Guardian Peak

  - A LOVELY FARM FOR A RELAXING LUNCH AND AFTERNOON IN THE WINELANDS!

We were in Stellenbosch for some rugby and decided to head to Annandale road to have lunch and do some wine tasting.  Guardian Peak's "Winery & Grill" seemed the more affordable lunch option along this road on this particular occasion, so we stopped there.


Lunch was DE-licious!  I had the Calamari tubes with Feta, baby potatoes & Paprika - delicious, an explosion of taste!  The boys had the gourmet burgers which were pretty darn good too with their bacon, brie and caramalised onions on top of the homemade melt in your mouth burgers.  The views are spectacular with the surrounding wineyards and mountains.


The list of wines is on the back of the menu with simple one line captions to describe the wine's drinking experience rather than the aromas and flavours.  We were not too impressed with the TRHs.  It may be due to the fact that they double as waitrons, or perhaps we complicated matters by having lunch at the same time as tasting (although most people seemed to be doing the same).  A different person served each wine,
some gave us a brief description, some failed to give any description, not even letting us know which wine it was.  Luckily no one was particular phased and the list is on the back of the menu anyway.  A lovely atmosphere nonetheless.

Not too many notes today as we ate lunch and chatted at the same time as tasting, no room on the table for pen and paper, no room in the conversations for detailed wine vocabulary, rather relaxing and enjoying.  All of their wines we found most enjoyable and definitely above average!  A great way to spend lunch with friends in the winelands.

A few short wine notes below...


Guardian Pink (The 2012 Rose) - "Light and elegant...Beautiful" - such a cute and smart name, a lovely not too sweet rose, quite crisp.

Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - "A crisp and light Sauvignon Blanc perfect for a summer's afternoon on the Guardian Peak deck".  Agreed, it's delicious.

Merlot 2011 - Berries and dry.  Delicious, not as sweet as some other very berry Merlots.

Shiraz 2012 - A slight purple colour to it, quite fruity and not too spicy.

Frontier 2011 Blend (Cab Sauv, Shiraz, Merlot) - A great blend and great value.

2011 SMG (Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache) - Also another delicious blend.  Could be added to the favourites list.

Malbec Tannat - The first blend of its kind in South Africa. Quite an interesting flavour, a little sweet.

Lapa Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 - "Jean Engelbrecht's appreciation for Napa styled Cabernet Sauvignons is the inspiration behind this wine." - Although I am not this biggest fan of the Napa Valley wines, this flagship wine is fantastic!

Really great wines, delicious food, beautiful views and a lovely relaxing environment.