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Caroline's Fine Wine Cellar, February, 2011
Wines which over-deliver
Last week we visited The Winery of Good Hope, situated near Somerset West. There, we found a team bubbling over with the excitement of the harvest, all filled with the same dream: turning those beautiful grapes into fabulous wine! We found the 2010 range to be of exceptional quality – all over-delivering at the price. Now, isn’t that what makes us happy in these interesting times?
The Winery of Good Hope Range
Caroline Rillema
Chenin Blanc Bush Vines 2010 @ R50 per bottle. This example is a wonderfully lively, intense, fruity and beautifully balanced dry Chenin Blanc. With flavours of pears, sherbet and flint there is plenty of leesy mouthfeel and purity of fruit, whilst finishing with a refreshing lime and mineral length. A true noble varietal, Chenin deserves to be taken seriously –even for everyday drinking wines such as this.
Chardonnay 2010 @ R50 per bottle. A blend of Chardonnay from 3 complementary locations, in Stellenbosch-Helderberg vineyards; the area between Paarl and Malmesbury and the Aprilskloof valley on the Paardeberg Mountain. Each contributes a different facet to the eventual blend. This unoaked Chardonnay gives you more freshness, elegance and depth than commercial methods usually permit. The wonderful citrus zest and mineral tang of its aromatics, bedded in the fruit and seductive texture characteristic of good Chardonnay.
Bush-Vine Pinotage 2010 @ R50 per bottle. These grapes are from a single block of vineyards, all beautiful 30 year-old 2010 Pinotage grapes being harvestedbushvines, on the Helderberg Mountain at the farm on which the winery is located. The priority during winemaking is on developing elegance & fruitiness, avoiding bitterness and harsh tannins for which Pinotage is normally renowned, and retaining the underlying spicy minerality from the local soils. Using only free-run juice is reflected in the red cherries, violets and juicy palate, which finishes with balance, length, minerality and some spice. Definitely a Pinotage you can drink plenty of on your own, even slightly chilled.
Mountainside Shiraz 2010 @ R50 per bottle. Two mature, trellised vineyards, both in the premium Stellenbosch region. The soils are of decomposed granite with some clay, which give rise to the excellent depth and minerality of the wine, its sound balance as well as its spicy flavours. It is a superb wine with easy drinkability, varietal spiciness, individuality, balance and freshness. The great innate attributes of Shiraz.
Pinot Noir Reserve 2010 @ R99 per bottle. If ever there was a Pinot you should snap up while you can, do so now! It is a fragrant, bright wine with wonderful succulence and expressive fruitiness. The successful combination of its earthy, mineral & red berry characters make for a really lovely drinking Pinot, at a very reasonable price. A really super, balanced and fine Pinot Noir which is so approachable now, but will improve in bottle.
To order any of the products mentioned above, please click on the product links or get an order form here.
Bin-end Sale
Thanks to those who have bought many bottles of wine off our Sale tables – we have put some more bottles out, just to keep you drinking in February! Great buys at amazing prices!