There 18 products in this category
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Lourens Family Wines
Franco Lourens spent some years working with the great Chris Alheit before settling to focus entirely on his own range of wines. This is a breathtakingly self-assured range and almost in the blink of an eye places Franco into the very top bracket of top-end New Wave SA producers. Franco is a leading light of South Africa’s New Wave and champion of old-vine Chenin, among others. He is inevitably set to join the likes of Chris Alheit, Eben Sadie, Adi Badenhorst, Duncan Savage et alia in the shimmering constellation of New Wave South African stars. BUT - and here's the rub - since Franco is still relatively unknown, the prices do not yet reflect how sensational the wines really are. Since mid-2020 Franco has shared cellar space with another great new vigneron Lukas van Loggerenberg in Paarl. "35% Verdelho, 21% Chenin Blanc, 19% Colombar, 18% Grenache Blanc (five days skin contact) and 7% Palomino – sourced variously from Stellenbosch, Swartland and Piekenierskloof. Expressive aromatics of pear, peach and citrus plus floral perfume and hay while the palate has good fruit definition, well integrated acidity and a gently savoury finish, some light phenolic grip adding interest. Subtle and intricate". 94/100 winemag.co.za
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Iona
Elegant, fresh cherry and red berry nose with undergrowth melange. The palate is pure with lovely texture and sweet cherry fruit dominates with spicy undertones. The wine is fresh and intense with real vibrancy.
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Cool Mountain
A refreshingly crisp and fresh wine, with an aromatic vibrant style and concentrated flavours of gooseberry, passion fruit and zesty citrus. Flavoursome ripe acidity provides a wine of great balance and harmony.
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Stellar Organics
Both Organic and Fairtrade. The Sauvignon brings herbaceous and lime notes, and a zingy citrus acidity. The Chenin Blanc adds a fruity mid palate of stone fruit and guava.
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Cool Mountain
A refreshingly crisp and fresh wine, with an aromatic vibrant style and concentrated flavours of gooseberry, passion fruit and zesty citrus. Flavoursome ripe acidity provides a wine of great balance and harmony.
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Darling Cellars
On our hunt for decent alcohol-free wines this came out as a winner. Great light salmon pink colour with ripe strawberries and sweet candyfloss on the nose following through to a balanced pallet with a lingering finish. Alcohol Free wines have just natural ingredients but techniques to ensure it is alcohol free vary. This includes removing sugar pre fermentation to more sophisticated techniques of spinning the alcohol out through cones. In the UK drinks that are between 0.05% and 0.5% ABV are classed as non-alcoholic.
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Rustenberg
Rustenberg is a well-known producer of high quality Chardonnays; the Stellenbosch Chardonnay embodies their house style. Apricot, coconut and orange peel aromas followed by flavours of marzipan, sponge cake and citrus rounded off with carefully-judged oak and balanced, fresh acidity.
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Iona
Elegant, fresh cherry and red berry nose with undergrowth melange. The palate is pure with lovely texture and sweet cherry fruit dominates with spicy undertones. The wine is fresh and intense with real vibrancy.
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Vilafonté
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Vondeling Wines
Mostly Chenin, old vine low yield, unoaked. Limpid, whistle-clean, green apple, elderflower. Fine-textured fish wine. Super value.
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Vondeling Wines
Ripe plums, mulberry, cherry blossom, and violet aroma while infused with subtle hints of cinnamon and sweet spices. The palate is gentle and the tannins fresh but rounded.
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Aloe Tree
Aromatic guava and orange blossom jump from the glass – this Chenin Blanc is off dry with ripe apples, peaches and a hint of orange peel on the palate. The elegant crisp finish makes this a fantastic wine for all occasions. The fruit for Aloe Tree hails from the increasingly fashionable west coast of the Cape. Cool nights and sea breezes combine to extend the growing season, resulting in perfectly balanced, ripe grapes. The iconic Aloe Tree image is sure to be familiar to anyone who has travelled widely through the Cape and is an important part of the biodiversity which South Africa is famous for. The characteristic silhouette provides a backdrop to one of the most spectacular wine regions in the world where wines grow in harmony with the thousands of plant species that make up the Cape Floral Kingdom. Chenin blanc is well adapted for various soil types, but our premium grapes are grown on medium to lower potential soils. Yield levels are limited by winter pruning and by removing shoots and leaving two or three shoots per spur during early spring. Canopy management is required as it plays a major role in yield and quality to ensure an optimum microclimate within the canopy. With its vigorous growth, medium-sized trellises are required and shoot positioning are done to maximize canopy surface. Grapes are harvested at a minimum of 21.5°Brix, but we aim for 22°Brix. Once the Chenin Blanc grapes are harvested, they arrive at the winery where the fruit is gently pressed and only the free run juice is used. Using selected yeasts the juice then undergoes cold fermentation at 14 degrees Celsius for 2 weeks before lying on the lees for 3 months.
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Rustenberg
The John X Merriman is a powerful wine that rewards aging. In its youth the wine is worth decanting and expresses cassis, black currant and dark fruits complemented with cigar tobacco and sour cherrynotes. As the wine ages and its fine grained tannins soften a softer more savoury palate develops revealing wonderful drinkability and tertiary complexity.
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Meerlust
This baby wine of SA's most famed grand Bordeaux-blend Rubicon is on astonishing form. In fact as no Rubicon was made in 2019 this wine contains all the top barrels that would normally be reserved for it. 50% new Nevers oak, 27% Cab Franc. Dense but taut with cab franc lift, pencil lead, capsicum, the whole spectrum of Cabernet class at a crazy good price.
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Aloe Tree
Bursting with dark berry flavours of blackberry, dark cherry and plums, this Shiraz has soft and supple tannins and a white pepper finish. The fruit for Aloe Tree hails from the increasingly fashionable west coast of the Cape. Cool nights and sea breezes combine to extend the growing season, resulting in perfectly balanced, ripe grapes. The iconic Aloe Tree image is sure to be familiar to anyone who has travelled widely through the Cape and is an important part of the biodiversity which South Africa is famous for. The characteristic silhouette provides a backdrop to one of the most spectacular wine regions in the world where wines grow in harmony with the thousands of plant species that make up the Cape Floral Kingdom. The grapes come from selected vineyard blocks on the west coast. The extra warmth in this area helps develop the full body and ripe flavours of this variety. The vines are planted on Karoo clay soils that add body and texture to the wine. The vines ages vary from 10 to 25 years old. Once the grapes arrive at the winery, the fruit is gently pressed and only the free run juice is used. Using selected yeasts the juice then undergoes fermentation at between 18-22 degrees Celsius for 5 days. Because of the depth of flavour, it requires less oak treatment compared to other grape varieties and matures on French oak for 3 months to improve body and texture. During fermentation the wine is pumped over 3 times a day for colour extraction.
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Kleine Zalze
Barrel fermented. Pale yellow with green hints; bruised apple. Quite fleshy ripe fruit with teasing juicy acidity. Lots of texture and length. Ripe stone fruits and mouth watering long finish. Wine Merchant Top 100
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Darling Cellars
On our hunt for decent alcohol-free wines this came out as a winner. A light yellow with green tint in colour, aromas of ripe tropical fruit, flavours of yellow peaches and gooseberries complimented by a fresh acidity. This wine will pair well with most seafood, and of course drinks well on its own. Alcohol Free wines have just natural ingredients but techniques to ensure it is alcohol free vary. This includes removing sugar pre fermentation to more sophisticated techniques of spinning the alcohol out through cones. In the UK drinks that are between 0.05% and 0.5% ABV are classed as non-alcoholic.
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Lanzerac
This classic Cabernet shows inviting flavours of blackberry, with hints of cocoa, almond and cedar. A full-bodied wine with excellent balance on the palate and a smooth lingering aftertaste, it just cries out for some lamb or beef steak. Really delicious.