SA Winery Visit #4 — Muratie

Posted on May 2, 2014 by melsmosaic

We were very fortunate on our winery tour because there were only 3 people in the group (vs up to 16). Our guide was also amazing. Based on the great blend of people, the guide made sure that we fit 4 wineries into the day and finished the outing with an amazing vineyard. The close the tour, we visited Muratie in the Stellenbosch.

It’s one of the oldest estates in South Africa and that is evidenced by the amazing wine, stories and other things you see.

They have not cleaned spider webs off some things to maintain ambiance…nice.

At Muratie we were once again able to choose which wines we would like to sample, and shared amongst each other.

I started with the Melck’s Rose, which was made with Cab Franc. Nice, crisp and refreshing. And a steal at R45.

Next I went to their Laurens Campher (Blended White). It’s 46% Chenin Blanc, 25% Sauvignon Blanc, 19% Verdolho, 10% Viognier. Buttery was my take on it. R95.

Then I had a quick sip of their Lady Alice Methode Cap Classique. Was this beer? The reason I say that is that it tasty yeasty. R120.

Ok, red time!!! Started with the Melck’s Red, a 50/50 Shiraz/Cab blend. Just a nice, easy dinner wine. R50.

Moving down the line, next came the George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir. It had a black pepper nose and for the taste — a bit of green pepper, chocolate and some berries. Quite unique. R165.

Then came Shiraz time, Ronnie Melck Shiraz to be exact, from the family selection. NICE!!!!!! Normally it’s not available for tasting but we lucked out. Smoke, tobacco, smooth…very similar to a pinotage. Very worthy of the price of R350.

To wrap up the tasting there was the fortified wine, Ben Prins Cape Vintage. With 19.5% alcohol, it was a bit chewy with notes of chocolate and blackberry. R170.

This winery was great to just look around and see fun parts of.

Amazing winery to wrap up an amazing day! It’s tough to get these/their wine in the States but I am going to keep working on it to continue enjoying amazing vino. Cheers!

SA Winery Visit #3 — Solms Delta

Posted on April 28, 2014 by melsmosaic

After the 2nd winery, we put the bikes away and took a long enough drive (as in too far to ride) to Solms Delta.

Here we started with their Vastrap, a white which is a blend of Chenin Blanc and Semillon. It was a dry white, nothing to write home about. R50.

Next we went to the Amalie, which is a blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Grenache. Smells like chard, has some oak flavors, but I would characterize it as a ‘light’ chard. R110.

Third one presented was the Lekkerwijn, which means ‘nice’ or ‘yummy’ wine. It’s a blend of Mourvedre, Grenache Noir and Viognier and is a Rose. It was sweet and not great. R55.

Reds, finally reds!!! Langarm, pronounced Long-arm, a blend of four varietals — Pinotage, Touriga Nacional, Shiraz and Mourvedre. The nose had tobacco and was sweet. The taste was light and peppery. R55.

Next red was one I look for a lot and can be hard to find — sparkling Shiraz. This one is their Cape Jazz Shiraz. Subtle, fruity, per them. Light, refreshing, 9.9% alcohol. Yes, oh yes. I left with a bottle. R580.

We then hit a fortified wine, the Gemoedsrus, made with a Shiraz grape. The style ‘An entirely new concept in port-style wine; Shiraz desiccated on the vine, then fortified with Shiraz grappa.’ 18.5% alcohol, NICE and SMOOTH. R150.

Finally we sampled an experimental wine, Perry, a lightly sparkling pear fermented beverage, 6% ABV. Crisp and refreshing. The problem here is that you could not taste any alcohol so you could easily just be sitting outside enjoying this on a beautiful summer day and that bottle would be gone quickly…and you would be too…without realizing it. R50.

Three down, and since we had such a small group, our guide made sure we hit one more winery before the day was done!

SA Winery Visit #2 — Franschhoek Cellar

Posted on April 23, 2014 by melsmosaic

To get to our 2nd winery, we only had to ride about 5K from the first. Not too shabby. Still very scenic!

This next winery we visited was Franschhoek Cellar.

For the tasting, we got to pick six to sample from the entire menu (versus being given specific wines). That was great because between the entire three of us on the tour, we were able to taste almost everything! And off we went.

Statue de Femme Sauvignon Blanc — In the top 10 last year. Light and crisp. Another typical SA bargain at R50.

La Cotte Mill Chenin Blanc — Tropical, pineapple taste. R40! Really, $4 for a bottle. Love this place. Note on the dates on the back labels, they write day/month, versus how we do month/day.

Club Hose Rose – a blend of Pinotage, Shiraz and Cab. The best way I can describe it would be powdery rose petals. GREAT!!!! R40.

The Old Museum Merlot — Very berry-y. NICE, for a Merlot. There seemed to be quite a difference in SA Merlots. I don’t normally like them but down there they are quite unique! R50.

Stone Bridge Pinotage — Nice, light and smoky, oh yes. R50.

The Churchyard Cabernet Sauvignon – Thick, chocolate, tobacco are the best notes to describe this one. R50.

Last but not least was a limited release. The Franschhoek Vineyards Shiraz, cellar door exclusive, no info about it anywhere except on the tasting sheet. “The Shiraz grapes for this wine are from one of the highest most rugged vineyard sites in Franschhoek with singular personality and expression that compelled our winemaker Richard Duckitt to go to great lengths to preserve the tremendous concentration and purity of fruit in this exemplary Franschhoek wine.” — ‘sweet’, thick and smooth. R100.

Mid-way through this tasting after everything was poured, lunch was served and we were able to take our glasses outside to enjoy some great food and drink in the amazing weather.

20 under $20

Posted on December 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

While reading/following Shape magazine, I came across a great article/post about The Best Wines Under $20.

I will say, I love the Ravenswood Zin, any bubbly, will have to try the Terrazas Malbec and the Hahn Pinot. Have tried quite a few of the others on the list and they are good finds!

Cheers to the holiday season!