Winemaker Notes
The aromas are very complex and change considerably in the glass. Perfume, spice, tea, stone fruit and citrus blossoms are some of the notes that can be detected. In the mouth the texture and ripeness and gentle tannins result in a wine that has incredible length and complex flavor profile. The wine also has wonderful fruit volume characterized by stone fruit and mineral flavors. The finish is long and has slight phenolic edges supporting the fruit through the entire length of the wine.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This has developed beautifully, exhibiting an open-textured profile, featuring notes of roasted pineapple, hazelnut and fenugreek. Exotic flavors are supported by the firm acidic backbone flowing through, connecting all the elements and keeping this focused. Shows a long streak of sel gris on the finish that invites you back for more. Chenin Blanc, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon, Viognier and Colombard. Best from 2021 through 2034.
-
Wine & Spirits
Adi Badenhorst bases this blend on old-vine dry-farmed chenin blanc, then adds an array of other old-vine white grapes to the blend—the 2016 includes roussanne, grenache blanc, viognier, verdelho, grenache gris, clairette, semillon and palomino. It’s a wild, opulent white, the nutty notes and rich yellow-apple flavors countered with an elec- tric streak of lemon-pithy acidity. Sunny and cool at once, with a salty, stony savor, it’s a grand white wine, to decant now for buttery seafood dishes or to age for another decade.
-
Wine Spectator
This has developed beautifully, exhibiting an open-textured profile, with notes of roasted pineapple, hazelnut and fenugreek. Exotic flavors are supported by the firm acidic backbone flowing through, connecting all the elements and keeping this focused. There’s a long streak of sel gris on the finish that invites you back for more. Chenin Blanc, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Sémillon, Viognier and Colombard. Best from 2021 through 2034. 431 cases made, 250 cases imported.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.