The following is a review of a portion of our recent trip to South Africa, focusing on some restaurants and all of the wineries we visited over the course of our stay. In general, I found the Cape Winelands to be absolutely amazing. The scenery is ridiculous, with huge mountains all around and, in the case of the Hemel-en-Aarde valley, sea views as well. The wines are of outstanding quality, and even better value. The people are charming and gracious. The wines, at least at most of the places we visited, are uniformly well-made, in many cases in more of an old world style than I expected. But they have a distinctive sense of place. In several of the wines, we detected an almost animal nose and flavor (my wife half-jokingly referred to it as “olifant kak” (look it up)), and some had a discernable green pepper flavor. While these were the less desirable aspects of the terroir, the standout red wines all showed yummy more traditional notes of spice and cocoa and red berries.
I didn’t take formal notes while tasting, so this is more of a review of the overall experience. I’ll rank the visits on a 5-star scale, taking everything into consideration – the people, the atmosphere, the wine/food, etc. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone taking a trip there in the future.
CAPE TOWN
La Colombe Restaurant (Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate, Cape Town) – A wonderful restaurant serving contemporary food in a traditional setting. We were seated too late to do the tasting menu, but we enjoyed all of the plates that we ordered. Some of the memorable wines included a delightful sparkling wine to begin the night: Ross Gower Brut Rose 2008; a nice white blend by the house estate, Constantia Uitsig; and a hearty Pinot Noir, the 2007 Bouchard Finlayson Tete de Cuvee. The sommelier, David Nels, was very helpful in helping us plan our trips to the wine country, suggesting several places we wouldn’t have known about were it not for him, such as Le Riche, Stony Brook and Ataraxia. (****)
STELLENBOSCH
Kanonkop Wine Estate (Simonsberg/Stellenbosch) – Pretty location, nice tasting room, but not worth the trip, in my opinion. They don’t pour the Paul Sauer, their flagship red proprietary blend, and the hostess was condescending and kept trying to espouse the virtues of Pinotage. Was not impressed with the wines we did get to try. (*)
Remhoogte Wine Estate (Simonsberg/Stellenbosch) – Excellent red wines in a rustic setting. Old cabin-like tasting room with great vineyard dogs lying around and what appears to be a working farm. The Estate Wine (a blend of mostly Merlot, with Cab Sauv, Shiraz and Pinotage) was a great value at the equivalent of about $14. We also enjoyed their Merlot, and on the strength of that tasting purchased a bottle of the Reserve, which we brought home with is. (***)
Le Riche(Jonkershoek Valley/Stellenbosch) – Etienne le Riche is known as the “King of Cab” in South Africa, and it is a well-deserved title. We were fortunate to be able to have a tasting with the assistant winemaker, Mark Daniels. We tasted the Chardonnay, the Cab/Merlot blend, and the Cabernet. They do not pour the Reserve Cab because of limited production. We bought a bottle of the 2007 Reserve anyway because the basic Cab was so delicious. (*****)
De Toren(Stellenbosch) – By appointment only, and we didn’t know that or have one, and they turned us away, even though there were a bunch of people standing around doing nothing. I hear their wines are quite good. (N/R)
Kleine Zalze/Terroir Restaurant (Stellenbosch) – We had a lovely lunch outside at Terroir restaurant. I had a glass of Chenin Blanc made by Kleine Zalze, but don’t remember much about it other than I liked it. Food was great and highly recommended for the grub and the setting. (****)
Waterford Estate (Blaauwklippen Valley/Stellenbosch) – A beautiful chateau setting with indoor and outdoor seated tasting areas after a drive up a dramatic path through the vineyards. The wines were terrific, especially The Jem, their flagship red blend consisting of both French and Italian varietals. Very unique. We bought a bottle of the 2006 to bring home. Also enjoyed the Kevin Arnold Shiraz and the Family Reserve, a sticky that delicious served cold – not too cloyingly sweet and would go great with desserts. (***)
De Trafford Winery (Helderberg Ridge/Stellenbosch) – We were blessed to have made an appointment to visit David de Trafford’s charming little mountain farm. David was an architect, and he still likes to chart the progress of his wines by hand on graph paper that he hangs on the wall. There is very little, if any, intervention/handling in the winemaking – natural yeasts, gravity transfers to barrel, unfiltered, etc. – yet everything is compulsively monitored for optimal development. The wines are simply outstanding. We tasted and enjoyed the Chenin Blanc and several reds (but not the highly-touted Elevation 393), as well as a straw wine that was quite tasty. (****)
Rust en Vrede Wine Estate (Stellenbosch) – All red wines; all good. We tasted the entire lineup, and preferred the Estate red blend to the more expensive 1694 red blend (the former is more Cab than Shiraz; the latter is the reverse). They sell library releases going back pretty far. We bough a bottle of the 1995 Estate and took it with us to dinner at 95 Keerom in Cape Town. It was drinking great and we were very happy with it. This was our last stop of the day and we lingered on their outdoor patio and played with the resident golden retriever. (****)
HEMEL-EN-AARDE VALLEY
Hamilton Russell Vineyards (Hermanus/Hemel-en-Aarde) – A beautiful old estate that focuses exclusively on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir because of the cool climate of its southern location near the sea. We liked the Chardonnay better than the Pinot, but they were both nice. The Chardonnay is crisp and minerally in a very Burgundian way. The Pinot may have just been too young – I think they were pouring the ‘08 PN and ‘09 Chard. (****)
Sumaridge Wine Estate (Upper Hemel-en-Aarde) – Sumaridge has a flashy new tasting room that is undoubtedly very attractive, with breathtaking views of Walker Bay and the surrounding mountains. They pour the full line of seven wines, none of which particularly stood out. There was a noticeable green pepper flavor in many of the wines (white, red and rose). Also, note that the restaurant doesn’t seem to be in operation anymore. (**)
Newton Johnson/Heaven Restaurant (Upper Hemel-en-Aarde) – Beautiful views and good food made this a winner of a lunch stop. The food was local with a Mediterranean flair. I’m pretty sure I had a Newton Johnson Syrah, but I can’t remember much about it. (***)
Ataraxia Mountain Vineyards (Upper Hemel-en-Aarde) – Ataraxia is a relative newcomer, founded just six years ago by Kevin Grant, the former winemaker at Hamilton Russell. Kevin makes three wines: an unoaked Sauvignon Blanc, an oaked Chardonnay, and a red blend called Serenity (they have Pinot that they planted but is not ready for commercial production). All three were fantastic, especially the Chardonnay and the Serenity (they don’t tell you the blend, but I’d guess it’s a Cab/Shiraz). The tasting room is actually more like a chapel and it is stunning. It makes you want to sit around all day and contemplate life, wine or whatever you please. Well worth the long drive up the gravelly road. (*****)
FRANSCHHOEK
Stony Brook Vineyards (Franschhoek) – We got here just as they were getting ready to close, but Joy, part of the husband and wife team behind Stony Brook, graciously agreed to let us in and pour some excellent wines, so we were lucky! Joy was amazing – very friendly, knowledgeable and passionate. The wines were uniformly good. I particularly enjoyed the Semillon Reserve and The Max (a Bordeaux blend), as well as tasting their Syrah and Shiraz side by side. We didn’t get a chance to taste their flagship Cabernet, The Ghost Gum, but I will definitely be seeking it out. (****)
Boekenhoutskloof(Franschhoek) – Like Stony Brook, we arrived here just before closing time and had to practically beg the host to let us taste. He was clearly annoyed and rushed us through a lineup of wines that weren’t nearly as good as they were hyped to be, or as good as the host claimed they were as he hastily plopped them down in front of us. We only were able to try the estate Syrah (not the Cab, which is supposed to be quite good), The Chocolate Block (overrated syrupy plonk) and several wines from their entry-level Porcupine Ridge line. We were not impressed. (*)
The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français (Franschhoek) – This was truly a culinary dream. Each of the nine (I think) courses were incredible, and the wine pairings were spot on. Some favorites included 2008 Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc with Sweetcorn and Truffle Soup, and Sous Vide Quail Breast, Truffled Quail Egg and Asparagus with 2008 Vergelegen Vin de Florence. (*****)