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$350.00
South Africa
2019 The Blacksmith 'Barebones' Colombar
2018 Julien Schaal Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay
2018 Luddite Saboteur White
2019 Force Celeste Chenin Blanc
2018 Mother Rock White
2016 Spioenkop 1900 Sauvignon Blanc
2019 Die Hart Cabernet Sauvignon
2018 Joostenberg Family Blend
2019 Myburgh Bros Cinsault
2019 Rossouw, Gouws & Clarke Dry Red
2017 Trizanne Signature Wines TSW Syrah
2019 AA Badenhorst Secateurs Rosé
Varietal: Colombar/Colombard; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Sustainable
Colombard is a very common variety in South Africa – the vast majority of which is fairly uninteresting as a wine and distilled into brandy (South Africa is one of the top 10 brandy-consuming countries). Tremayne has managed to conjure up an electric wine of tension and brightness with his version. Being off-dry with a low pH and alcohol, it has more in common with a Kabinett Riesling than many South African white wines. Drink alongside a green papaya salad.
Varietal: Chardonnay; Closure: Screw cap; Farming Practices: Sustainable
The Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay is a blended wine from different areas along the cool south coast of the Western Cape. Beautifully balanced with both mineral and white stonefruit aspects, it is a lovely wine of poise and freshness. Fantastic with Crayfish/lobster cooked over coals.
Varietal: Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc & Viognier; Closure: Crown seal; Farming Practices: Sustainable
The Saboteur White is a blended wine, mostly using Chenin Blanc, some skin-contact Sauvignon Blanc and some early-picked Viognier. A truly unique South African wine, it shows the characteristic Luddite power with some beautiful textural notes. Interestingly closed with a crown cap. Match with Snapper napped with a nut brown butter sauce.
Varietal: Chenin Blanc; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Practising Organics
From a single vineyard on the Paardeberg, dry farmed and mostly bushvines. 90% fermented in stainless steel with 10% in old French oak. 30% skin contact for 4 weeks giving texture and grip. Aged on lees for 8 months, with no filtering, fining or SO2. Beautifully clean and vibrant Chenin Blanc, showing purity on the nose and on the palate. A lovely salty tang running throughout, with persistent lemon and pear characters. Bone dry and refreshing with fantastic texture and mouthfeel. Pair with Bangalow Sweet Pork cutlets.
Varietal: Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Grenache Blanc and Viognier; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Practising Organics
An exciting combination of Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. Chenin Blanc and Semillon have been in South Africa for centuries, and Grenache Blanc and Viognier love the Mediterranean climate. This natural wine has everything – fruit weight, tight acid, mouthfeel and flavour – just no new oak or additives of any kind. Pair with roast chicken with cumin and garlic or Comté cheese.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Sustainable
This Sauvignon Blanc has a bit of age on it and proves that white wines can age when made from vineyards in the coolest WO ("Wines of Origin") in South Africa. Classic aromas of blackcurrant and gooseberry are met with a medium bodied palate and beautiful refreshing finish. Pair with a creamy asparagus and pea risotto.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Sustainable
Produced from the cooler southern area of the winelands, fermented in old French oak (0% new oak was used). This wine has the hallmarks of classic Cabernet wines – cedar, tobacco, some pretty herbal notes, blackcurrant and plum with a robust structure. “Die Hart” (pronounced DEE-hart) means “The Heart” in Afrikaans. Drink alongside a Mediterranean style roast lamb leg.
Varietal: Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre & Touriga Nacional; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Sustainable
This wine is fairly close to being a representative blend of the different red varieties planted on Joostenberg (Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Touriga Nacional). Produced to be as drinkable and as pleasurable as possible without needing to age it extensively, the Myburgh’s wines are honest and respect the terroir. Drink alongside slow cooked pork shoulder or braised beef short ribs.
Varietal: Cinsaut/Cinsault; Closure: Screw cap; Farming Practices: Sustainable
Cinsault (also spelt Cinsaut) is a very common variety in South Africa. Similar to its relative, Grenache, Cinsault tends to grow very well in the warm, dry climate of South Africa. The wine it has produced in this case is like Pinot Noir’s rustic cousin; light-medium bodied, with cherry and berry fruits and spice. Slightly coarse tannin doesn’t detract from the sheer drinkability of the wine. Drink with lamb cutlets done on the coals.
Varietal: Pinotage; Closure: Cork; Farming Practices: Sustainable
100% Swartland Pinotage that's been whole bunch fermented and partially carbonically macerated for a week and then sees old oak for around 6 months. This all makes for a fresh, vibrant, juicy, new wave style of Pinotage. The fruit spectrum on the palate consists of cherries, plum, fynbos and red currants with a long saline finish. Drink around the barbecue while snacking on South African sausage and lamb chops.
Varietal: Syrah/Shiraz; Closure: Screw cap; Farming Practices: Sustainable
The TSW Syrah comes from a vineyard in the southern Swartland, and shows all the chracteristics that helped put that region on the map. An abundance of fine grained tannin, with pure red and black fruits and a medium body. An exercise in balance and grace. Drink with a rich lamb tagine.
Varietal: Mourvèdre & Cinsault; Closure: Screw cap; Farming Practices: Practising Organics
Most of the grapes for this wine are grown on Kalmoesfontein in the granitic soils. The rest of the grapes are from the neighbours with whom they work closely. 70% Mourvèdre, 30% Cinsault. The grapes were picked early in the morning and the whole bunches were transferred to the press and pressed slowly so as not extract too much colour. The Mourvèdre juice was allowed 2 hours of skin contact before being drawn off from the skins. The juices were blended and naturally fermented in tank and 4500L foudres. Pair with tempura prawns or Quiche Lorraine.
Winemaker Tremayne Smith started The Blacksmith in 2014, it is a very small production label. He was inspired by using varieties such as Cinsault, Carignan and Grenache, both locally and during his travels abroad, The Blacksmith's philosophy is to make natural wines that are both appealing and soul-satisfying.
South African wines, via French hands. Julien’s day job is to make delicious Riesling in Alsace, France in the village of Saint-Hippolyte in the Colmar region where he lives for most of the year. He fell in love with the Cape South Coast of South Africa in the early 2000s when he was working as a cellarhand and has returned to make wine every year since. Julien’s wines show elegance while remaining concentrated and are true to both origin and variety.
The Verburgs make wines on a hill in Bot River and have a fetish for the old-fashioned ways. Focusing on Chenin Blanc and Shiraz, Penny in the vineyards and Niels in the cellar create the most honest, delicious wines they can.
Mother Rock is a collaboration between winemaker Johan 'Stompie' Meyer and UK importer Ben Henshaw. The Mother Rock range is primarily concerned with expressing the combination of soil type and grape variety. The Force Celeste sits under the Mother Rock label and has been created to produce an affordable range of natural wines. Johan’s wines are on the extreme edge of South African winemaking – they quite often have (harmless) sediment.
Mother Rock is a collaboration between winemaker Johan 'Stompie' Meyer and UK importer Ben Henshaw. The Mother Rock range is primarily concerned with expressing the combination of soil type and grape variety. Johan’s wines are on the extreme edge of South African winemaking – they quite often have (harmless) sediment.
Belgian native Koen farms a hilltop in the middle of Elgin WO which he planted to vines in the early 2000s. A qualified engineer and former sommelier, he has a very clear vision for what he wants to achieve. His wines reflect his European heritage while still reflecting the terroir of Spioenkop.
Nothing to do with Bruce Willis sadly. Made by Niels Verburg of Luddite fame, this wine is a homage to the style of Cabernet Sauvignons from yesteryear.
Tyrrel and Anette are the 5th generation of Myburghs on the Joostenberg farm in Paarl. They strongly believe in the fundamental importance of origin. The winemaking philosophy avoids obtrusion as much as they deem is possible without compromising quality.
Brothers Tyrrel and Philip Myburgh’s great grandfather and his brother were making wine on the Joostenberg farm in the early 1900s. Back then the wine was made in a very traditional fashion, utterly devoid of the additives and manipulations that have helped define ‘modern’ wine. Sourcing fruit from Joostenberg and surrounding farms, Tyrrel and Philip have created this label to honour their forebears and have made the wines in the old style – simple, pure and honest.
This is a joint venture between Scholtz Rossouw from the Langkloof farm in the Swartland, Jurgen Gouws who makes his own wines under the Intellego label and David and Jeannette Clarke, owners of the wine distribution company called Ex Animo Wine Co. The philosophy is a hands off approach to crafting elegant examples of Swartland grown varietals.
Living on the Cape peninsula in Kommetjie and making her wines up the road at Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek, Trizanne is never far away from the ocean. She creates remarkably elegant wines of nuance and complexity, and has done so since she worked for Klein Constantia (she made the early Anwilka wines). Regardless of price Trizanne’s wines show an underlying elegance and gracefulness. Supreme value.
AA Badenhorst Family Wines are grown, made and matured on Kalmoesfontein farm in the Swartland appellation of South Africa. The 28ha of old bushvines grow in the Siebritskloof part of the Paardeberg mountain.
The property is owned by the dynamic and good looking cousins Hein and Adi Badenhorst. They are originally from Constantia. Their grandfather was the farm manager of Groot Constantia for 46 years. Their fathers were born there and farmed together in Constantia, during the days when people still ate fresh vegetables and Hanepoot grapes, drank Cinsault and there were a lot less traffic lights and hippies still had a presence.
On Kalmoesfontein it is back to basics, using traditional winemaking equipment and old cement kuipe. “We make wines with immense character. We’re using what we can afford. We are making the best wines we can. And we are having great experiences. I want to make something, involving interaction from my family.” Together these two have restored a neglected cellar on the farm that was last used in the 1930′s to make natural wines in the traditional manner.
