Beau Constantia

Beau Constantia                                                                  

Today we went to Beau Constantia to check out this new winery and the views! It is a very nice modern building, tasting room and the views are lovely.

The tasting room is mostly made of glass, allowing you to enjoy the views while you do your tasting.

We decided to do the wine and food pairing. I have to admit it is quite expensive, but it is a fun way to try the wine. I saw on facebook that they change the canapes weekly using a different theme each time. This week the theme was mexican.

Canapes and wine tasting is R135 per person.

I do recommend visiting this winery, the wine is good, the service was fine, and the overall experience was nice.

My notes on the wine:

Sauvignon Blanc (and a touch of Viognier plus Semillon) at R75 a bottle.

It was dry, fresh, light tropical fruit flavours, citrus, little acidic. Ok

Viognier 2013 R130 a bottle. 5 months 30% new oak. Floral, fruity, pear with the food it was a bit acidic.

Pas de Nom Red 2011 (66% Petit Verdot 17% Malbec 17% Merlot) at R85 a bottle. Nice nose and taste. Dark berry and fruit flavours. Little dry with slight powdery tannins. Like. Quite  abold wine but not heavy in body.

Beau Constantia Lucca 2011 (63% Merlot 37% Cabernet Franc) at R190 a bottle. Lovely berry flavours. Soft yet the intense Cabernet Franc dominates in flavour and on the finish. Quite intense. Good wine. Lovely soft fruity nose. Best with food – it reduces the intensity  and you then get more of the soft fruit driven characteristics. 18 months French oak. 85% new oak. I like it.

Pas de Nom Rose 2013 (Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Franc) R60 a bottle 3 hours on the lees. Lovely colour, dry, little spicy finish with the matching food. Soft, smooth, like.

Beau Constantia Aidan 2011 (Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot) at R190 a bottle. 18 month French oak. Smooth, med-full body wine. Like.

Constantia Uitsig

We came here on the day of my 30th birthday celebrations. This was a must visit winery for me on this special day. We enjoyed a wine tasting here and tasted the following wines:

MCC Blanc de Blanc Brut 2010 at R245 a bottle. Lovely fresh fruity flavours, slight yeast taste, off-dry, very pleasant. Nice.

Chardonnay Unwooded 2012 at R90 a bottle. Has a nutty nose, lovely stone fruit flavours on the palate, fresh, balanced wine, lovely lingering finish, like it. Medium body, tastes and smells wooded. Very fine wine.

Sauvignon Blanc 2012 at R90 a bottle. Green asparagus and capsicum taste. Quite sharp and acidic. Needs time to rest. The 2011 was settled nicely, was softer and not as green.

White Blend 2012 (65% Semillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc) at R140 a bottle. Very smooth, round, balanced. Semillon is wooded 7 months. Danie and I both liked this wine.

Semillon 2011. Upfront stone fruits and peaches with fresh finish. Quite a dry finish. The flavour doesn't linger. Quite an abrupt finish. Danie and I both liked it.

Constantia Red 2009 at R130 a bottle. Lovely on the nose and on the palate, smooth, little rough on the edges (let it sit for a year or so), little dry, pleasant, light-medium body.

As per my last visit the service was good, the wine was delicious and the prices this time were awesome as they had a special on!! We were able to buy some older vintages of each wine also which made the experience more interesting and exciting.

I still highly recommend visiting this winery. Be sure to book a table in advance at one of the restaurants so you can enjoy a meal while here!! 

Oak Valley

Today we decided to spend the day in Elgin visiting wine estates. The first place we visited was Oak Valley Estate.

This estate is really beautiful!! As you walk up from the car park you take in the beautiful tall trees, pool and then walk in to the tasting room.

I found the service a little cold here, but it was fine nonetheless.

We thoroughly enjoyed the views from the tasting room and spent a lot of time taking photos

We tasted the Sauvignon Blanc 2011, it had intense aromas on the nose with white peach and fresh grass and same on the palate. It had a green taste including capsicum, lemon, lime, and granny smith apples.

We also got to try the 2010. It was not as intense on the nose, was very sharp with lime tones, I didn't like it.

Chardonnay 2012 had a nice light oak nose. It was smooth, round-mouthed, slight honey, granny smith apple on the palate, it was nice. It was a little zesty on the finish.

White Blend was 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillon. This was also green in style, smooth, had hints of capsicum. It had a round mouth feel. I didn't like this wine, it was ok.

Rose was 100% Shiraz, it had a sweet strawberry nose, gorgeous cherry colour, smooth, not a fan of the taste.

Pinot Noir 2012 I liked the nose, there was a little mocha, blackcurrents, dark cherry. Little dry, stem taste, and oak. Medium body. I liked this wine!!

Merlot Cabernet has 56% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Cabernet Franc. It was in oak barrels for 18 months,  It had a gorgeous strong fruity, dark berry nose. It was medium - heavy in body. Nice taninns. It had a nice taste, it was a bold wine. I liked this wine. It is ready to drink now.

Shiraz 2011 spent 12 months in barrels, only 10% new oak. It had a nice berry, fruity nose. It was a little dry, light-medium body, probably needs time, dark chocolate taste, I liked it, it was nice.

I recommend visiting this wine estate when you visit Elgin. It has a nice setting, location, wine tasting and the wine was good (sadly just a little pricy).