Winemaker Notes
The Kaapse Vonkel Brut is ready to drink upon release. It is ideal with brunch on a lazy Sunday morning or accompanying sushi, duck or almond cake. Obvious pairings include oysters, seafood and various lighter fares.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
By Champagne standards, the 2015 Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Sparkling Wine is quite a well-made and classic effort. With its mix of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a little bit of Pinot Meunier, this bubbly offers beautiful aromas and flavors of green apples, savory earth, and complex yeastiness. The wine's crisp finish invites a plate of grilled oysters. (Tasted: September 13, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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Tasting Panel
A very impressive sparkler from South Africa that blends Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a bit of Pinot Meunier; clean, fresh, and round with elegance and finesse
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.