I’ve admired Craig Hawkins’ Testalonga wines for a while now. They are just so brave. And delicious. [See here, here and here for reviews.] This is his Chenin that’s made without…
Lunch at Chez Bruce with some of South Africa’s finest, plus some old world stars
Had a special lunch at Chez Bruce last Thursday, with some memorable wines. Keith Prothero was hosting, and also present were Chris and Suzaan Alheit, Peter-Allan Finlayson, Chris Mullineux, John…
Rêverie Chenin Blanc 2014 Swartland, South Africa
This was a new discovery at Cape Wine. It’s the Rêverie Chenin Blanc 2014 from an old vineyard (1978 plantings) in the Swartland. The soils? Pure granite, no irrigation, picked…
South African Chenin Blanc: some highlights from the Cape Wine beach party
These are some of the highlights from the Chenin Blanc beach party at Cape Wine, which I caught on Monday afternoon. It’s great that Chenin Blanc is now fully recognized…
Judging Chenin Blanc in South Africa
Three days. Seven judges. 145 South African Chenin Blancs. It was the second year of the new look Standard Bank Top 10 Chenin Blanc Challenge, and I had been invited…
Fun with Ryan and Samantha – Skurfberg, Jamet, Silvervis et al
So Ryan Mostert and Samantha Suddons, of new winery Terra Cura, popped round. They brought with them a couple of boxes of wine, so we sat, tasted and drank. Some…
The Breedekloof Chenin Blanc initiative
Before this tasting Breedekloof was totally off my radar. So it was great to catch up with three Breedekloof guys, Pieter Cronje, De Wet Lategan and Attie Loew to hear…
In South Africa, day 1, two exciting new wines – Patatsfontein and Haarlem to Hope
I’ve been in South Africa for one afternoon and a sleep, and already I have much that I want to report on, but for starters I will talk about two…
Three from South Africa
Had three interesting South African wines last night. Here are my notes. Two were served blind (Cartology and Blank Bottle). Cartology 2013 Western Cape, South Africa A blend of Chenin…