A bit of a mixed bag this week – something old, something sweet, something new and something pink to invite wine lovers to be just a little adventurous and try something different.
Stellenbosch Hills celebrates its 30th anniversary this year of producing a single cultivar Muscat de Hambourg, the only one of its kind in the country and a great value, versatile wine that can serve as an everyday drink for the sweeter-toothed as well as a treat for those who like to end a meal with a chilled glass of “soetes” alongside dessert.
The more well-known Muscat d’Alexandrie (which we know as Hanepoot in SA) is one of the parents of this cultivar developed in Germany, with Frankenthal (which most of us have never heard of) the other parent.
The wine is made “Jerepigo-style”, in other words the unfermented grape juice is fortified with wine spirit – giving it the alcohol kick while preserving the fresh and intense fruitiness of the grape.
Platter’s gives the Stellenbosch Hills wine four stars and calls it “a balanced fortified wine for all seasons – on ice in summer, over ice cream in spring, solo when the weather turns chilly”.
They left out a few options – definitely add strawberries to the ice cream before you drizzle it with some Muscat de Hambourg; and also consider it like you might sherry as a meal opener or in food: chilled and served with a starter course of chicken liver paté or creamy mushroom soup.
It’s a little deceptive – the deep sunset-like colour suggests sticky-sweetness, but there’s enough fresh and gentle acidity to lift it away from that notion and make it a happy anytime drink, full of floral fragrances, Turkish delight, sweet spices and, like its parent Hanepoot, distinct grape fruitiness.
Widely available at around 65 bucks, it’s a win.
Shifting in tone from amber-ruby-sunset colours to a light and fresh pink – Robertson Winery recently added a dry Brut Rosé to their extensive sparkling wine line-up.
Nicely dry, with fresh strawberry and candied fruit vibes, it’s refreshing and generous in flavour, and another win widely available at R60-R65.
This week’s “something new” bears some of the most striking package design that I’ve seen in a while – the name and label really evoking a sense of the place of origin and the wine inside the bottle.
Groote Post Seasalter Sauvignon Blanc 2018 puts the slopes, soil, climate and icy Atlantic breezes of the Darling hills on the West Coast in a glass. Flinty seashell minerality runs through it, playing with fresh yellow fruit and touches of seaweed and fynbos, the acidity balanced in crisp but not-overwhelming zestiness.
The wine is half wood-matured, half in steel tanks on the lees, with 10% semillon adding texture and richness; the wine develops something a little different with each sip.
At about R140, it replaces Groote Post’s discontinued Kapokberg Sauvignon Blanc as a worthy flagship.