Strong flavoured fish and seafood, mild curries such as bobotie and chicken korma, and some Asian foods.
The world’s first White Pinotage!
“The paradox of this wine is that the eye belies the other senses! Making white wine from red grapes using South Africa’s unique Pinotage grape. Whole bunch pressing prevented the juice from obtaining colour from the skins. Barrel fermented and matured for eleven months with lees stirring gives this wine a slightly creamy, nutty character to balance the tropical pineapple fruit and banana flavours.”
Spicy Asian Foods as well as seafood, shellfish, chicken, veal and pork
4* Platter Guide
The grapes were crushed and pressed and the free run Viognier juice settled overnight before being run into second-fill French oak white wine barrels. Half the barrels were inoculated while the other half underwent “wild”, un-inoculated fermentation. About half the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine was matured on the lees for 6 months before being bottled. Pale marigold in colour, clear and bright with a pronounced greenish hue. The nose is exotic with expressive apricot, spring blossom and creamy citrus underlined by a smoky, gunflint minerality. These flavours follow through onto the palate which is dense with crushed fresh fruit, succulent juiciness and finishes with a mineral steeliness which makes this wine ideal with food.
Game Fish, Game Birds, Poultry.
5* in Platter's Guide.
The grapes for this wine were harvested at optimum ripeness, hand sorted, crushed and destemmed. The juice was immediately pressed and cold settled for 2 days at 55ºF. Half was fermented in stainless steel tanks and half was fermented in 400 litre French barrels. After fermentation the wine was left on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks/wood barrels for 9 months. Hints of tropical fruit on the nose. This wine has a firm acidity showing mineral flavours on the finish. Light to pale straw. Inviting complex and intriguing floral aromas with pear and citrus. On the palate crisp minerality and stone fruit as well as a pithy texture and a subtle lingering finish, fresh and elegant with unravelling layers.
Roasted or grilled beef or lamb
Cabernet Sauvignon 42%, Cabernet Franc 30%, Merlot 15%, Malbec 13%
The blue colour scheme of this Marvelous label hopefully serves as a stylistic prompt, perhaps leading one to Aquitaine on the mid-Atlantic coast of France. Cool tranquility and a certain aristocratic restraint. These qualities are portrayed in this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec. I love the crunchy aromatics, herbal flavours and classy texture of these varieties. We’ve sourced fruit from cooler sites in both Elgin and the Polkadraai ward of Stellenbosch, which enjoys the moderating influence of False Bay.The winemaking is simple. Fermentation relying on punch downs in open top fermenters,as well as closed tanks using pump-overs to wet the fermenting cap and thus extract colour and flavour. Once dry, the wines were transferred to neutral oak barrels in order to mature and transform over a period of roughly 11 months before blending and bottling preparation. Rich and brooding in appearance, the nose exhibits wonderfully fresh aromatic notes of cassis, menthol, and a savoury cedar wood note.The palate is full bodied and complex, with a gentle tannin profile of ripe, mouth-watering texture. The delicious finish is marked by a distinct note of freshness.
Slow cooked beef stew, Grilled Steak with blue cheese sauce
Bright garnet colour with a nose like grandma's make-up box; violet, waxy, with a powdery sensation at the back of the nose. The mouth delivery on the violet aroma's and brings fresh clean cranberry and field strawberry flavours.
Hearty Beef dishes
Exotically spiced and stewed dark red fruits with aged leafy compost, grandpa’s tobacco and macho flint.
Bacon and papaya salad, seafood dishes, lemon and herb chicken dishes.
Over the years, while tasting through Chardonnay barrels in their underground cellar, they came upon some barrels displaying the most attractive vanilla notes. Curiosity led them on a journey, exploring the source of this distinctive vanilla profile, and the seed was sown to capture this enchanting essence in a bottle. Vines are nestled in broken shale soil and Chardonnay grapes with peachy flavours are selected for good flavour intensity. Carefully selected oak is chosen for the months of maturation. White oak roasted at specific temperatures releases vanillin which marries with the tropical Chardonnay fruit to push the vanilla-like flavours to the front. The colour is pale yellow. On the nose you get a combination of fruits like melon, mango, peach, pineapple and passion-fruit with butterscotch, crème brulee and a distinct note of Vanilla. On the palate you get peaches, a touch of zesty lime and a pleasant, lingering flavour of Vanilla to finish off with.
Delicate fish, vegetables dishes and cheese
Silky smooth and medium-bodied with green apple and white pear on the nose. Balanced and well-structured with tropical fruit and hints of apricot,pineapple and honey on the palate which linger on the after taste.
An ideal summer wine that pairs excellently with Waldorf salad, grilled seafood and sushi, or simply on its own.
The grapes were hand picked from low yielding bush vines, averaging 31 years for the Chenin Blanc. Sun ripened straw in colour. A compelling nose of winter melons, floral gardens and savoury notes. Warm honey-spiced fruit further compliments the nose. The palate is characterised by tropical fruits, floral notes and spice from late harvested grapes. A lively acidity balances the fruit, resulting in a crisp finish.
Braai/BBQ, Bobotie.
With multiple layers of red fruits. Rounded fruity palate and soft tannins making this an easy to drink red wine. Enjoy all year round, including chilled on a hot summer's day.
Braai/BBQ, Bobotie.
The grapes are hand- harvested at optimal ripeness. They are then destalked, crushed and fermented for 7 days on their skins in open fermenting tanks. The average fermentation temperature is 25-30° C. After fermentation the skins are pressed in traditional basket presses. The free run and pressed juices are combined and Malolactic fermentation spontaneously takes place in the tank. The wine was racked and matured in new 225l oak barrels (80% French, 20% American) for 12 months. After barrel maturation the wine was blended (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot), fined and bottled. The wine has a deep rend colour. A smooth, easy drinking red wine to be enjoyed now. A lighter style Cabernet blend. The herby, berry character of the Cabernet Sauvignon is apparent and complimented by the fruitiness of the merlot. To be enjoyed now, but can be aged for another 2 – 3 years.
red meat dishes like stews, steaks, roasts
‘‘I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living.’’ Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama (c.1460 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea; linking Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. Da Gama’s first expedition left Lisbon in July 1497 and followed the route pioneered by earlier explorers along the west coast of Africa, before heading into the open ocean and crossing the Equator to seek the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias had discovered a decade earlier. For over three months da Gama and his crew sailed for more than 10,000 kilometres before they successfully made landfall on the African coast on 4 November. It was from here that they headed east to the Orient. The spices obtained from their expedition were all new to Europe and resulted in a commercial monopoly for the Portuguese for decades to come. But a century on, both the British and the Dutch challenged and eventually broke Portugal’s naval supremacy for the route around Africa. Da Gama never set out to colonise the Cape and neither is there evidence of him ever having populated the land with vines. But if he had, the complexion of the South African vineyards might well be influenced more by Iberian rather than French varieties. In reality, the modern era of Touriga in the Cape is as recent as the mid-1990s. It remains the most revered Portuguese grape, especially in respect of fortified wines. Deeply coloured, concentrated and tannic, Touriga is also distinguished by its fragrance and perfume.