November 2023

Winery: Bellevue

Wine Maker: Wilhelm Kritzinger

Winery Location: Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 100% Cabernet Sauvignon;

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R240.00

Notes in the wine:

• This small volume cabernet sauvignon has a cedarwood and dark plum nose with a smooth palate of black current and cassis.
• The articulate balance between the smooth dark fruit and clean minerality makes for an elegant wine with great length and a classy finish. 
• This wine has good ageing potential of up to 15 years, in good cellaring conditions

Food pairing: Sirloin steak with creamy peppercorn sauce, grilled vegetables and steamed spinach.

Winery: Stony Brook

Winemaker: Craig McNaught

Winery Location: Franschhoek

Varietal(s): 100% Syrah

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R210.00

• he grapes for this Syrah all come from two very special, low-yielding blocks on the Stony Brook farm. 
• Spice and chocolate. Dark, ripe berry and black pepper on the nose.
• Rich, warm flavours on the palate with intense, but rounded mouthfeel and grippy tannins in the finish. Perfect balance in this new-world-meets-old world Syrah. 

Food pairing: The ideal partner for hearty, slow-cooked winter meals.

Winery: Edgebaston

Winemaker:  David FInlayson

Winery Location: Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 100% Pinot Noir

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R365.00

• This wine is made from Pinot Noir, clone 667, planted two decades ago on the Stellenbosch mountain as an experimental block.
• In the search for special and undiscovered sites and wines,  grapes were found, and a path was followed into this fantastic example of what potential  truly exists for Pinot Noir in Stellenbosch when the right clone is fitted into the perfect site and terroir.
• A wine for maturation and enjoyment when the time is truly ripe for the reward.

Food pairing: Creamy smoked trout soup, baby potatoes, and flaked smoked trout.

Winery: Badger Mountain

Winemaker: Steve Rothwell

Winery Location: Tulbagh

Varietal(s): Grenache

Vivino Score: not scored

Retail Price: R179.00

Notes on the wine:

• A Swartland based Grenache Noir – whole bunch fermented and single barrel batch, notes of clove spice and red berry aromas.
• The wine was fermented with its natural/native yeast and fermented on the skin for 8 days with a light extraction once a day. Fermentation was done semi carbonically with a 100% wholebunces.
• Grapes are handpicked in small 16kg crates and harvested early for natural acidity and freshness.

Food pairing: Moroccan chickpea tagine

Winery: Plaisir de Merle

Winemaker: Neil Bester

Winery Location: Simondium

Varietal(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Pinot Noir

Vivino Score: 3.90/ 5.00

Retail Price: R150.00

• Aromatic nose with black cherry fruit and hints of spice and vanilla and oak. Full-bodied, yet elegant and mature.
• This is a fruit- dominated wine with blackberries, cassis, white chocolate followed by some cigar box and light pencil shavings. 
•  Subtle tannins linger with sweet red berry fruit on the finish.

Food pairing: Homemade roast chicken, carrot, and mushroom pie

Winery: Muratie

Winemaker: Hattingh de Villiers

Winery Location: Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 6% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon,  17% Cabernet Franc,  5% Shiraz  

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R150.00

Notes on Wine:

• The blend constitutes a selection of grapes from various vineyards on the wine estate.
• Where most of the wines in the portfolio are special occasion wines, this medium-bodied blend is intended for everyday enjoyment. However, it too is sourced entirely from the estate, and while unpretentious it is well-crafted with its soft tannins, bright red berries and hints of white pepper and chocolate from careful oaking.
•  The grapes were hand harvested and made in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and open fermenters and was elegantly oaked for 16 months in second and third fill French oak barrels.

Food pairing: Italian sausage, red-pepper penne pasta

Winery: Muratie

Winemaker: Hattingh de Villiers

Winery Location: Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 100% Chardonnay

Vivino Score: 3.90/5.00

Retail Price: R250.00

• In this fresh and elegant wine with its peach-blossom fragrance, the aim is to evoke those bedtime butterfly kisses of their beautiful baby girl, so the oaking (10 months in this case) is subtle, serving only to spice the stone fruit, melon, and citrus flavours with hints of hazelnuts and vanilla cream.
•  It’s beautifully delicate and understated, with a pure, slightly piquant and lingering ‘mineral
• The grapes were hand harvested before being whole bunch pressed.

Food pairing: Pork tenderloin with herbs garlic with a salad of White & Green Beans and red onions.

Winery: Plaisir De Merle

Winemaker: Tim Whitfield

Winery Location: Simondium

Varietal(s): 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Vivino Score: 3.70/5.0

Retail Price: R120.00

• An elegantly textured wine with flavours that resonate the aromas of a cool summers day, filled out with fresh tropical fruits and a crisp finish.
• Lovely fresh melon, sweet grapefruit and ripe Cape gooseberries.  
•  The diversity of the soils, slopes and elevation is closely linked with the quality of Plaisir’s wines. Well-drained, weathered granite soils (predominantly Tukulu and Hutton), with good water retention, allow the three highest Sauvignon Blanc blocks to capture the true character of climate and soils in its fruit.

Food pairing: Creamy salmon pasta with spinach and capers

Winery: Bellevue

Winemaker: Wilhelm Kritzinger

Winery Location: Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 100% Chardonnay

Vivino Score: 3.90/ 5.00

Retail Price: R230.00

• This rich, decadent barrel fermented chardonnay, shows flavours of buttery crust, baked apple pie, a lengthy mid palate of ripe citrus and a tight mineral finish.

Food pairing: tuna ceviche served in a honey soya dressing

Winery: Stony Brook

Winemaker: Craig McNaught

Winery Location: Franschhoek

Varietal(s): Sauvignon Blanc

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R125.00

Notes on the wine:

• The extended lees-ageing on this wine allows for a restrained fruit profile of passion fruit and pear on the nose. Grapes were hand-picked in the early morning and then whole-bunch pressed to ensure purity of fruit.
•  While bright and fresh, the palate is remarkably full, with intense concentration, zest and richness in the finish. 
•  The old-world-inspired Sauvignon Blanc can be enjoyed now or up to eight years from vintage

Food pairing: Lebanese tabbouleh salad

Winery: Edgebaston

Winemaker: David Finlayson

Winery Location: Stellenbosch

Varietal(s): 100% Chenin Blanc

Vivino Score: 4.20/ 5.00

Retail Price: R230.00

• The wine has an unmistakable minerality and the salty, Umami flavour on the palate that can only be found when vines have struggled for decades to make their mark in the soil..
• The wine was made with the absolute minimum intervention and to allow the old vines to express the true flavours of the site and variety with as gentle a human touch as possible 
• This wine signifies something truly special to me as a winemaker and is part of David’s journey in life and wine in South Africa, hence the name, Camino Africana, “The African Way”

Food pairing: Italian sausage and vegetable soup

Winery: Badger Mountain

Winemaker: Steve Rothwell

Winery Location: Tulbagh

Varietal(s):  100% Chenin Blanc

Vivino Score: not scored

Retail Price: R99.00

• On the nose, citrus, white peach and dried herbs. The palate is nicely lean with lively acidity, the finish wonderfully pithy..
• Very flavorful and well balanced, this totally exceeds expectations. 
• Tasting notes of mineral flavours with caramel, butterscotch and ethereal tones.

Food pairing: Goats Cheese, gruyere cheese, tomato, and chutney braai broodjie