NEW WINE IN TIME FOR WINTER
DURBANVILLE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2022
The 13 wineries of the Durbanville Wine Valley have come together in a rare collaborative effort to craft the inaugural vintage of this milestone Sauvignon Blanc. The cool-climate appellation of Durbanville bears a lofty reputation for Sauvignon Blanc, with its wineries consistently taking home top honours in this category. But the Durbanville Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is significant in that 13 wineries contributed to its creation, with final production being entrusted to veteran winemaker Charles Hopkins and Morgan Steyn of De Grendel. The result is a dry wine full on the palate with ostentatious notes of apple, pear and jasmine and flavours of tropical citrus, granadilla and blackcurrant.
As the cool winter weather kisses the coast and seeps across the subcontinent, it’s the perfect time to warm the innards with the delicious new offerings of some of the country’s finest wineries. And, thanks to climate-controlled rooms and the many gloriously sunny days South Africa gets in winter, it’s not only red, red wine on our agenda this issue. BY THEA BECKMAN
R110 per bottle
STEENBERG FIVE LIVES RED BLEND 2019
PINOT NOUVEAU 2022
R175 per bottle
R350 per bottle
Steenberg praises the legacy of its pioneering (and indomitable) 17th century founder, Catharina Ras, with its new 2019 Bordeaux style red blend. Crafted by cellar master Elunda Basson, Steenberg Five Lives is a glorious marriage of silky, elegant Merlot (76%) and powerful, structured Cabernet Sauvignon (24%). Steenberg has long focused its viticulture on traditional Bordeaux varieties, which shows in the lush, velvety texture, structure and lengthy finish of this wine, which can be cellared for up to five years. The nose bursts with blackcurrant cassis, basil and plum underscored by an earthy character typical of Steenberg’s distinctive terroir.
From the sea-spray baptised slopes of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in the southwestern Cape comes this typical Beaujolais Nouveau-style wine, courtesy of Hasher Family Estate. With Pinot Noir grapes picked in the afternoon, still warm on the vine, the Pinot Nouveau 2022 is made as a celebratory wine at the end of harvest, intended to be enjoyed immediately after bottling. On the nose, this medium-bodied red boasts vibrant notes of red and blackberries with subtle hints of peach. A refreshing acidity cuts through the abundant fruit of this youthful yet elegant wine, which pairs beautifully with most foods, or, you know, just enjoyed on its own. Recommendation: serve slightly chilled!
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