Southend Chardonnay, Newton Johnson
This family farm was founded in the mid-1990s by Cape Wine Master, Dave Johnson and his wife, Felicity (Née Newton) and within the past twenty years has built a reputation for producing some of the Cape’s best Pinot Noir. Dave’s CWM thesis was on the variety. Right from the outset, Dave and Felicity’s offspring were involved and today it is very much Gordon, partnered by his wife, Nadia, who are responsible for the winemaking, with brother Bevan looking after the commercial side.Southend is a single vineyard that is owned and farmed by Newton Johnson's neighbours, the Pringle
family. It is a notably cooler slope, a stone’s throw across the river from NJ, with less sunshine
and consequently slower ripening. It produces wines with sparkling clarity, high-toned fruit
flavours, compact structure, and vibrant acidity. They preserve these features by fermenting in
larger format casks that often ferment slowly in to the winter.The oak is barely noticeable here, the wine is just fresh and juicy; such an elegant style of Chardonnay by one of the New World's best Chardonnay producers. If you know people who are adamant that they do not like Chardonnay, get them to taste this!
A great all-rounder, suiting simple fish and shellfish dishes as well as salads and grilled vegetables.
Opposites Attract, The Liberator
Quando Sauvignon Blanc
Fanus and Martin Bruwer are 6th generation farmers in Robertson working 190 hectares on the banks of the Breede River, growing artichokes and citrus alongside 8 hectares of organic Sauvignon Blanc on ancient riverbed soils. The grapes are harvested by hand over four successive pickings at different levels of ripeness in order to build in complexity. The result is a dry, mineral Sauvignon, more ‘old world’ than new, but with a spectrum of both tropical and herbal flavours. Still literally made in a garage on the farm using olive oil grade plastic tanks and an old wooden wine press, it shows what a little ingenuity can achieve. Very different to the mass-produced, UK bottled Sauvignon’s that line the supermarket shelves.
The Liberator Syrah
Over the past 25 years, Richard Kelley MW (aka The Liberator!) has become one of the most respected authorities on South African wine in the UK and beyond. Between 1995 and 2002, he lived and worked in the Cape, witnessing the renaissance of the post-apartheid wine industry. Throughout this fruitful period, he established a healthy rapport with the great and the good of the local wine scene, affording him access to their distinguished cellars. These wines are often some of the most interesting, and best value, wines to come out of South Africa.Ask Richard which wine The Francophile Syrah most resembles and he’d probably compare it to a young Crozes-Hermitage. Full of vibrant red-black fruit and with an aromatic nose reminiscent of Saint-Joseph lilies, the result is a thrilling young red that is free of the constraints and manipulated flavour profile that come with barrel-ageing. This is a very pure and naked example of the Syrah grape.Great value and a good wine to go with most meaty dishes.