Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Wines
First you must understand that I am no wine fundy and the last time I ventured up into the above mentioned valley, was about 10 years ago and only two wine producers were present. Hamilton-Russell and Bouchard-Finlayson. I was made aware in the meantime that a few new ones joined the club. So what better activity than to spend a day spitting and sipping the “offspring” of Bacchus.
Whalehaven Wines were the starting of our tasting tour. I ended up with a very reasonable bottle of Whalehaven Rose 2005 at R15 a bottle. Nothing beats a nice cold bottle of rose wine on hot summers day. I find this rose dry and crisp. Sometimes rose wines can be very sweet and have a cheap taste to it. As if they blend all the left over red and white wines together. Next was red Whalehaven Cabernet Franc 2005. I found a hint of plum and imagine it will go well with rich red meat dishes. Whalehaven also produce wines under the Idiom Label for the Da Capo Vineyards. I ended up with a bottle of Idiom Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Merlot from 2005. Hint of caramel and smoke. I bought it to give it time to “rest” as we were informed that will improve if left and stored properly for about 5 years.
La Vierge was our second stop. This wine producer are fairly new in the area. Wines we tasted were all from 2006/07. We taste wines from La Vierge and Southhill. The Southhill grapes are from Elgin region and La Vierge from the farm self. Grapes from La Vierge are mainly Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. We were given all the wines to taste, which I think makes it very difficult to really appreciate each wine. (Tongue was a bit numb and stomach was growling.) I will have to go back. Here we also ended up in the La Vierge Restaurant and Champagne Verandah. I would recommend bookings as I get the impression that it will be busy over the holiday season and with views over the valley. Who can say no to lunch, wine and good company. We ended up at a table close to the window. We had a Salmon Salad between the three of us. Nothing special there. As the name said on the box. Salmon Salad. Two of us ended up with the Bouillabaise Africana and one decided on the Risotto. Bouillabaise Africana was a small portion, than I have to admit it is a starter portion. I think it will do very well as a main course if they make portion bigger. I really enjoyed this dish. Spicey and lots of flavour. Does not destroy the fish to much. Chunks of fish, a prawn and a mussel. I would have prefered if the prawn was shelled. Looks nice but I nearly ended up with some sauce on the table and shirt. We had Passion Fruit Pannacotta, Apple Tarte Tartin and Creme Brulee for dessert. I had a taste from every plate. No complains here. Thumbs up for the Creme Brulee. Light creamy and real Vanilla Pod. The apple dessert was also very tasty. Thin pastry and even thinner apple slices or should I say slivers. Passion Fruit dessert was very refreshing and also very light. Not big fan of pannacotta. On the wines side we ended up with two bottles of Southhill Rose. Cold and crisp. Due to ESKOM’s incompetance, we had to skip coffee. The total bill was just under R400.00. Bit steep I would say, but I would definetly go there again. I would recommend visiting their website for more information.
Bouchard Finlayson is one of my favourite wine estates and will always buy a glass of their Blanc de Mer when I stay in London at the Rubens Hotel. This wine estate and the Red Carnation Hotels are owned by the same family. It is a blend of Weisser Riesling, Voigner, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. 2007 Vintage. Lately I find that I prefer white wines more and find this wine very easy to drink with most food. Next purchase was Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2006. Hint of forest berries, little to much tannin for my linking, but think it will go very well with red meats or even fish and game. 10 Months in Oak. Third one is very new to me and what made it so different is the grapes they used. Bouchard Finlayson Hannibal 2005. Red blend of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Mouvedre, Barbera and Shiraz. Slightly spicey, but I liked it and will definetly put it in my favourite list from this wine estate. Also bit heavy on tannin, but it will go very well with Italian foods. 16 Months in French Oak.
Personally never a big fan for Hamilton-Russell Wines. They only produced two wines. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I find Chardonnay very overated, oaked or not. I did taste the Pinot Noir again. Little more pleasant than what I recalled from previous tastings. They also ventured into the Olive Oil and Honey market, so I ended up with a small bottle of olive oil and small jar of honey. Thought R80 for the two was a bit steep. Who said being a tourist is cheap?
This was our last stop as the day was nearly over. I think it is a very compact and exciting wine route to do if you are on a short “time budget” as most places are only a few minutes drive from each other. It does make a dent in the old budget if you are local. Please understand that this my own experience and I am not a wine expert.
I am a firm believer that who you are with, what you eat does influence a bottle of wine. Wine is a living thing and does have a personality.
Wat is die koste per bottel om wyn te bottel? Iemand het my vertel dat dit redelik hoog is. As wyn dus goedkoop is dan is daar iewers fout. Ek weet ook nie veel van die storie af nie.
Dieselfde persoon het my vertel dat hy nooit Pinot Noir wat in SA verbou word sal drink nie want die klimaat is nie reg daarvoor nie.
Flippie ek weet net dat die verpakking waarin wyn kom duur is. Die vloeistof self is baie goedkoop. Wat wyn ook duur maak is die veroudering. Spasie nodig vir veroudering en ook die risiko verbonde daaraan. Dinge kan skeefloop met die veroudering proses. Hamilton-Russell is oor die algemeen baie duur. Hulle spesialiseer meestal in die oorsese mark en die plaas is redelik klein. Oor die Pinot Noir kan ek nie kommentaar lewer nie, soos genoem is ek nie vreeslik lief vir sy wyne nie. Persoonlik is ek al bietjie teë vir Chardonnay en Pinot Noir. Daar is darem ander variateite ook. Op die einde is wyn persoonlike ding en wat vir my sleg is, is lekker vir ander. O ja, die geselskap dra ook baie by.
Persoonlik dink ek Hamilton Russel is way overprised… Hulle maak nou egter ook olyf olie… regtig aangenaam, heerlike pepersmaak… maar ook aan die duur kant.
Stem met die overpriced gedeelte. Ek koop so af en toe olyfolie, maar selfs dit is maar aan die duur kant. Hul heuning is regtig aangenaam.
Ek is maar Bouchard Finlyason ondersteuner as ek die dag kan.
Het nou lekker gelees aan hierdie inskrywing, terwyl ek my lippe aflek. Het nie geweet van La Vierge nie, wat wys hoe lanklaas ek daar was. Ek hou oor die algemeen van hierdie area se wyne, maar tog dink ek dit kom steeds tweede in die waarde-vir-geld kategorie, behalwe vir Whalehaven wie se wyne effe billiker is. Ek hou van HRV en is ‘n aanhanger van hulle Chardonnay en Pinot. Oor BF se Blanc de Mer, kan ek net saam met jou stem – lieflike somerwyn. Jy het Galpin Peak gekoop
Watter bank het jy beroof? 
FF, die koste om wyn te bottel wissel dramaties van wyn tot wyn, want dit gaan oor die kwaliteit van die kurk, die kwaliteit en vorm van die bottel, hoeveel kunswerk jy op die kapsule sit en natuurlik die tipe etiket. Dan hang dit ook saam met die volumes, want hoe meer jy op ‘n slag botteleer, hoe goedkoper. Gemiddeld kan die prys van die verpakking sonder wyn wissel van so min as R5-6 per bottel, tot soveel as R30 of meer (as jy na spesiale en unieke bottels begin kyk. Die beste kwaliteit kurk kos byvoorbeeld in die omgewing van R5-7 alleen!
BiB: Jy sal skrik as jy sien hoeveel wynplase daar nou in daardie ou valleitjie is. Vandag weer een raak gelees op die internet, so dit is ingelys op my Januarie 2010 vakansie. Ek soek net so gas of twee wat die trip wil meemaak.
Wyn, goeie geselskap en lekker kos! Wat meer in die lewe wil mens hê?
As ek in Jan daar was, sou jy nie verder hoef te gesoek het nie. Wou nog se, ek het ook nogal tyd vir Sumaridge se wyne, sowel as Beaumont by Botrivier. Lg. se Raoul’s Old Basket Press Red is yummy!
Ek sal definitief nota maak en die plekke besoek. Om eerlik te wees ek is maar swak drinker, maar geniet ‘n glasie so af en toe. My vakansie gaan besig wees.
BiB: Galpin Peak. I left it at home, to find an empty bottle on my return twelve months later. Exchange rate was good at the time.
Ek hoop jy het uitgevind wie dit is en die persoon gedwing om ‘n bottel Four Cousins Rose af te sluk!
Dit was die familie! Die rede was glo dat die water was afgesny gewees vir so paar dae. Ek sal maar weer een moet gaan koop.
Wat het jy teen Four Cousins Rose?