February 2023

Winery: Edgebaston

Wine Maker: David Finalyson

Winery Location: Simonsberg foothills, Stellensbosch

Varietal(s): 93% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7% Petit Verdot

Vivino Score: 3.8/5.00

Retail Price: R200.00

Made to exude the intensity and purity of Cabernet Sauvignon varietal character and as such display typical Cabernet Sauvignon cassis and blackcurrent flavours. 

The wine has a fresh, minty, red berry fruit spectrum on the palate backed by mocca vanilla oak. Firm structured tannins and a long finish on the palate show good ageing potential.  Made with more than a nod to the classic wines of the Medoc in the Bordeaux region, showing the period of time David Finlayson spent working at world renowned Chateau Margaux.

Food pairings: Aged Rib-eye steak with asparagus on the side 

Winery: De Grendel

Winemaker: Charles Hopkins

Winery Location: Durbanville, Cape Town

Varietal(s): 100% Shiraz

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R225.00

Notes on the wine: Grapes were sourced from selected vineyards in the Paarl and Firgrove areas which contributes to the unique characteristics of the wine. These vineyards thrive in a combination of laterite and soil with yellow clay sub-layers. 

Bright purple in colour with a deep violet rim. The nose offers upfront aromas of perfume, violets, glazed gammon, pepper and buchu. The wine presents a smooth entry on the palate, with soft and seamless layers of cloves, nutmeg and warm spices, underpinned by a savoury and meaty finish.

Enjoy or allow it to mature for a further 5 – 8 years.

Food Pairing: Honey-glazed gammon served with long-stem broccoli

Winery: Paul Cluver

Winemaker:  Andries Burger, Anne van Heerden

Winery Location: Elgin Valley 

Varietal(s): Pinot Noir

Vivino Score: 3.7/5.00

Retail Price: R150.00

Notes on the wine: Beautiful aromas of red fruits intermingle with roasted spices followed by a delicious, elegant silky palate of poached ripe plums resulting in medium bodied wine with soft edges.

Crafted for drinking now, it has the structure and fruit to be enjoyed for two years and beyond.

Food pairing: Grilled Haloumi, red-onion, quinoa, butternut, and pumpkinseed salad

Winery: The Blacksmith

Winemaker: Tremayne Smith

Winery Location: Agter Paarl, Paarl

Varietal(s): 100% Cinsault

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R195.00

Notes on the wine: This wine is red sunshine in a glass. So bright and lively, it boasts enticing scents of fresh red plum, cherry and strawberry that are coupled with glimmers of baking spice and rooibos tea which add pleasant depth and interest in the background. There’s a slight lift to the palate, which is light and juicy. Well made, direct, unfussy in approach and high in pure, unadulterated drinking pleasure.

Food pairing: Lightly seared tuna steak with a soya, ginger, chili, and honey dressing

Winery: Waverly Hills

Winemaker: Johan Delport

Winery Location: Off the R46, between Tulbagh, Ceres, and Wolseley

Varietal(s): 66% Shiraz; 23% Mourvedre; 11% Viognier

Vivino Score: 4.00/5.00

Retail Price: R225.00

Deep ruby centre, strong plum, oak and spicy tones. 

33 months on wood; 50% new oak, 50% second fill (80% French, 15% American, 5% Hungarian)

The wine has a very soft and velvety front palate and fruity, but firm, mid palate with a fresh and long after taste. The Shiraz provides this blend with typical red fruit and spicy flavours, with Mourvèdre providing berry and fresh herbal aromas. The Viognier compliments the overall aromatic sensation and softness to accompany the wood.

Food Pairing: Plum-marinated duck on a bed of spicy noodles

Winery: Boschkloof

Winery Location: Stellenbosch,

Winemaker: Reenen Borman

Varietal(s): 80% Grenache; 20% Syrah

Vivino Score: 4.00/5.00

Retail Price: R225.00

Notes on Wine:

Notes on the wine: Both components were wholebunch fermented and left on the skins for 10-12 days. The Syrah aged in older French oak while the Grenache was kept unoaked in concrete. Blended after 8 months and prepped for bottling.

Perfumed aromatics. Elegant with a backbone of structure. Laser focus.

Food pairing: Ostrich cutlets served with a mushroom sauce, green beans, and mash.

Winery: Edgebaston

Winemaker: David Finlayson

Winery Location: Simonsberg foothills, Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 100% Chardonnay

Vivino Score: 3.90/5.00

Retail Price: R150.00

This is the fifteenth vintage of the David Finlayson Chardonnay.  The wine is made from five different vineyards. 

The wine shows an elegant minerality with lime-citrus, sourdough and cinnamon flavours.  The tight minerality keeps a wonderful acid grip on the palate showing good aging potential.  A floral note of wild, white flowers such as frangipani and almond blossom is obvious on the front of the nose and follows through the palate.

Food pairings: spiced and grilled hake and chips

Winery: De Grendel

Winemaker: Charles Hopkins

Winery Location: Durbanville, Cape Town

Varietal(s): 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.0

Retail Price: R120.00

A complex wine with layers of minerality and an ensemble of lime, tropical fruits, and fresh herbs. A well-balanced and delicate palate with a layered, long finish.

The 2022 vintage is ready to enjoy now but has an ageing potential of 3 to 4 years to allow for a richer wine with well-integrated acidity to develop.

Food Pairing: Cajun-spiced calamari tubes on a bed of aromatic rice, a goats cheese salad served on the side

Winery: Brookdale Estate 

Winemaker: Andries Burger, Anne van Heerden

Winery Location: Elgin Valley

Varietal(s): Chenin Blanc

Vivino Score: 3.90/5.00

Retail Price: R130.00

Notes on the wine: This bright Sauvignon blanc with a touch of a green hue shows an impressive range of aromas on the nose. A combination of passion fruit, black current and grapefruit on the nose with hints of mineral notes.

The expression of the nose follows through to the palate, passion fruit, gooseberry, but with great salinity, complexity and length. The wine is fresh, with great balanced acidity and a lingering finish.

Food pairing: Blue-cheese, toasted walnut, rocket salad

Winery: The Blacksmith

Winemaker: Treymane Smith

Winery Location: Wgter Paarl, Paarl

Varietal(s): 50% Sémillon; 50% Sémillon Gris

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R155.00

Notes on the wine: Pale lemon (with a generous dash of ‘ish), with a shy nose that’s mostly citrus fruits lemon, lime, unripe nectarines, a bit of herbaceousness and a hint of faint mace.

Dry, medium acidity that’s quite deceiving.  There’s more intensity on the palate but it’s still simpler with the citrus, stone fruits, some honey, a touch of baking spices and a waxiness that rounds out the palate.

The grapes were pressed after 24 hours of skin contact. Followed by barrel fermentation, and 10 months of maturation in old French oak barrels.

Food pairings: Spicey-bean tacos, with guac and matured cheddar cheese

Winery: Groote Post

Winemaker: Lukas Wentzel

Winery Location: West Coast, Cape Town

Varietal(s): 100% Chardonnay

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R145.00

Notes on Wine: Orange blossom and stone fruit are prominent on the nose. Steely minerality with lingering citrus fruit on the palate makes this wine your perfect summer companion.

One of the more difficult years for Chardonnay due to cold evenings and strong winds during our flower season. This also led to very low production and uneven ripening of the grapes. Groote Post harvested in stages to make sure we only receive optimal ripening fruit. The grapes was harvested in cooler conditions and during the crushing and fermentation kept at low temperatures. Fermentation is only done in stainless steel tanks, no wood is added. 

Food pairings:  Home-made Big mac burger.

Winery: Boschkloof

Winemaker: Reneen Borman

Winery Location: Montagu, Western Cape

Varietal(s):  55% Colombard; 45% Chenin Blanc  

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R175.00

Notes on the wine: Patatsfontein is a South African winemaking partnership between Reneen Borman of Boschkloof and college friends Henke Kotze and Fritz Schoon.

The story goes that Schoon’s father-in-law traded his flooring business to purchase a 1,200-hectare property in Montagu, which was planted to various white grapes including Colombard and Chenin Blanc (known colloquially as Steen). Schoon’s friend, Chris “Butch” Alheit visited the vineyard one day, and, inspired by what he saw, convinced Schoon that their fruit was too good to be sold off to the local co-op. Alheit introduced Schoon to Reneen Borman, and the Patatsfontein label was established. All of the fruit was hand-harvested and the varieties kept separate. 

The fruit was whole-bunch pressed directly to a few 10hL concrete tanks for the Chenin Blanc and a couple of 600L Stockinger barrels for the Colombard.  Fermentation occurred naturally and over the course of nearly three weeks on the gross lees. 

After 10 months of aging and without any rackings or battonage, the lots were blended to a stainless-steel tank to settle, then bottled without fining or filtration and with a small addition of sulfur.

Food pairings: Thai green curry with coriander and lime