South African Wine - Cape Wine Area

Hi to all.

I am going on safari (picture taking not hunting ) in the dry season in South Africa/Zimbabwe and Zambia but before that I am spending a few days in Cape Town.

I would love to day trip out to taste a few wines in one of the wine areas.
I know nothing about the area at all.

Lettie Teague is really high on a winery called Russell in Hermanus which is making some nice pinot noir evidently.

I am not wedded to any grape here. Just want to try some great wine. Not really a sweet wine person here however.

Any suggestions from those in the know?

My favorite (though I haven’t bought any in a while) is Boekenhoutskloof Winery (Pty) Ltd. great syrah (and cab and blends).

Stellenbosch is about an hour away. I recommend Stark-Condé and Thelema - particularly Stark-Condé for their excellent tasting experience. Hamilton Russell is in Hermanus and is a couple of hours away, and does not have much of a tasting room. Also a little far for a day trip.

Some of the country’s best and most exciting wines are coming out of the Swartland, which is about an hour from Cape Town but in the opposite direction of Stellenbosch. This area is less touristy and I’m not familiar with the tasting opportunities they have there.

Don- In the cape, I had a memorable visit at Glenelly, which is May de Lencquesaing’s project since she sold Pichon Lalande. The property is great and the wines are nice. Bonus if you get to taste with Mme. De Lencquesaing.

I also had a nice visit at Klein Constantia. It is a very commercial property with a big tasting room, but I really enjoyed their Vin de Constance, a Muscat with considerable RS. The profile was all citrus and grapefruit with great acidity to balance the visous mouthfeel. I came home with 4 bottles.

And since we are on the interwebs and it is all about blanket statements and hyperbole, I found the Chenin Blanc wines to be good to great but I still believe that there is no noteworthy red wine being made on the continent. There. I said it!

I’d taste Eben Sadie’s wines before typing such a bold statement.

That’s Hamilton Russell. The first pinot of theirs I was poured, circa 2002, was a 1999, which several of us were sure was a 99 Volnay when offered it blind. Some later vintages have leaned a little too much on oak, but it’s still quite good.

I can highly recommend The Three Foxes. I’ve had a number of their wines in two tastings here in NYC. They have a terrific 2009 syrah that was very Northern Rhonish and a first-rate 2009 Rousanne. I’ve met two of the owners, Pascal Schildt and Chris Mullineux, and they are aiming for an Old World style, with acidity. Pascal is half French, half German and lives in France, and Chris is half English, half French, and grew up in England and lives in South Africa.

Chris and his American wife Andrea, also a winemaker, run Mullineux Family Wines, which also warrants a visit. If you search here for “Mullineux” you’ll find several very favorable reviews.

FYI, David Zylberberg posted on his honeymoon trip to South Africa in the spring, dissing pretty much all the wines and the food. He missed the group’s South African tasting and was unable to hook up with Pascal and didn’t visit Mullineux, though, so he was unable to opine on any of the wines here.

Don,

I’m not polished on South African geography but if you can visit Hamilton-Russell it would be right up your alley. I’ve had vintages back to the 80’s, Len at Federal Wine in Boston brought these in as soon as the economic boycott ended post-Apartheid in the early 90’s. They are now imported by Vineyard Brands if your normal retailers can’t help I would be happy to assist you with booking a tour.

Thanks to everyone for the information. I appreciate it!

Don,

Agree with the options mentioned above.

Depending on the sub-region you’d like to explore I have some additional suggestions.

In Franschoek, check out Chamonix, Solms-Delta and Haut-Espoir.

In Stellenbosch, De Morgenzen, Thelema, Meinert

In Swartland (my personal favourite), on top of the already mentioned Sadie Family and Mullineux, have a look at AA Badenhoerst’s wines and Lamershoek.

A lot of the wines I mentioned sadly don’t get across to where I am (Perth, Aus), you’re in for a treat.

Cheers,

Justin

the de Compostella is the best wine from SA that I have had to date.

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