Leopard's Leap Family Vineyards

 - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Leopard's Leap gave their whole tasting area, restaurant and wine experience a revamp earlier this year and it is looking superb! 

Absolutely love the "whisk" lamp shades in the dining area.  Also the individual cooking stations set up in the kitchen for their delicious cooking classes.  Even on the rainy day we visited, the high ceilings and structure made the whole place light and inviting.  We are definitely coming back for the buffet lunch, some chocolate brownies, to check out the newly opened store and to enjoy some wine on the lawn, now that summer has finally arrived!

We just tasted wine on this particular visit, and our TRH was great!  He knew all the answers to all my questions (which can sometimes be silly!) and was super friendly and efficient.  We sat up at the bar counter enjoying their really good and exceptionally well priced wines and landed up leaving with a few bottles... as you do!

Leopard's Leap itself actually doesn't grow any of its own grapes, so the ones you see on the drive in are either for decoration or belong to someone else.  Their spot in Franschhoek houses the restaurant, wine tasting and shop.  They buy in all their grapes, which actually allows them to pick and choose the very best available of each varietal.  Most of their grapes are sourced from Botrivier, Swartland and Robertson to name a few.   

The wines in the Classic Range are all great quality with nothing over R45.  Perfect to take to your next dinner.  We tasted the SAUVIGNON BLANC, which was lovely and easy drinking, hardly any acidic aftertaste.  The CHENIN BLANC, smells like "peaches and cream" and is loaded with smooth peach and apricot flavours, we took home two bottles of this one.  The CABERNET SAUVIGNON MERLOT is also another standard, easy drinking, well blended wine.

There was only one Family Collection available for tasting, the SHIRAZ MOURVEDRE VIOGNIER, which is actually made by Hein Koegelenberg himself.  Hein is currently the CEO of La Motte & Leopard's Leap (and director of Meridian Wine Distributors) and is largely responsible for their great successes over the past few years.  They also recently, together with a Chinese entity, bought the Val de Vie vineyards.  While Hein started his career at Spier Wine Farm, he moved onto to one of our other favourite wine cellars Windmeul Kelder where he moved through the ranks to CEO there, before moving to La Motte.  He is well known and respected in the wine industry and doing great things for South African wines.  Check out his blog he keeps on the side - heinkoegelenberg.typepad.com .
Okay, so back to the wine.  It has really rich berries and spice on the nose and is quite spicy on the palate, with a beautifully smooth finish.  Apparently they burn the insides of the barrels in which this wine is stored which adds to those smokey flavours.  Interesting!  Fantastic wine!
You'll see there is also an "RK" logo on this and some of the other wines which shows it is part of the family - R being Hein's wife's maiden name Rupert and K for Koegelenberg.

We actually started the tasting with some bubbles - because if bubbles are available for tasting, then they are always first on the list!  Their CULINARIA BRUT METHODÉ CAP CLASSIQUE is delicious, gentle citrus with a little caramel and a lovely balance.
The Culinaria Collection is the more sophisticated, heavier collection, with really smart labels and mostly blended wines. 

A few Culinaria notes below...

2012 CULINARIA CHENIN BLANC GRENACHE BLANC - 6 months in French oak smooths this wine out beautifully, full of fruit, but slightly drier on the palate.  Great with smoked foods.
2012 PINOT NOIR CHARDONNAY - Not a combination I have heard of before.  The wine has a beautiful golden pink hue from spending just 10hrs on the Pinot Noir skins.  It is quite a sweet wine with berry flavours coming from the 60% Pinot Noir, it is almost a little tart too.  Perfect with pork or even dessert.
2010 CULINARIA GRAND VIN - A very good Bordeaux blend, slightly more harsh and metallic than fruity.  Definite coffee beans and nutmeg.
2010 CULINARIA SHIRAZ GRENACHE - Excellent, great spice flavours and berries smoothed out by the Grenache.  Quite heavy but still versatile when pairing with anything from meat to pasta.  We took a bottle of this home.
2013 CULINARIA MUSCAT DE FRONTIGNAN - Hands down the best dessert wine we have tasted!  The nose is full of rose flavoured Turkish delights and blossoms.  It is deliciously sweet and yet still light, not nearly as syrupy or heavy as other dessert wines.  It actually only has 84g sugar vs some others that have up to 200g.  Delicious!  We took a bottle of this home too!

Did you know that here in South Africa we have Noble Late Harvest which is usually your dessert wines.  The name comes from the Noble rot (Botrytis fungus) which attaches to the grapes and drains them of their water leaving the sugary goodness behind.  Late Harvest obviously the fact that the grapes are harvested much later than other wines.  Places like Canada and Germany have Ice Wine dessert wines which also sees the grapes being drained of their water, but this is as a result of the grapes freezing in their sometimes below zero temperatures.  Random fact for the day!

Next time you go wine tasting, check out Leopard's Leap... or look out for their bottles in the stores!  We will definitely be back, they are a new favourite of ours!


LEOPARD'S LEAP FAMILY VINEYARDS
R45 Franschhoek Valley, Frasnchhoek
Latitude 33° 52’58.8″ Longitude 19°04’50″
Tel: +27 21 876 8002
Closed on Christian public holidays  

Dieu Donné Vineyards

 - ONE OF THE BEST VIEWS YOU'LL FIND! 
 

This farm definitely has one of the best views of the Franschhoek Valley, half way up the mountain and looking down over the paddocks and vineyards - Stunning!  We actually caught a perfect sunset there the other night when we attended a Pink Lady Apple function at Roca Restaurant which is on the farm.

The Dieu Donné wines are very good and surprisingly reasonable considering they are Franschhoek vineyards.  The tasting room has a bunch of tables on the lawn in front where you can enjoy your wines while taking in the surrounding beauty.  Not the best tasting room service, but perhaps they are looking to create a more relax atmosphere.  
You can choose four different wines to taste at R15 and must go inside to the wine counter to collect your wines.  The TRH ladies weren't too clued up, their knowledge extended as far as the tasting notes on the wine list, not usually what you expect in Franschhoek, but nonetheless, not too much can bother you when you have good company, lovely wine and another beautiful day in Africa!

If you are visiting Franschhoek remember to check out the Wine Tram - http://winetram.co.za/- Dieu Donne is on one of their routes.  It is a fantastic way to see the town and it's wine.

Unfortunately the award winning Reserve Shiraz Viognier 2008 and Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 are unavailable for tasting.  You will have to get yourself a bottle to take home when you visit them.

Some quick wine notes below...

Méthode Cap Classique 2010 (R95) - 100% Chardonnay.  Delicious, stylish drinking.  It tastes like lemon creams with bubbles - yum! 
MCC Brut Rosé 2011 (R95) - 96% Chardonnay, 4% Pinot Noir, to add some colour.  This one is slighter sweeter than the MCC in a strawberry sort of way but still earthy and a pleasantly dry finish.

Rosé 2013 (R40) - Smells like red juice from when you were a child, lovely floral and candy flavours.  Perhaps a little too sweet for some though.

Sauvignon Blanc 2013 (R55)- Very fruity and strong green fig flavours, a little tart.  Nice.
Viognier 2011 (R45)- Fresh, easy and floral with more flavour than some other Viogniers that tend to be a little bland.  This was a one of the favourites in the whites.
Chardonnay 2013 (Unwooded) (R50) - Definitely agree with the lemony undertones together with some soft honey notes.  Not at all heavy and quite smooth.
Chardonnay 2011 (Wooded) - Lighter in colour and very creamy with vanilla and soft lemon flavours.  Very nice!

Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2011 (R45) - Great blend.  One of the favourites for the day.  Very soft, smooth and flavoursome with hints of pepper.  Very good value.
Shiraz 2009 (R85) -  A lovely Shiraz, with all the typical tobacco spice and white pepper flavours.
Merlot 2010 (R105) - The farm's flagship wine.  Loads of dark berries.  A very juicy, excellent Merlot with a nice slightly dry finish and tanniny structure.  Not everyone's favourite, but then this lot tend to prefer their Cabs and Shiraz.

Reserve Range Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (R90) - Wine of the day.  Dark, blackcurrant flavours with an earthy spice (not tobacco spice, earth spice!)  Delicious! and very well priced.

Another superb afternoon in the Cape winelands, we'll definitely bring visitors back for the views!

DIEU DONNÉ VINEYARDS
Uitkyk Street, Franschhoek - Follow the signs from the Main Road
Tel: +27 21 876 2493
Open Sundays.

Val de Vie - Wine, Polo & Housing Estate & Sunday Market

 - DEFINITELY WORTH A VISIT ON MARKET DAY

Sunday was grey and rainy, so the pictures are not great, but Val de Vie really is a beautiful setting, I will have to post more pictures when we hit the market next time.
With Summer supposedly on the way the market opened up again yesterday and is held every second Sunday of the month.  They also have an awesome Pongraz and chocolate tasting you can do on market days - we left that for next time.

The market is great, its small enough to not be overwhelming with too much choice and competition, but the quality of the stalls is very impressive - the food stalls are amazing!!  If you have little people they also have a heap of activities to keep them busy.

Given the rain, there were surprisingly quite a few people who had made the effort to get out to the market.  We'll definitely be back at the next one, hopefully outside on the lawn with a Polo game in the background... as you do.

The wine tasting is at the restaurant overlooking the Polo fields.  The setting is pretty spectacular in the Drakenstein Valley at the foot of the mountains over looking beautifully groomed Polo fields.  There were no matches or horses out the day we popped in.  The restaurant and bar area are very stylishly decorated and you can sit anywhere to do a wine tasting (well we did anyway).

It also must be said, since enjoying different tasting glasses at different farms, the small tasting glasses that you often find (and today at Val de Vie), really don't do much justice to the wines.  They don't open up the aromas and flavours and sometimes give you a completely different impression on the wine.


I think Val de Vie is better known as a Housing Estate than a wine farm.  We actually did not see any vineyards, come to think of it.  But their wines are well worth a try, most of them quite easy drinking.  Even the TRH commented saying, "none of the reds are heavy or tanniny they are all quite easy drinking".  They are not too badly priced either.

A few wine notes below...

POLO CLUB FILLY ROSÉ 2012
With a slight bit of Turkish delight on the nose, this Rose is more of an off-dry Rose, not too sweet, not too dry.  It is quite refreshing, but a little sour with a more grapefruit flavour.  It has a slight tongue cluck on the finish, but if you enjoy your more tart, grapefruit flavours then this is a great summer wine.

POLO CLUB CHENIN BLANC 2012
As per the TRH, because the vineyard area on the Estate is quite small, the Chenin Blanc grapes are actually brought in from Hermanus where there is more of a sea-breeze and "minerals in the ground" influence.  It is quite crisp, but also quite tart and slightly vinegary, not particularly smooth.  We gave it a 5 out 10.  

POLO CLUB SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013
Again these grapes are sourced from elsewhere.  The wine maker worked together with Groote Post and used grapes from the Darling area.  Although the Chenin notes mention guava, we actually thought this Sav B had very strong guava aromas and flavours.  The aromas on the nose are lovely and fresh.  I could definitely taste the acidity mentioned in the notes, with a slightly sour finish.  It is a good Sav B.

Val de Vie GVC 2008 (50% Grenache Blanc, 30% Viognier, 20% Clariette Blanche) 

This is a white blend (I have never heard of the Clariette).  According to our TRH, these are all Rhone, France varietals which suit the climate of the Franshhoek Valley very well.  This is the only wooded white wine of Val de Vie and you can definitely pick that up on the aromas.  The smells are not unlike a Chardonnay actually with buttery oak aromas and a little bit of an earth, fynbos hint as well.  Having said that, the flavours are much lighter than the aromas and leave a very slight Chardonnay sort of finish, but very smooth, different and enjoyable.  The tasting notes mention citrus zest and wildflowers which I can definitely agree with.  You can also taste the vanilla impact of the Viognier together with the fruity flavours and slight oak.  It may sound strange, but the actual liquid of the wine was light and yet the air that fills your mouth on the after taste is very full and oaky.  This was definitely our favourite Val de Vie wine.  4* John Platter.

VAL DE VIE RYK NEETHLING 2010 (56% Shiraz, 20% Mourvedre, 13% Carignan, 7% Grenache, 4% Cinsaut)
Apparently Ryk was actually involved in the production of this wine, it was not merely named after him.  This wine has a lot of flavours going on, but they don't linger very long.  You can definitely taste the Shiraz focus in this blend, with the usual peppery smells dominating the flavours.  It is quite smokey with not a lot of berry or fruit flavours, but it is also quite easy drinking, almost like a slightly watered down Shiraz sort of flavour.  The actual wine is quite dry, but somehow the aftertaste is not.  We both agreed that this wine is definitely better than a 2nd tier or "Best Value" wine, but not as good as some of our favourite blends.

VAL DE VIE SHIRAZ 2008
This wine is darker and more purple in colour being 100% Shiraz.  It has the distinctive pepper flavours and aromas combined with the dark fruits.  It is a little tart on the tongue, but otherwise a good Shiraz.  It could smooth out a bit, but those harsher flavours could be due to the small glasses.  A very enjoyable Shiraz.  4* John Platter.

See at the market - dates per the website 22 Sept 2013, 13 Oct 2013, 26 Oct 2013, 10 Nov 2013 etc.

VAL DE VIE ESTATE
R301, Jan Van Riebeck Drive, Paarl
Tel: +27 21 863 6100
33°48’15” S 18°58’04” E 
 

Beyerskloof Pinotage Burgers

 - BOTH WINE AND FOOD - DELICIOUSNESS!!

On Saturday we decided to earn our breakfast and ran the 13km to Windmeul Market, a bit ambitious maybe but we made it.  The marker was more festive than usual with all the potjie competitions tents and waterblommetjie stations.  The usual breakfast and a few sneaky snoek and feta samoosas were delicious as always, and well earned.

 

Someone mentioned they were heading to Beyerskloof to pick up some wine for friends and family in Pretoria, and with no other plans we all decided to jump on the bandwagon.  With such lovely weather why wouldn't you want to be out and about in the beauty of the winelands!?
 
If you are ever at the Beyerskloof tasting room, find Jacques - what a treat!  Great entertainment and certainly not shy when pouring you a sample to taste... you probably will end up leaving with a few bottles in the end!
 
A few of us were shouted at for being anti-social, tasting wines while the others sat on the deck.  But Jacques was convincing us of how the 2013 Chenin Blanc Pinotage is one of the best thus far and how the Pinotage Dry Rose is so lovely - you can drink a whole bottle and not have a headache the next day, because it is DRY and not SWEET.  He even topped up our glasses as we headed out to the restaurant for some lunch.

The Chenin Blanc Pinotage is lovely, very light in colour, pears and peppers on the palate and perfectly crisp for summer!  The Pinotage Dry Rose is also great, with the rich crimson rose colour you expect that sometimes sickly sweetness, but it is not at all, it is berries and creaminess with a dry finish - really quite enjoyable!

Lunch orders were for Pinotage burgers all around, I don't think anyone even looked at the menu for other options.  They are enormous, and DELICIOUS!!!  The meat is fantastic, great quality and I'm not sure how they make their onion marmalade (except for the Pinotage inclusion), but there are definitely some secrets there.  We've tried to replicate it and failed.  On a beautiful day, paired with the Chenin - we had one very satisfied table! 
The last time we were here with a group of Londoners and they declared outright, "The Best Burger they had ever had!!"

After seeing a tray of purple coloured beers being delivered to the table next door, the boys enquired and ordered themselves one of the Pinotage Beers for tasting.  It was surprisingly quite good.  Very heavy, a bit like a dark Weiss beer - I don't think you can do more than one, unless you are a dark beer kinda guy.  Well worth the taste though.

We headed back to the tasting room after lunch to make a few purchases and sampled some of the Lagare 2010 Fortified Dessert Wine, which is quite delicious.  It is made with the typical Port varietals (Tinta Barocca &Touriga Nacional) as well as Pinotage grapes (Being Beyerskloof and embracing ALL things Pinotage).  It is very dark in colour and the Pinotage adds a lovely dynamic.  It is not too syrupy or heavy like some dessert wines, but has lovely plum and dark berry flavours.  I would like to have some vanilla ice cream on the side next time to compliment it - yum!
We took a case of Beyerskloof Pinotage home with us (a good household favourite that always goes down well - your typical plum,cherry, mocha and cedar flavours altogether in an enjoyable above average easy drinking wine) as well as a bottle each of the Chenin Pinotage & Pinotage Rose to increase the summer wine collection on our rack. 

Beyerskloof really have done an excellent job of capturing their market.  Their wines are reasonably priced and of a good standard, they embrace the student market rather than trying to avoid it and yet somehow still make you feel like you are wining and dining in the winelands.  A relaxed, simply designed, thoroughly enjoyable farm to visit.  We often pop in for a burger or even to share a bottle or two on the restaurant deck.  I also enjoy how they have managed to fully embrace the Pinotage grape and find ways to bring it into most of their wines, remarkable. 

A beautiful afternoon in the winelands - great wine, delicious burgers and a chilled, bustling atmosphere throughout the restaurant and winery.

BEYERSKLOOF WINE ESTATE
Along the R304 between the N1 and Stellenbosch
Tel: +27 21 865 2135

 - Closed on Sundays

Bouchard Finlayson Boutique Winery

 - FANTASTIC WINES AND A LOVELY CELLAR EXPERIENCE
 
Another awesome weekend in Sandbaai - we were actually there on the weekend of the Hermanus Wine Festival, but it looked a little cramped in the tent so we headed for the farms and stopped in at the festival one the way back for some delicious snacks.  Eat restaurant had awesome pitas and there was a delectable stand serving sugar coated nuts of all types - mmmm... amazing!!

Bouchard Finlayson wine farm was on our list to visit the last time, but I think they were closed.  So this time around they were definitely the first stop.  Quite unassuming, I thought the tasting room was the house close to the road, but in fact you drive right up the hill and of course have an awesome view all the way back to the sea (in the distance) when you get to the top (I think the sea view is a pre-requisite in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley), a pity about the brown vineyards of winter.  The tasting building is a simple white painted thatch building with beautifully manicured lawns with a similar looking manor house nearby.

This is a boutique winery specialising in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is particularly suited to these varietals due to the clay soil and cool sea breeze, similar to those varietals' wine regions in Northern France.  Bouchard Finlayson's Galpin Peak Pinot Noir (unfortunately not available for tasting) has won many an award and accolade, and helped them keep their reputation as one of the top wineries in South Africa. 

 If you want the private tasting with the wine maker, down the cellar, you will have to book ahead.  There was a group there when we went and it certainly looked like a lot of fun in there.
If not, the rest of the tasting room also gives you the feel of being down in a cellar.  Barrels and wine lieing in arches in the brick walls and a simple vase full of Proteas adorning the tasting tables.

The folk here are extremely friendly and accomodating - our group all tasted different wines and I think we managed to cover most of them.
While some preferred the Blanc De Mer, others frowned and declared the Hannibal the clear winner of the day, but all were considered very good wines.

Excellent wines and a lovely relaxing cellar experience.

A few wine notes below (compiled using everyone's comments) ...

SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVE 2012
There is a small compliment of semillon in this wine and you can definitely notice it, there are no hard edges at all, it is utterly smooth.  It has that slight bubble effect on your tongue.  Lovely tropical flavours with a minerality that leaves some herb flavours lingering at the end.
Quite delicious!
 
BLANC DE MER 2012
This is a white wine blend, mainly Riesling, Viognier and Sav B with a few other smaller percentages.  It is a light and enjoyable wine, a bit tart and acidic I thought, but a good summertime wine.  It smells like fresh cut apples and has mango, apricot and vanilla flavours.


MISSIONVALE CHARDONNAY
The Missionvale is quite similar to the Crocodile below but has spent slightly less time in the French Oak resulting in more honey aromas and melon and vanilla on the palate.  Rich, but light flavours.  We also thought it was a bit smoother than the Crocodile.
 
CROCODILE'S LAIR / "KAAIMANSGAT CHARDONNAY" 2010
This is a limited edition wine which has been 50% wooded, you can tell by the buttery nose.  Even so the caramel flavours are not too overpowering and you get more of vanilla, cinnamon and spiced apples with a cream apricot sort of ending.  A lovely Chardonnay!
 
GALPIN PEAK PINOT NOIR 2011
The Hemel & Aarde valley is very good to Pinot Noirs, I always seem to like them when I am there.  This one was superb, the best I have tasted!  A lighter, browner colour than the usual rich red you find in Pinots (could be the lighting), with quite serious legs.  After 10 months in French Oak you definitely notice the floral and toasty wood aromas.  It has lovely red berry, somewhere between a cranberry and a mulberry, flavours with quite earthy and dry finish.  It is definitely more dark and robust than most Pinot Noirs.  Delicious! 
(R245 per bottle)
 

HANNIBAL 2011
While the name scares me a little, this is actually an excellent wine.  It was an all-round favourite.  A blend of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Mourvedre, Barbera and Shiraz where the grapes have been separately fermented.  It has a slightly browner hue to it with unusual, soft berry, foreign aromas.  It smells like it's not from around here, like something I would expect from Europe.  It has minimal tannins, it is soft and yet somehow complex, light but still robust and very smooth with lovely berry flavours and a little spice.  A well deserved 5* in the John Platter Guide.  A lovely lovely wine! Excellent!
(R209 per bottle)

Another beautiful day in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley... Love this part of the world!

BOUCHARD FINLAYSON WINERY
Valley Road, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Tel: +27 28 312  3515
 

Hidden Valley Wine Farm

 - SPECTACULAR VIEWS & GREAT WINE!

This gem of a wine farm is right at the end of Annandale road.   I actually always thought the farm's name came from it's position - hidden at the end of a beautiful valley, but in fact it is the owners who are the Hidden family. 

It really is a beautiful part of the world.  A cute little dam lies at the bottom of huge, majestic mountains, there is a lovely little nature trail which one can do with ease.  Or if you would rather relax with a lovely glass of wine, the view from the tasting room and patio is spectacular.  Hidden Valley is also host to one of the top ten restaurants in the country - Overture.  It is so peaceful and tranquil out there (without being eery).  I also love how they have made an effort to keep all the surrounding fauna and flora as indigenous as possible, with beautiful proteas, strelitzias and more.

Unfortunately our service wasn't that great, it seemed like the wine tasting side were a bit under staffed and one of them got the chocolate pairings wrong amongst other things.  We waited for ages to actually get our first tasting and we had those awful small glasses because they had apparently run out of the big ones.  So, not ideal, but the setting and wines completely made up for it.

We had family with us from Durban (a not so experienced wine drinker), which lead to a lot of entertaining commentary on the wine... with aromas of pepper and tastes of gravel!  I opted for the chocolate and wine tasting, and of course the chocolates were thoroughly enjoyed by ALL in pairing with their wines too.  Hidden Valley has made a concerted effort to try pair the flavours of the wine and chocolates and in doing so have made their own chocolates with a interesting variety of truffle flavours.  From coriander to cinnamon and a few others in between (check out the pairings below).  There is also an olive and wine pairing, although we are not massive olive fans.  They did however let my mom taste a few of the green and black ones to help her decide which ones to buy.

We noticed they also had a Viognier which we are seeing more and more often - surprising because most farms tell you they are 'one of the few farms', apparently there are not so few.

There is also a special at the moment - 3 bottles of the Hidden Secret 2008 for R300.  Although we tasted the 2010 (see below), it was fantastic and we can imagine the 2008 is just as great if not better and so we bought a box of three for the wine rack.  As you can see these (together with the other reds have a number of awards stickers on their bottles - well deserved!)  I'll have another post next time we enjoy one of these bottles with dinner.

A few wine (and chocolate) notes below...

HIDDEN VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013 (White truffle chocolate with coriander filling)

This is a delicious Sav B, it is quite fruity with its melon, passion fruit and litchi flavours and smells just lovely.  There is less of the grassy zest you usually find in a Sav B.  I also agree with the tasting notes that there is a slight minerality to the wine too.  
The chocolate, while unusual and herbal, actually proved to be a very good compliment to the wine.

HIDDEN VALLEY CHENIN BLANC 2012 (Milk truffle chocolate with cinnamon filling) 
The family from Durban commented how this wine smelled like the sea air.  It has spent about 8 months in oak, which gives it a slightly yellow colour.  I definitely got the honeysuckle and apricot flavours, but found the wine to be quite tart and did not enjoy it that much.  Having said that, this chocolate pairing was by far the best and actually improved the flavours of the wine with its spicy cinnamon filling (which was also quite interesting). 

HIDDEN VALLEY VIOGNIER 2012 (Milk truffle chocolate with salt)

This varietal is definitely becoming more popular even though it often lacks a bit of flavour.  This one in particular is very smooth, it smells like apricot pips, but is a little bland in taste.  The salt chocolate definitely compliments and enhances the flavours and as always the wine is good with any food.  The Durbanite thought it had a strong peppery taste, I also thought it was quite acidic and a little sharper than the usual vanilla notes.

HIDDEN VALLEY PINOTAGE 2011 (Coffee dark chocolate AND Orange chocolate)

This Pinotage has quite strong coffee aromas and yet not so strong on the palate but more fruity flavours with a coffee finish.  Lovely aromatic plums, mulberries and blackberries together with spicy mocha flavours.  It is a very good Pinotage and the chocolate pairing was also great.

 
HIDDEN SECRET 2010 (Shiraz & Tannat) (Dark chocolate with marzipan filling)

Rhone style Shiraz - A Mediterranean French blend of Shiraz and Tannat.  It is very dark in colour, this comes from the Tannat influence.  An excellent wine!  It has rich plum aromas together with the spicy components.  It is smoother than the Cab blend below and well deserving of the awards.  Shiraz is definitely becoming one of our preferred varietals. 
The marzipan chocolate was not great, but then again, marzipan is not everyone's favourite.

HIDDEN GEMS 2010 (Cab Sauv & Petit Verdot) (Hazelnut truffle)

This wine has very earthy and metallic aromas typical of your Cab Sav.  The Durbanite commented on it saying it tasted like a gravel road!  It is definitely harsher than and not as smooth as the Hidden Secret, but as a Cab Sav should be, it is more robust and still very enjoyable with fruity, mineral and earth flavours.  Not sure if the chocolate pairing was the most complimentary and we would have like a bit of an actual nut crunch in the Hazelnut truffle, it was rather a smooth chocolate.  Great Cab blend though.

Some very good wines and a beautiful farm, I would like to go back to the restaurant and I am glad to say I now have some of their Secrets on my wine rack!


HIDDEN VALLEY
T4 Route
Off Annandale Road
R44
Stellenbosch

Phone:  +27 (0) 21 880 2646

S34 01 14.2  E18 51 12.9

Windmeul

 - FANTASTIC WINE & FARMERS MARKET!!

Their farmer's market is the first Saturday of every month and we are there just about every time. 

The last one we actually ran there to earn our delicious farmer's breakfast. 

So, it's on again this weekend and we will be there.  We have family in town who are keen to head out there and it's a great Saturday morning breakfast.  (We also need to replenish some wine stock!)

It is much more relaxed and far less busy than some of the other more well known markets, but that's what makes it so great!  Here you will find rerige boere plaas ontbyt, honey koeksusters, biltong, jams, the BEST snoek & feta samoosas and more.  Every time we go someone comments on how good their wines really are, reasonably priced and delicious.  (We actually had their Sauv B and Cab Sav as our wedding wine, so I may be biased, but they really are great).  I sometimes have a bad habit of benchmarking other Sauv Bs and Chenins against theirs when deciding whether I like them or not.

Last time we left with a bottle of their Cape Blend which has numerous awards stuck all over the bottle, a great SA wine for the wine rack.  A fantastic Pinotage based blend which has the distinct plum and coffee flavours of a Pinotage softened by the Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot and Merlot.  A lovely smooth wine to be enjoyed anytime.  We'll be getting some more of that this weekend.

This farm really does have fantastic wines and at such reasonable prices. 
The Sauvignon Blanc, which we had at the wedding, has a Veritas double gold and goes for about R40 a bottle - not too many deals like that around.  It is lovely, fresh and crisp with slight granadilla flavours.  Not too sweet or too dry, just right.  As far as I know the 2012 completely sold out. 
The Chenin Blanc has lovely peach flavours, a delicious crisp finish, more awards and also goes for about the same price. 
Even the Cape Blend is about R90 and covered in awards (4* John Platter, Veritas Gold, ABSA Top 3, Winemakers Choice Diamond).


All of the wines are available for tasting and purchase at the market.

Remember there is also a 10% discount on the wines if you buy them at the Saturday market.


It's a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning with family and friends!  Love their wines and always have a few bottles on the wine rack at home.  See you there tomorrow!

WINDMEUL CELLAR

Latitude:-33.671667  Longitude: 18.910278
Take the R44 off the N1 towards Wellington, the farm is about 15km on the left

+27 21 869 8100 

La Motte Wine Estate

 - ABSOLUTELY LOVELY FARM AND TASTING EXPERIENCE!

La Motte is situated just outside the town of Franschhoek.  It was a beautiful winter's day in the Cape, one of those rare sunshine filled but still a chill in the air days.  Perfect for a little wine tasting.  Unfortunately because it was a public holiday the renowned Pierneef a La Motte restaurant was closed along with the Farm shop and museum, but that just gives us a good reason to go back again.

So, through the garden and over the pond towards the wine tasting!  While I do prefer to be outdoors when the weather is fine, this tasting room is just lovely and I headed straight for the couches next to the fireplace.  A very stylish yet simple tasting room with glass windows looking into the cellar, the environment is relaxing and inviting.


 

You can choose to do the full tasting of 8 wines for R40 or simply taste a few of your choice.  Of course we opted for the full experience, which was fantastic.  A bread roll and glass of water for palette cleansers accompany the wine glasses on your personal tray.  The wine tasting is done very well allowing you to compare different wines next to each other to fully appreciate the effect that the different techniques have on the wines.
 

The La Motte winemaker is actually on the Shiraz board of South Africa, so there are a few Shiraz based blends.  All which were very impressive.

A great tasting experience and fantastic wines!  We will definitely be back here with friends and visitors and hopefully for lunch on the deck or dinner by the fireplace.

The only unfortunate thing about wine tasting in the winter is that the vines are all leaf-less, dry and brown, so you don't see the beautiful green blankets that cover the valleys and entrances to the wine farms.  Summer time is even more beautiful. 



A few wine notes below...

2012 LA MOTTE SAUVIGNON BLANC
As per our TRH, this wine is made up of eight different Sav Blanc grapes grown in eight different places.  This means the wine has influences from a range off different terriors, resulting in a smoother wine with softer smells on the nose.  It is not as piercing as a crisp, zesty Sav Blanc can sometimes be, but rather more fruity and softer on the palate.  Very enjoyable.  We much preferred this one to the Pierneef one below which was served alongside to taste and compare. 

2012 LA MOTTE PIERNEEF SAUVIGNON BLANC
According to our TRH, this is usually the preferred of the two Sav Bs when tasted in a food and wine pairing setting, suggesting perhaps that this wine might be better with food.  This Sav B is organically grown which means it has no pesticides and less sulphur (less of all the elements which usually improve the wine - no?! with perhaps less of a headache).  Nevertheless, you can certainly taste the difference between the two Sav Bs when tasted alongside each other.  This wine is quite acidic, not so refined and makes your tongue cluck just a little bit more.  Not a favourite, but we'll try it again with a food pairing and see if it is any smoother.

2010 LA MOTTE CHARDONNAY
This Chard was a little lighter in colour than most because only about one third has been in Oak.  It's got quite serious legs and yet the nose is surprisingly not so pungent, but rather a softer, pleasant oak smell.  It is very smooth and not too syrup or caramely, but rather vanilla and cashew nut flavours. 

2011 LA MOTTE MILLENNIUM TM
This red is a Bordeaux blend.  It has quite a sharp taste and could probably do with some time in the bottle.  It is 60% Merlot and therefore has all the berry influence, just a little less of that rich fruit flavour.  It does dry your mouth out a little and tickle the nose hairs, but it is a good 2nd tier blend which good use a little time to smooth out.  Good and reasonable, not amazing.

2010 LA MOTTE CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Delicious!  Quite purple and ruby in colour with a spicy nose, our TRH suggested that this wine can in fact keep for another 10-15 years but probably enjoyed best in the next 5-8 years.  2010 is well known as one of the best years for South African red wines.  Like the description notes mention, this wine as an intense varietal nose.  It is heavy bodied with a dry finish that will smooth even more as it ages.  
 
2010 LA MOTTE SHIRAZ
This Shiraz is quite berry flavoured for a Shiraz with a slight white pepperness to it, not a lot of the tobacco/cigar smokiness you would expect.  It is quite heavy, but smooth and has almost a dark feeling to it.  It is less spicy than usual, but having said that, when compared to the Cab Sav above, the Cab smells like caramel and berries.  The Shiraz is a bit more spicy and delicious.

NOTE: Pierneef was a South African artist and there are about 136 of his artworks on the La Motte property.  Each year the artwork on the label of the Pierneef bottles changes to a different Pierneef artwork thereby making them almost a collector's item.

2010 LA MOTTE PIERNEEF SHIRAZ VIOGNIER
This is a very easy drinking wine, it tastes like juice!  You can definitely taste the floral impact of the Viognier and how it softens some of the Shiraz spices.  We certainly agree with the 5 star John Platter rating, you can drink this wine everyday.  It's like the La Motte Shiraz above but you don't have to wait for it to smooth out.  A little harsh when compared to the Grenache blend below, but excellent in its own right!

2008 LA MOTTE PIERNEEF SHIRAZ GRENACHE
This wine tastes more like a blend and is definitely the smoothest of them all.  The blend was inspired by the Southern Rhone area in France and is absolutely delicious.  I am a big fan of Shiraz and this blend is quite superb.  If you choose to you can let it rest for longer.  But this is a fantastic wine and can be enjoyed now or kept for longer.

My other half has recently jumped on the Chardonnay wagon, declaring that it only applies to exceptional Chards made in the traditional wooded way and enjoyed in a large glass.  None of these new age, half wooded, easy drinking ones... they won't cut it.  

So we left La Motte with a bottle of the 2010 La Motte Chardonnay and a bottle of the 2008 La Motte Pierneef Shiraz Grenache.  Even though we thoroughly enjoyed the Cab, we would rather purchase a Shiraz from a farm where their speciality lies in the varietal and save a Cab purchase for a so inspired winemaker.

An absolutely lovely tasting experience and fantastic wines, especially the uniqueness of the Shiraz based wines and focus on the varietal at the farm.  We will definitely be back again!

La Motte Wine Farm
R45 Main Road, Franschhoek Valley
T +27 (0)21 876 8000
33º 53′ 0.91″ S 19º 4′ 21.57″ E