Sizanani Pinotage and Empowerment - Randall Peceur on Video

Earlier this month I met Randall Peceur (pictured above) at Cape Wine Europe. I’d first encountered Randall some years ago in Bellevue Estate winery when he was working in their tasting room pouring wine for visitors. Now he is the managing director of Sizanani Wines, the empowerment company set up by Bellevue and now 100% owned by the workers at Bellevue.

Randall told me “The main focus of the company is the upliftment of the farm workers. Before they would work all day in the vineyards and winery but had no knowledge of what their future would hold for them. Now with this project they have a tangible link to their future and more importantly in the future of their children. We strongly believe that if we can empower them and uplift them and give them something to live for, they will become stronger, be homeowners and heads of households and be more caring.”



In the above video Randall talks about the benefits of empowerment to the workers and tells us about the 2008 Sizanani Pinotage.

Sizanani has had export success including a contract to supply own label Chenin and Pinotage for UK supermarket chain Morrisons.

I was keen to taste Sizanani 2008 Pinotage. I was surprised at that 2008 vintage was still current but Randall explained the wine had long aging in old wood barrels.

The wine had an attractive lavender nose, it is light in colour and lightweight in the mouth. Randall said the intention was to make an easy drinking wine to attract those that didn’t usually choose wine. It is certainly easy pleasant drinking but my own tastes lean to Pinotages with a bit more ‘oomph’ about them.

Historic Pinotage Vineyard to be TRASHED !!

The very first varietal Pinotage was grown and made by P K Morkel at Bellevue farm. That vineyard he planted in 1953 is still there, the old bushvines are still producing grapes for Bellevue's wines.

Anyone would think that such a historic vineyard would be officially recognised by the government as a National Historic Site. Not so.

But it has been recognised by predators who, using satellite imagery and without anyone visiting the area, have identified the low slopes of the Botttelary Hills on which Bellevues vineyards are planted as containing clay deposits.

And they have been given permission by the goverment to mine the area for clay.

They say they can, after extracting all the clay they want, restore the land back to its previous condition.

I don't think you have to be a viticulturist or a believer in the importance of terroir to know that it will impossible to restore this historic vineyard after those 57 year old vines have been torn from the soil and the very ground their roots descended through have been taken away in trucks.

I am appalled that the historic vineyards of the Stellenbosch region -- and this one in particular -- should be considered suitable for clay extraction.

Clay may be valuable, but so are Cape wines which have been producing wealth for the people of the region and the nation for more than 350 years.

To dig up and remove the actual ground that is the source of the nutrients and unique flavour of Cape wines and to replace them with -- well what???

The decision has been taken. Mining company, Corobrik, has the go ahead.

Dirkie Morkel, current owner and viticulturist at Bellevue Estate is appealing the decision. He needs all the help he can get and international attention would be welcomed.


If you are as appalled as I am, please drop emails to


Department of Mineral and Energy Regional Manager Mr Sivuyile Mpakane sivuyile.mpakane@dme.gov.za (Note that Mr Mpakane came to his post after the decision was taken by his predecessor. It's a done decision but Mr Mpakane should know of international concern)

and the MD of the the mining company Corobrik Mr Dirk Meyer intmktg@corobrik.co.za

and

Western Cape Manager Mr. Christie van Niekerk christie.vanniekerk@corobrik.com

Even a one liner will help.

A statement by Dirkie Morkel follows:


Statement by Dirkie Morkel about proposal to
mine clay on the oldest Pinotage vineyard

THE CURRENT POSITION WITH REGARD TO COROBRIK’S PROSPECTING RIGHT FOR CLAY ON BELLEVUE FARM



The following is a short summary of the history of Bellevue in an attempt to promote a better understanding of the current position in respect of the issue mentioned above:



• I, D C Morkel, am the fourth generation Morkel farming on Bellevue, a wine farm in the Bottelary area between Stellenbosch and Kuils River in the Western Cape – the first Morkel started farming here in 1861;



• The historic old Cape Dutch homestead (dated 1803) was restored to its original design and beauty in 1990 and has been declared a national monument.



• Bellevue made history in 1953 when the first commercial Pinotage vineyard in South Africa (and, as it is a cultivar developed in South Africa, also in the world!) was planted on Bellevue by my uncle (P K Morkel), who was also a Springbok rugby player.



• P K made further history by winning the coveted General Smuts trophy for the overall champion wine at the South African Young Wine Show in 1959 with his Pinotage.



• The piece of land on Bellevue for which prospecting rights for clay have now been awarded to Corobrik, includes the historic old Pinotage vineyard block.



• Bellevue has been a registered wine estate since 1983.



• In 2006 Bellevue became an enthusiastic member of the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative (BWI). Parts of this project (e g the uncultivated natural vegetation, mainly fynbos), are also situated within the area where prospecting rights have been awarded.



What follows is a brief outline of the course of events surrounding the application by Corobrik for prospecting rights for clay in an open mine:



• At the end of 2008 we were informed by Corobrik that they had applied for prospecting rights for clay on our farm.



• Approximately three weeks later Corobrik furnished us with a so- called “Prospecting Work Programme”. I considered the whole matter to be so absurd that I did not give much attention to it by raisings objections or taking any other steps, which, in hindsight, was obviously a huge mistake. At that stage I very naively reasoned that rezoning would never be successful because of the resistance that I, farmers from neighbouring farms, the Department of Agriculture and the Municipality of Stellenbosch would offer in the “unlikely event” that the matter was taken further.



• I received a letter, dated 12 August 2009, from the Department of Minerals and
Energy by registered mail, in which they informed Corobrik that prospecting rights for clay on Bellevue had been awarded to them. Corobrik was cautioned in that letter to adhere to and comply with the EMP (environmental management plan). This document’s reference number is (WC)30/5/1/1/2/355PR and enquiries are directed to D S Kunene, who signed the letter as “Acting Regional Manager Western Cape Region”.


• At the beginning of October 2009 we received a visit from Mr Dirk Meyer (Managing Director of Corobrik SA) and Mr Christie van Niekerk (Manager of Corobrik, Western Cape). I had the impression that neither one of them, nor any other person from Corobrik, had ever been to Bellevue before. They did not at all know where the land in question was situated and it appeared (to me, in any case) that they were surprised when they learnt that there were vineyards on the land earmarked for prospecting. When I asked them how they became aware of the clay potential of the portion of land, their reply was that it was revealed by a careful study of a geological map. They tried to dispel my fears by downplaying my objections to mining for clay on land on which permanent crops are cultivated by stating that the land would be restored to its original state before being handed back, a claim I questioned and contested in the strongest possible terms in their presence. I remember asking them whether they had ever mined on land on which there were established vineyards and had managed to successfully re-establish the vineyards after the mining had ceased. I do not specifically remember their reply to my question or their comments in that regard, but definitely got the impression that such mining and restoration were more frequently performed on uncultivated land.



• Unfortunately I had the (wrong) idea that they had to some extent lost interest; when we did not in the immediate aftermath receive any further correspondence from them, this opinion of mine was strengthened. However, approximately three weeks ago we received a request from them, asking us to enter into a “Surface Lease Agreement” with them.



• I am employing the services of Mr Albert Marais (Marais Muller Yekiso in Kuils River) as attorney, who, at this stage, has taken legal advice from Advocate Elsa van Huyssteen.



• She has made the following recommendations in her report:



1) That we indicate to Corobrik that the portion of land in question is still zoned as Agricultural Zone 1;



2) that they did not start prospecting (as is stipulated) within 120 days of the awarding of the prospecting rights;



3) that they be referred to the judgment and outcome of the court cases Meepo v Kotze and Others 2008 (1) SA 104 (NC) and Joubert v Maranda Mining Co (Pty) Ltd 2010 (1) SA 198 (SCA).



• I studied the map and saw that some land on three of the farms neighbouring Bellevue was included in the area earmarked for prospecting, namely Avondrus (Alfred Borcherds), Houdenmond, a portion of Koopmanskloof farm (W S Smit Trust), as well as a portion of the land of Mr Donald Rix (Klein Koopmanskloof).



• I liaised with all three of them and it transpired that none of them had in any way been approached or contacted about this issue by Corobrik.



• I supplied this information and other relevant background particulars to Jorisna Bonthuys of Die Burger, as well as to Elbe van Heerden of Eikestadnuus in Stellenbosch. Their reports on the matter appeared in Die Burger of Thursday, 11 March 2010 and the Eikestadnuus of 12 March 2010. Both of the journalists made telephonic contact with Mr Meyer of Corobrik.



• Despite the fact that Mr Meyer downplayed the matter in the Eikestadnuus as an issue of little importance (“we actually prefer to co-operate with the farmer on a voluntary basis and if the farmer is not happy, we would rather go and look at other places”), a new document was delivered to Mr Marais last Friday afternoon (12/03). In that document the area earmarked for prospecting is substantially smaller (146 ha and no longer 320 ha), and it includes only the portion of land forming part of Bellevue. On the new map my three neighbours on the other three farms have therefore been excluded.



• Furthermore, the EMP is in my view not dealing with the facts in a fair and impartial way, and this results in the DME not receiving a true picture of the real situation. I doubt whether anyone has really come to Bellevue to observe and identify the vegetation. The two gentlemen who visited us did not even know where the land in question was situated and no-one else has ever approached us to ask permission to enter upon our land. The part of the EMP (C 1.4, p 12) dealing with nature appears to me to be worded in general terms quoted from a standard document, which may be true in general but does not take into consideration the unique character of a specific area. For instance, in the portion in question where the prospecting rights have been awarded, there are two areas included in the BWI Project, namely the Swartland Shale Renosterveld and the Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. Both are described by BWI as “critically endangered”, but yet prospecting rights have been awarded, while the EMP states that there are no “nature reserves” in the vicinity of the envisaged area (C1.6, p 13)!



This is where we stand at the moment. This document will also be sent to the Municipality of Stellenbosch, the Department of Agriculture of Elsenburg, BWI, the Agricultural Society of Stellenbosch, as well as neighbours and other interested persons and parties, including role-players in the political arena.

P & O’s Pinotage Picks

Michael Olivier and Neil Pendock (P & O) recommended 45 Pinotages in their new People’s Guide 2010. (see review posted yesterday). Four of them are singled out to receive Coup de Coeur (blow to the heart) awards. They are

Zonnebloem 2007 (under 50R) which is described as “Elegance and excitement, big yummy, coconut there too. Delicious aftertaste.” Neil adds that “there was cooing around the room when we tasted this wine.”

Beaumont 2006 (50-100R) – “Bright fresh, sweet cherry nose. Plums and vanilla – finishes dry.

Bellevue Morkel 2007 (50-100R) – “Smoky coffee. Big chewy fruit and toasty vanilla with a long and lingering finish.”

Clos Malverne Reserve 2007 (Over 100R) – “Chocolate mint crunch. Sweet chocolate, some banana and plums.”


The omissions are intriguing. No Kanonkop, Ashbourne, L’Avenir Grand Vin, or DeWaal Top of the Hill. Beyerskloof Reserve is included, but not its cheaper standard bottling, although in the book Michael calls that “one of the great wines of South Africa.” Two coffee’n’chocolate Pinotages are there – Diemersfontein and Café Culture – accompanied by swipes at the ABSA Top 10 competition for ignoring them, but Bertus Fourie’s Barista and Boland’s Cappuccino are left out. Stellenzichts second label Hill & Dale makes it but not Stellenzicht’s multi-award winning Golden Triangle.

I have just got to get that Zonnebloem to see if it makes me coo.

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Quality Drink Award for Pinotage

Pinotage won the £5-£9.99 category in the UK 2008 Quality Drinks Awards. The winning wine is Morrison's ‘The Best’ South African Pinotage. This is an own-label for Morrison's supermarkets, made by Bellevue Estate where it is available as part of their new empowerment project wine range under the Sizanani label.

Judges commented on the wine “This is something of a ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ style of wine – but this one’s a winner”, “It is lovely, smooth and fruity”, and “the acceptable face of Pinotage.”

The annual Quality Drink Awards are dedicated to promoting and rewarding excellence and innovation in the UK alcoholic drinks market. This year's event once again recognised outstanding products within the industry and acknowledged the top performers across 21 hotly contested categories.

Pinotage -- South Africa's Home-Grown Identity

“Pinotage is not merely a European grape transplanted to a new hemisphere. It's a native [which] could establish South Africa not only as a major winegrowing region but also as a region with a home-grown identity,” says Lolis Eric Elie in New Orlean’s ‘Times-Picayune’, adding “If only the grape could make good wine consistently.”

On a recent trip to South Africa, Elie “did a blind tasting of several bottles of Pinotage and one Pinotage blend. I tried to include all of the versions of Pinotage available in New Orleans these days. There are not many.”

Zonnebloem 1997 Pinotage was the favourite. “The nose was very much like what you'd expect in an Amarone: prunes and old leather. The fruit had all but subsided, leaving a hint of red berries, but mostly dark, dried flavors and slight petroleum perfume. This wine demonstrates how better Pinotage can age for a decade or so, but even by the end of the tasting this wine was losing its structure, leaving behind bright, almost sour flavors. At 12.5 percent alcohol, it exemplifies the taste of Pinotage made in the Old World, European style.”

Morkel's 2005 Bellevue Estate “exemplifies the other, newer approach to Pinotage. The wine spends 12 months in American oak barrels. From this wood, it gets an eggnog scent on the nose. It is well balanced with ripe tannins and a little acidity. Though it's 14.5% alcohol, the flavors are so integrated as to not be overpowering.”

Elie remarks on the differing styles found in the tasting – “there's another dichotomy besides the Old World vs. New World, austere vs. powerful debate. The grape can produce highly tannic, acidic wines that taste sharp and harsh, like a bad Sangiovese. But it also can produce light, berrylike wines that resemble nothing so much as a Beaujolais. Those two wines have nothing in common and, it would seem, the two visions of Pinotage they parallel have little in common from a flavor perspective also.”

Graham Beck’s 2007 Pinno from “has 14.5% alcohol, but it is not a big, powerful wine. It's full of strawberries and driven more by acidity than tannins. It's a good, crowd-pleasing party wine,” and Uiterwyk's DeWaal 2005 Pinotage “parallels the nutmeg and Beaujolais flavors of the Pinno. It has nice, soft tannins, with tart cherry flavors on the front end and a bit of tar on the finish. It has 14% alcohol.”

But Southern Right’s 2005 Pinotage got the thumbs down being “full of smoke on the nose, and every bit of its 14% alcohol level was evident from the initial whiff, turning into harsh tar on the tongue, overpowering the fruit flavours,” and Fleur du Cap’s 2006 Pinotage also failed to please because while its “combination of flavors is interesting, they were not especially tasty.”

Elie has a refreshingly positive take on Pinotage and the full article, which is online here , is well worth reading.

As Elie says -- “So much rides on the shoulders of Pinotage.”

Rijk's wins Michelangelo Trophy

Four Pinotages were awarded the Grand d' Or - Michelangelo International Wine Awards top award - in the 2007 competion whose results were announced on 15 September. They are:-

• Bellevue Estate 'Morkel' 2005
• Groot Eiland 2005
• Rijk's Private Cellar 2003
• Stellenzicht 'Cellarmaster Release' 2005

with Rijks claiming the Pinotage Trophy.

Congrats to all!

Full results are here.

Morrison's 'The Best' 2005 by Bellevue Estate

Back from two days at the Festival of History. We spent all Sunday there before returning to the hotel to pick up our car, then it was a tiring drive back down the M1 motorway.

We collected a takeaway from Mumtaj (Karachi Kebab & Chana Massala for me). We were hungry and tired so I just grabbed a handy wine which happened to be Morrison's 'The Best' 2005 Pinotage.

And what a little cracker it is. Ignore the ghastly label, there are lots of bright blackberry fruits, no rough edges, just pure drinking pleasure.

In fact I have tasted this wine before. It is made by Bellevue Estate where it is available as part of their new empowerment project wine range under the Sizanani label. (and by chance I enjoyed the matching Chenin Blanc at a barbecue a couple of weeks ago).

I must return to this Pinotage and pay it more attention.

Details:

Price: Cellar door=22 ZAR (as Sizanani), UK Morrisons £6.99

Alc: 13%

WO: Stellenbosch

Drink: now-2010

Bellevue Chimes for Morrison

It is always a pleasure to drop into the tasting room of Bellevue Estate , managed by Randall Peceur pictured (right) with owner Dirkie Morkel.

Bellevue, who now label their wines, for trademark reasons, under the Morkel name, have a special place in Pinotage history. Not only was their wine the very first commercially released Pinotage in 1961– under the Lanzerac label, but the same vineyards are still producing prime Pinotage and they are the worlds oldest documented Pinotage.

If you are not already confused by label names, then prepare for two more from Bellevue. First is a new empowerment project wine range - Sizanani. This has a striking label of a tree silhouetted against the sunset and the Sizanani Pinotage 2003 is really very drinkable with soft sweet rounded plum and berry fruits from Bellevue’s young vines. And it is not just me that liked this wine. The buyer from the UK Morrisons supermarket chain just loved it and immediately scooped up two containers worth for their own range labelled ‘Morrisons The Best’. Their tasting note for the 2005 reads "A medium bodied, fruity red wine with subtle hints of wood smoke, vanilla and typical jammy mocha Pinotage flavours. Enjoy on its own or a perfect partner to grilled salmon, sausage casseroles or stuffed mushrooms."

There are two vintages currently available of the Sizanani Pinotage, 2005 and 2006. I think the 2006 needs a little more time, being a little youthfully disjointed with some crisp tannins, but I’ll be popping along to Morrisons on my return to the UK for the 2005 (even though Morrisons label design is not a patch on the Sizanani). At Bellevue the Sizanani is a bargain 22 Rand, in Morrisons the Brits will be paying 6.99 GBP (about R99)

Bellevue’s Morkel Pinotage 2005 costs R70 and this is a stunner: really ripe, full bodied, some typical Pinotage sweet mouth feel and there’s quite some complexity there with tannins on the finish. This comes from 30-50 year old bush vines and spent 12 months in 50% new American oak barrels. (whereas the Sizanani/Morrisons used oak staves).

Bellevue Estate’s top Pinotage honours Pieter Krige (P K) Morkel who was responsible for conversion of the farm to a wine estate, a famous Springbok rugby player and the man who went out to buy Gamay vines and came back with the new Pinotage variety.

The P K Morkel Pinotage is barrel selected from the very best wines, usually – but not necessarily - from the original old block. “The important thing is that this wine is the very best from this estate, not which block it comes from,” Dirkie told me. “I am a viticulturist, and some years one slope has better conditions and produces a better wine. That is why I am still considering the pros and cons of registering the old block as a single vineyard.”

The 2003 P K Morkel Pinotage was a finalist in the 2006 Pinotage Top 10 competition. It offers attractive sweet ripe fruits on the front palate followed by smooth spices, a little coffee and vanilla and a very long finish. “It is feminine and elegant”, says Dirkie. It aged 12 months in new French oak, and is available from the cellar at R90.

The 2004 P K Morkel Pinotage is not yet released, but Dirkie kindly gave me an advance taste. This wine spent 18 months in barrel and at this early stage its tannins are quite apparent, especially on the finish. It does open up in the glass where it develops rounded blackberry flavours, but whereas the 2003 is immediately appealing, I think the 2004 needs more time before drinking. However I passed a glass to a friend who preferred it to the 2003 saying it had more flavour and character.

No Weedy Wines Here!

2001 Hidden Valley Pinotage is one of the Pinotages that are stocked by the Ontario monopoly LCBO and thus available to Gordon Stimmel of the Toronto Daily Star who finds Pinotage 'weedy', see here

I opened my only bottle of this wine and found it had a dense garnet colour, with a little smokiness on the nose and front palate, but with a core of concentrated dense red fruits - black cherry and mulberry , a there is a little spice and tobacco and some soft drying tannins on the finish. Lovely stuff.

Hidden Valley's vineyards are in Devon Valley, access to which is along a no-through road that terminates at JC le Roux Sparkling Wine Cellars. Along that road is the sign shown here on the left. It always amuses me that there is such a large sign for a hidden valley. But the name comes from the owner of the vineyard and winery owner, Dave Hidden.

Some other Pinotages I've had recently were

2005 Southern Right Pinotage - Little staining of glass, light bodied and a tangy finish. This is an almost delicate wine with purity of fruit, certainly no block buster and seems like Burgundy is the inspiration.

2005 Groot Constantia Pinotage - There's a European feel to this wine, quite restrained with a good balance of red plum fruits and tannins and a very long finish.

2001 Bellevue Estate Pinotage - Black dense cherry and blackberry fruit flavours, tobacco underneath, hint of eucalyptus and with a very long finish. A very enjoyable serious wine made from 58 year old bush vine grown on sandy soil, aged 10 months in 50% new 300l American oak barrels. 13.5% abv. ABSA Pinotage Top 10 winner in 2002.

Name Changes

Don't ask for Pinotage - or other wines - from Bellevue, Erica, Uiterwyk or Vlottenburg. All have changed the name on their labels.

Bellevue found it impossible to use that name in Europe, so are branding their wines 'Morkel' after the owning family. Erica Vineyards also had problems with registration and chose the name 'Raka' after owner Piet Dreyer's fishing boat.

Vlottenburg have discarded their distinctive name and chosen the anodyne and immediately forgettable 'Stellenbosch Hills' instead. Apparently they thought 'Vlottenburg' was too difficult for English speakers. I had no problem pronouncing 'Vlottenburg', unlike 'Uiterwyk'. To help people like me, and to avoid confusion with Uitwyk, Uiterwyk wines have been branded with the family name 'De Waal'.

Bath University Pinotage Tasting

Professor Keiran Molloy at the University of Bath organised a Pinotage tasting for the University Staff Wine Society. He writes " Thank you for your help on the tasting, which was extremely successful and well received. You have converted a lot of people to Pinotage, and personally I will be stocking up on the Stellenzicht, L'Avenir and Kanonkop (which was far more approachable even at this stage than I had expected)".

His notes with "an unscientific marking of each wine out of 10, which reflects relative rather than absolute merit" follow.

Southern Right 2002 - The lightest of all the wines tasted. Bright red colour, mix of red and black fruit flavours, full flavour in mouth, short on finish. An uncomplicated wine that won't disappoint but is unmemorable. No noticeable tannins so a wine for drinking now rather than keeping. (5.5/10)

Flagstone Writers Block 2002 - Mid-red colour, light tannins, sweetish red fruit flavours with a smokey finish. More body and slightly longer in the finish than Southern Right. A popular wine for immediate drinking. (7/10).

Groot Constantia Estate 2001 - Similar in colour to the Southern Right. Darker fruit flavours becoming more apparent than the earlier two wines. Full flavour in mouth but again short on finish. Earthy flavours, with smoke/tar finish. A more lively wine than the opening pair with more of a zing. By the end of the tasting, after being open for about 3h, this wine developed pronounced southern Rhône flavours becoming reminiscent of a Gigondas and far more complex in nature (6/10, based on early evening opinion)

Bellevue Estate 2000 - Deep red colour with well integrated tannins. This is a far more complex wine and would work better at this stage in its life with food. There is a hint of eucalyptus on the nose and nice mixed red/black fruit flavours. Other tasting notes suggested this was a controversial "new age" wine but that was not the opinion of the group. Good value for money as the cheapest wine in the tasting. (7/10)

Stellenzicht Golden Triangle 2000 - Deep red colour with purple hue. Obvious and yet soft tannins which are well balanced with the fruit, this is a wine which is drinking well now (perhaps better with food) but a long and exceptional future ahead of it. A long, full mouthful of plums and black fruit flavours. (7.5/10)

Neethlingshof Estate Lord Neethling 1998 - The most controversial of the wines presented. Dry tannins with less weight of fruit than the Stellenzicht. Mid-weight fruit overall, plum, blackcurrant and mulberry flavours with a slightly smokey edge. The fruit/tannin balance is not as good as Stellenzicht, and the wine has a sharp, spicey, slightly burning finish with met with divergent reaction. (7.5/10 but some much higher, some much lower )

L'Avenir Estate 2002 - The most popular of the wines tasted, drinking perfectly now but with enough soft tannins to ensure a long life. This is a very smooth wine with a hint of creamy vanilla on the nose. The flavours are of sweetish red and black fruits and there is a very long finish from this wine. Excellent. (8.5/10)

Kanonkop Estate 2001 - This wine could be described as a younger version of the L'Avenir in that it has similar characteristics but is less well evolved at this stage in its life. There is again the soft creamy flavours of oak/vanilla with loads of dark fruit flavours, but which are more hidden at this stage than for the l'Avenir. This wine became better and better with increased aeration. A wine that can be drunk with pleasure now but will be a real star in 5+ years time. (8/10)"

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London Pinotage Tasting

The Pinotage Club tasted the 2003 Pinotage Top 10 on 9 November 2004. We were glad to welcome as co-host David Brice from Cape Town's Wine Cellar who came laden with wines he'd hand carried from South Africa. The event was fully booked with a waiting list.

As a bonus we started with a tank sample of a new wine from Fairview, a Pinotage fermented with about 4.5% of Viognier. Small amounts of white Viognier have traditionally been fermented with red grapes in the Rhone but science has only recently discovered what French vignerons instinctively knew; a reaction occurs that results in better flavour and colour extraction.

Fairview Pinotage/Viognier 2003 - A very approachable wine with a delightful
palate packed with sweet fruits, redcurrants, rounded and a good finish. This was a tank sample, the wine has not yet been released, but look out for it.

We tasted the 2003 Top 10 in alphabetical order and marked out of 7, my marks are given followed by the group average.

Allee Bleue 2002 - Opaque dense colour, fruity nose, full body, some high acids, good tannins & grip (4 - 4.5)

Bellevue Estate 2002 - Dark fruits, firm tannins and crisp acids, hint of banana (5 - 4.2)

DeWaal 2002 - Sweet berry nose, beautiful purple glass staining colour, dry and tastes duty in the middle palate. (4 - 4.3)

Graham Beck Old Road 2002 - Quite dry on front palate but opens out to reveal nice plummy fuits (4 - 4.3)

Wamakersvallei La Cave 2002 - Oh dear, oh dear. I had so much hopes for this wine which is not available in the UK and which I often enjoyed while in the Cape. But it was stinky corked. (no marks - corked)

L'Avenir Estate 2002 - Delicious ripe fruits, good depth, underpinned with soft tannins (6 - 5.2)

Rijks Private Cellar 2002 - Wonderful sweet fruits on front palate, a bit closed in the middle. (5 - 4.9)

Slaley Hunting Family 2002 - Bright clear, lovely fruits of the forest flavours and spices, long finish (5 - 4.3)

Rooiberg Reserve 2001 - Tangy crisp fruits, interesting, dollops of fruits, spicy. (6 - 4.5)

Stellenzicht Golden Triangle 2001 - Big fruity nose with spices & acids, bit dusty in middle. (5 - 5)

It's difficult to host a discussion while writing notes, hence the bevity of the notes.