outside the tasting room. I wonder if they do tastings outside? It is very pretty!

A few weeks after this tasting, I dined at Il Leone restaurant with some friends and I chose a bottle of the Tamboerskloof Syrah to enjoy with our dinner. It was beautiful and all of us enjoyed the wine! I can highly recommend visiting this winery, and ordering a bottle at a restaurant. I truly feel you can't go wrong with any of their wines!

At the winery they also sell olive oil, which is made from their own olive trees. They sell this for R93 a bottle. With the wine tasting you get to try this also.

Vondeling - second visit

Today we were on our way to Riebeek Kasteel for a weekend away. On our way there we drove past Vondeling and I decided to stop for a tasting as it had been a few years since I last tasted their wine and my boyfriend had not been there before and I wanted to show him the place.

To see my notes from my first visit please go to http://westerncapewineries.blogspot.com/2013/04/vondeling.html

The place was quite busy. I found out that they had recently done a Groupon special where you can have lunch and wine tasting for a special price. The meal looked scrumptious and I was envious of all these Groupon customers!

On arrival the staff were very welcoming and polite. We were lead to the bar/counter to do the wine tasting and then Marian came to conduct the tasting with us. 

The tasting room here is humble and lovely. As it was during the winter months the fire place was going and everyone was happy to be inside.

The church is now finished making the venue even more ideal for a wedding, not to mention the views. There is a lovely outdoor area at the tasting room with views over the vineyards with the mountains in the not far distance.

Vondeling has a lovely range of wines and they are fairly priced. I can highly recommend coming out to Vondeling for a tasting. I am sure you will enjoy the charm, warmth and kind hospitality that the staff show here.

Tasting notes:
Vondeling Rose 2015 - 100% Merlot Rose. Pronounced nose, nice viscosity, red berries on the palate. Great fruit flavour with some spice. Very nice. R49.50 a bottle.

Vondeling Petit Blanc 2014 - 60% Chenin Blanc, 28% Chardonnay, 12% Viognier. Pretty floral character on the nose. Fresh flavours on the palate. It is fruity, green fruit to be more specific, with some lime that lingers on the finish. I liked this wine. R49.50 a bottle

Vondeling Sauvignon Blanc 2015. Sweet tropical fruit aromas including guava and gooseberry. It has intense flavour and reminds me of a NZ Sauvignon blanc. A lovely wine! R65 a bottle.

These first three wines turned out to be my favourite from the range. They are great value for money; you can't go wrong with these wines!

Vondeling Chardonnay 2013 - buttery, honey, butterscotch, heavy.
Vondeling Chardonnay 2014 - light aromatics, fresh, lighter in style to the 2013, pleasant.

Vondeling Barbera 2013 (flagship white) - 60% Chenin Blanc, 15% Grenache Blanc, 15% Viognier and 10% Chardonnay. Babiana is named after a flower on their property which is endemic to the area. When you visit this winery, you can see a photo of this flower on the wall. This wine has good body, has a slight waxy texture/mouth feel. Stone fruit flavour. This is a good wine. R135 a bottle.

Vondeling Petit Rouge 2014 - 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium intensity on the nose, black fruit flavours, good tannin structure, liquorice. Good depth in flavour. R49.50 a bottle.

Vondeling Baldrick Shiraz 2013 - 93% Shiraz, 6% Mourvedre and 1% Viognier. I wasn't a fan of the nose on this wine, it had a slight earthy/manure smell. It had good depth in colour, was smooth and had good concentration in flavour. More along the lines of dark fruit flavours. Tannins are present. R70 a bottle.

Vondeling Erica Shiraz 2011 - 86% Shiraz, 10% Grenache Noir, 3.6% Mourvedre and 0.4% Viognier. This had a beautiful (and pretty) nose, with some sweet notes of vanilla. It was spicy, a little dry (tannins) but not harsh or undrinkable. Violets and floral tones. R139 a bottle.

Vondeling Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 - lovely red fruit aromatics, with some slightly sweet spice and cigar hints on the nose. Lovely ripe fruit flavour, dry, and a little bit of spice. R102 a bottle.

After reading my previous post on this wine estate, I feel this one doesn't do it enough justice, in regards to the charm and warmth of this place. Please do read my post from the first visit as I hope it will encourage you to make the journey out to this estate.

Gin Tasting

Today I joined two others in a Gin tasting to see how the gins I have from overseas compare to what we can get locally here in South Africa. I have looked online for retail prices and then exchanged them in to Rand at today's exchange rate. I thought it would be good to see how they differ in regards to price.

South Gin (NZ) NZ$45.90 = R375
 - Had a candy character on initial taste and heaps of liquorice on the finish. Lingered for a long time!

Hendriks (Scotland) NZ$59.95 = R500
 - What really showed on this in comparison to the others is the texture. It was much thicker in consistency than the others. More floral on the nose. Candy, cucumber and botanicals on taste.

Uncle Vals (USA) US$45 = R560
- Cucumber on the nose. Citrus/marmalade on taste.
Woodstock (local) R180
- Prominent butterscotch on the nose. Good viscosity but not as much as Hendriks.

The Botanist (Scotland) NZ$75 = R630
 - not offensive on the nose or palate. Definitely the best sipping gin.

Tanqueray No. 10 (USA) NZ$73 = R630
 - pleasant nose, good viscosity, candy and citrus flavours.

Inveroche classic (local) R350
 - Citrus on the nose, nice viscosity, spearmint, alcohol wasn't offensive.

Bombay (England) NZ$48 = R400
 - like a slap in the face after the other gins. Not offensive on the nose however.
Inveroche Amber (local) R350
 - Cola on the nose.

This was a fun exercise! It was nice to be tasting something other than wine and to sit down and really understand the characteristics of gin. It seems the Uncle Vals which we only had a shot left of, was the favourite. Sadly I can't get more of that unless I go back to the US or someone brings me a bottle. The Woodstock was a stand out gin. The Botanist showed as the best sipping wine, the South Gin was a favourite in flavour, and the Hendriks won on viscosity. The Inveroche showed well against all these gins and made us proud to have a high quality local gin on the market. The Bombay was very much out of place!

I would love to get some more gins and do this again in a year's time. I wonder what wonderful gins we can find by then. It might be quicker, easier and cheaper to hit Mother's Ruin in Cape Town!?

Phizante Kraal

Well this was a surprise find on my doorstep! A friend of mine told me about a lovely breakfast she had at this winery (Phizantekraal) not far from where we live. Then one day, my boyfriend surprised me with a trip to Phizantekraal for breakfast.

This is not even 5 minutes drive from where we live and we have now dined here twice since finding out about it. The main building where the restaurant is, was built in the 1700's. They have built an extension for the tasting room. The place looks modern, smart and yet quaint and charming. I love the place.

My battery on my camera died when I wanted to take a photo of the building, so I have taken this photo from the Phizantekraal website. You can see the front part (the brick part) is the new extension to the original building  with the thatch roof in the back.

Here is a photo I took inside the restaurant. You can see they have a high ceiling and looks really nice with all the wooden columns: 

We had a very nice breakfast. The menu is small but there is something for everyone whether you want the good old bacon and eggs, something sweet like french toast or something warm and wintery like porridge. Our meals were nice and the service was fine, though they did take a while to bring the bill; I had to ask a few times for it.

There was a big group celebrating a Grandma's birthday on the day we dined here. I have to say this restaurant is ideal for couples, families, baby showers, birthday celebrations and more. It really does cater for everyone and the setting is so humble, low key and relaxed.

After breakfast we went through to the tasting room to try the wines. They have a wall of jars filled with different aromas for characters of wine. They have a big range of aromas like tobacco, aniceed, wet rocks, almonds plus many more. We spent a good amount of time smelling all the jars, it was a lot of fun.

This picture is from the Phizantekraal website. As you can see, the tasting room is very modern and has lovely big windows for you to enjoy the view. Like the day we visited the weather it was a bit dismal and it looks like it was the day this photo was taken too. I can imagine on a clear day the views must be very nice. Even when the weather wasn't great, the views were also lovely.

Now, getting to the wines, I was impressed. Apparently they have been selling off their grapes for a long time and still sell off a good portion, however they now make wine from their vines also. Quantities of wine production are low and the quality of the wine is very good, especially for the price.

Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (R58 a bottle): Medium to pronounced nose, more fruity in style. Light in body, medium - high acidity, green fruit - like granny smith applies - on the palate. Soft, creamy, and a little floral.

Chenin Blanc unwooded 2014 (R48 a bottle) had medium intensity on the nose, smelled like smelly cheese (strange I know). It was fruity on the palate with hints of peach, apricot, pineapple and pear. There was also a little bit of floral and some green characters to the wine like bell pepper and asparagus. It had medium acidity, medium body, and a good mouth feel. It was a pleasant wine. I had a glass of this wine when we dined here a week later. It went very nice with the curry dishes we had.

Chenin Blanc wooded (R85 a bottle) had a medium lemon colour, medium intensity on the nose. It had nice aromatics. On the palate I picked up fruity flavours including some hints of melon. This wine was soft, round mouthed, creamy, had medium body, medium - high acidity. It had lovely oak character with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The oak is subtle. This wine had flavours of apple, raisin, saltanas, nutmeg and custard. Reminded me of a bread and butter pudding. This wine also had some floral character to it. This wine was nice.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 was a medium ruby colour, had medium intensity on the nose and medium body. There were some soft wooden spices coming through on the nose and I picked up plums and some sweet characters on the nose also.It was soft, had lovely red fruit with some raspberry flavours and some spice on the palate. There was aniceed/liquorice, followed by a plastic feeling on the finish. Soft tannins, ready to drink now. This wine impressed me more than the reds and was nice. We had a bottle of this with our dinner on the next occassion we visited this winery. It is very good value for money and very pleasant with food.

Shiraz 2013 had a dark ruby colour. It had intense aromas with dark fruit character. This wine was soft, had hints of christmas fruit cake and a little bit of citrus (orange specifically). It had medium body, soft tannins, was rich and had good length. Again I was impressed with this wine. We had a bottle of this at the three course dinner also, again it went down well with our food. Our friends were really impressed by the wine and the price!

I am more of a white wine drinker, but the reds stood out for me more than the white wines. Which did surprise me considering Durbanville has become well known for their white wines. All of the wines are nice and very good value for money.

The tasting room manager did a good job of presenting the tasting. It was clear that she had been with the company for a while and knew the wines well. It was an informative tasting and she was very pleasant. The tasting costs R20.

Once a month they open their doors for dinner. It is a set three course dinner and themed. We attended the one in June which was a Middle Eastern Winter Flair for only R180 pp. The food was very nice, presentation was good and the timing of the dishes coming out was done nicely.

This is a photo of the starter we had. Aloo Tikka with Chutney & Pickled Radish. The food as you can see was nicely presented and creative also. This was a delicious meal! 

For our main the following dishes were placed in the middle of the table and everyone could help themselves, there was plenty to go around, the portions were generous.
Lamb & Sweet Potato Curry with Cashew Butter Paneer, Turkish Apricots, Rice & Lentil Pilaf, Buttered Naan.

For dessert we had Honey Orange Cake with Pistachio Cream. They served this with Masala Chai Tea which was delicious!

A bonus to dining here is that you get the wine at cellar door price!! The three course dinner was really good value for money and a lovely evening to catch up with friends. It is great to have another dining option in the Northern Suburbs.

If you are out this way, be sure to stop by. It really is a lovely place for a wine tasting, breakfast, lunch and dinner (the latter is by appointment only and you need to find out what date they are holding them)!

Tasting notes for Arendsig Grenache 2014

Today I tried the Arendsig Grenache 2014. Here are my tasting notes:

Appearance: Light in colour, ruby red, clear.
Nose: Clean, medium intensity, fruit
Palate: Dry, medium acidity, low tannin, light/medium body, fruit and spice. Short finish.

Conclusion: This is a very good wine. This wine had a beautiful light colour. It is nice, soft and light on the palate. Fruit and spice flavour.

Wine Tasting Notes for Scali 2014 Sirkel Pinotage

Today I tried the Scali Sirkel Pinotage 2014. Here are my notes:

Appearance: It is quite light in colour, nice ruby red, clear.
Nose: Clean, light, spices, fruit
Palate: Dry, medium acidity, medium tannin, medium body. Little oak. Sweet spices like clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Red fruit like cranberry, plums and red cherries. Had a short finish.

Conclusion: A good wine. Acidity seems a bit high and needs time to settle. Otherwise a soft, fruity wine. A little bitter on the finish.

When I tried this wine blind at Publik Wine Bar, previous to the above tasting this was my opinion on the wine:
I tasted this blind and was very impressed by the intense, dark fruit and licorice flavours yet soft on the palate. It was an unexpectedly pleasant Pinotage!

This is what the winery has to say on their website:

"Expressive fresh, ripe raspberry and red fruit with a hint of sweet herbs. Youthful and elegant, this wine is ready to be enjoyed now".

De Grendel - second visit

Recently we went to De Grendel for a wine tasting as I thought it was time for a re-visit.

This is still a favourite wine estate of mine and I will gladly visit this winery again and again and again. The setting is beautiful from the moment you arrive at the gate. You drive up a long driveway lined with tall trees, and when you get to the cellar you are greeted with a modern and beautiful tasting room with beautiful views.

This winery has a cellar, tasting room and restaurant. The tasting room has outdoor and indoor seating with amazing views of table mountain in the not so far distance. It really is beautiful. The service is very good here, they are attentive and knowledgable about the wine, providing informative tastings.

There are two tasting options here. You can choose to taste all the wines for R50 or you can taste three wines for R20. Only there is one slight catch, if not all wines are available for tasting, you still pay the full amount. Also, if you want to taste the MCC Brut and/or the Chardonnay Op die Berg you pay an extra R20 for each wine.

I was impressed to see the length of their opening hours. It is great that you can come and do a tasting here up until 7pm Monday - Saturday. This is later than most wineries stay open until. Something to keep in mind when you are planning a day visiting wineries in Durbanville. Or even if you decide to visit wineries further afield, you can always come back via De Grendel to Cape Town, or finish here for dinner after a day visiting wineries.

Tasting hours:
Monday - Saturday 9am – 7pm
Sunday 10am – 4pm

They offer cheese and charcuterie platters at the tasting room. I have had the cheese platter on a previous visit, sharing with two others and felt it was really good value for money and delicious! These platters are R110 each.

Ok, so I decided to taste all the wines including the MCC Brut. For the record, I didn't find one wine which I didn't like! Across the board the De Grendel wines were very nice but it was the Merlot, NLH and Pinot Noir which caught my attention. Here are my tasting notes:

MCC Brut 2013 is R165 a bottle. It was nice, biscuity, complex yet approachable.

Pinot Gris 2014 is R75 a bottle. This was nice, light, had hints of apple and peaches.

Sauvignon Blanc 2015 is R80 a bottle. This had a beautiful nose, pleasant and typical fruit flavours for a SB, fair acidity, was elegant and smooth.

Unfortunately the Koetshuis SB 2014 was sold out so we couldn't taste this. It is R110 a bottle.

Viognier 2014 is R75 a bottle. This had a lovely floral nose, i particularly picked up violets in the bouquet. It was a pleasant tasting wine and had a good mouth feel.

Rose 2014 is R55 a bottle. This had a lovely aroma, was dry and fresh on the palate, and had black forest flavours.

Pinot Noir 2012 - Op Die Berg is R160 a bottle. This had a lovely nose with blackcurrants, berries and cherries. It was a nice Pinot Noir. This was my third favourite wine from this tasting.

Merlot 2013 is R110 a bottle. This was beautiful, elegant, soft and had lovely flavour. It had good tannin structure and had a little dry finish to it. This was my favourite from today's tasting, I was really impressed!!

Shiraz 2013 is R125 a bottle. It was herbacious and had licorice on the nose, smooth and spicy/peppery on the palate.

Last but not least we tasted the Noble Late Harvest 2014 at R110 a bottle. I am a sucker for dessert wines and this really impressed me! This NLH is made from Sauvignon Blanc. It had a sweet aroma of peach, orange rind and marmalade, with some lemon and olive notes also coming through on the nose. This was another favourite of mine from this tasting.

I can highly recommend visiting this estate, they have beautiful views, good service, great wine and apparently they have a really top restaurant! I still need to come and dine here to find out for myself.