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The Stellenbosch Wine Route
The wines of Beyerskloof

PO Box 107, Koelenhof, 7605 South Africa
Tel: +27 21 865 2135 Fax: +27 21 865 2683
E-mail: wine@beyerskloof.co.za Website: www.beyerskloof.com

My final stop on the Bottelary wine route was Beyerskloof, a modern style operation, part owned by Beyers Truter, the Pinotage king. Truter founded this winery in 1988 in partnership with four wine lovers in Johannesburg: now it’s owned by him and Simon Halliday of Raisin Social (the UK agents).

It deviates from the traditional Cape Estate model in that while Beyerskloof grows some of its own grapes for the premium wines, they also source grapes from elsewhere from their mass market Pinotage. This more commercial wine a good introduction to Pinotage selling at the key £4.99/£5.99 price point and made in large quantities.

Beyerskloof buys grapes mostly from Bottelary region farms, and has 8 or 9 primary growers. All the grapes come from Stellenbosch.

Beyerskloof Pinotage 2002 Stellenbosch
Sourced from old bush vine vineyards. Up to 100 000 cases produced annually. Quite a sweet herbal nose with a touch of caramel. Juicy palate with some attractive meaty richness. Very good

Bouwland Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 Stellenbosch
Savoury, juicy berry fruit with good acidity. Good/very good

Truter’s Reserve Pinotage 2000 Stellenbosch
Juicy ripe, rich fruit with a savoury, slightly meaty edge. Very good

Beyerskloof Synergy 2001 Stellenbosch
This Cape Blend is a new addition to the Portfolio. It is roughly a third each of Pinotage, Merlot and Cabernet aged in a mix of new and old French oak. Very appealing meaty, spicy, savoury nose. The palate is savoury with lots of spicy, herby character. Well defined. Structured and with potential for the future.  Very good+

Beyerskloof 2000 Stellenbosch
This is the flagship estate wine, made from roughly 5 hectares of Cabernet and Merlot vines. These are planted at high density (5000 vines/ha) on gravelly soils, on a five wire trellis system. It has a very firm, spicy nose with a minty, herby edge. The palate is appealing and firmly structured, with good concentration and spicy tannins. A modern wine but one that shows promise for the future. Very good/excellent

Other reports from the Stellenbosch wine route:

See also: 

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