Cheers!

2015 vintage – fruity, flavoursome and fantastic!

Wine is an integral part of life for many of us. We have a glass to wind down after work, on its own or with a meal. Whether it’s a rich red around a fire or a cold, crisp white on a hot summer’s day, we need to know more...

Back in the day, aged was good. These days, we’re getting wise to the different varietals and looking for more to try. We’re exploring the joys of blends and drinking younger, fresher wines. We have a better understanding of how the actual vintage plays a huge role in the drinking pleasure of the wine.

The year 2015 is proving an exceptional vintage. A cold, wet winter led to good early growth; a warmer August meant earlier budding; and a dry summer helped to control vineyard growth and brought the harvesting season forward by two weeks. This all contributed to less disease, and healthier grapes with concentrated juice.

These wines can be enjoyed now but could also do well with a few more years’ maturation. Here are our top picks of everyday or special occasion wines, and unusual varieties from the 2015 vintage.

GLENELLY GLASS COLLECTION MERLOT 2015 (R80-R95)

An excellent Merlot from Lady May de Lencquesaing’s Stellenbosch farm, which she bought after selling the Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Bordeaux and retiring to the Cape. It has wonderful mulberry, plum and blackberry aromas and tastes, backed up with soft cinnamon and cocoa, and is well balanced after a year in French oak.

Drink with a French-inspired meal at The Vine Bistro at Glenelly, or at home with a really good steak, charcuterie or grilled meat.

LEEUWENKUIL GRENACHE NOIR 2015 (R120)

Situated in the Swartland and named after the extinct Cape Lion that roamed the area for centuries, the farm is owned by the seventh generation of the Dreyer family. The original Garnacha grapes are from Spain and France, and are usually used as a blending wine (think Rioja or Châteauneuf). The oldest dryland bush vines were used to make this solo offering. A delicious, medium-bodied wine that delivers mixed red and black berry, and cherry flavours, with subtle white pepper and liquorice back notes. Pair it with good roasts.

NIEL ELLIS GROENEKLOOF SHIRAZ 2015 (R115-R130)

This is a superb cool-climate Shiraz from bush vines in the Groenekloof area of Darling. Silky, soft and smooth, this wine livens up the mouth with flavours of dark blackberry, spice and smoky cigars. Good use of new and older oak has resulted in an extremely well-balanced wine. Drink it on its own or with bredies, venison or oxtail, or even Cajun-spiced seafood!

BOSMAN FAMILY VINEYARDS NERO D’AVOLA 2015 (R135-R150)

This is a Sicilian red wine varietal that the Bosman family brought to South Africa in 2004. After a few years’ quarantine, only two vines remained. Now they have just over half a hectare producing this mediumbodied, unusual but very easy, delicious wine. With lively flavours of berries, subtle lavender and violets, and a hint of cinnamon and cloves, this is a great accompaniment to all things Italian, or a good braai.

REYNEKE SYRAH 2015 (R149)

Based in Stellenbosch, Reyneke is one of the few local estates to produce biodynamic wine, and it’s excellent. The Syrah was previously blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc for the Cornerstone blend. The Reynekes felt that the 2015 vintage had such exquisite spice, pepper and perfumed aromas, they decided to maintain the single-grape bottle as a Syrah – and we’re thankful. With whiffs of raspberries, cherries, chamomile flower and fynbos, this wine is superb with braaied chicken, spare ribs, slow-cooked lamb shanks or quality venison.

PORCUPINE RIDGE VIOGNIER GRENACHE BLANC 2015 (R125-R140)

Produced by Boekenhoutskloof in Franschhoek, the name Porcupine Ridge comes from the crested porcupine often seen in the vineyards. Viognier’s underlying peaches, apricots and spicy floral aromas fill the nose, while the minerality and citrus notes of the Grenache Blanc, originally from northern Spain, make for a crisper yet fuller mouthfeel and flavour. An all-round gorgeous wine, brilliant with satay or chicken kebabs, spicy chicken, vegetable stir-fry or a gentle Asian curry.

CONSTITUTION ROAD CHARDONNAY 2015 (R117)

Produced at the Robertson Winery with grapes from the Wandsbeck farm, this forms part of the Constitution Road collection, created to celebrate South Africa’s democracy under the new constitution. This wine won the prestigious Michelangelo Gran D’Or double gold award in 2016, and what a mouthwatering rendering of heaven! It’s soft but full and well-rounded, with gentle lemon and marmalade undertones, hints of lightly buttered toast, caramel and vanilla, and a warm and generous mouthfeel. Judicious use of secondfill oak allows for the wine to show itself in all its glory. We drank it with grilled kabeljou and lightly grilled Patagonian calamari, but try it with butternut soup, Thai dishes or shellfish, and perhaps washed-rind cheeses.

GROOTE POST KAPOKBERG SAUVIGNON BLANC 2015 (R135-R150)

This is from the Pentz family farm in the Darling region. In a previous life, Peter and Nick Pentz were third and fourth generation dairymen, farming with a prized Holstein herd which they sold in 2001 to focus on wine farming. The cooler conditions during the growing season resulted in smaller berries that produced a more concentrated juice, creating a scrumptious wine with all the right Sauv Blanc elements – freshly mown grass and prominent green aromas, with citrus and quince flavours in the mouth. This wine is wonderful on its own or can be best enjoyed with artichokes and asparagus, salads, fish and sushi, or goat’s milk cheese or feta.

BOSMAN FAMILY VINEYARDS FIDES 2015 (R185)

An unusual wine in every sense of what we recognise as ‘the norm’. This is called an ‘orange wine’: over four weeks the juice on the skins is fermented to extract some colour, then a portion of the wine is matured in Russian oak. We picked up pineapple, apricot and some spice on the nose, while the palate had a deeper, broader flavour profile. The wine has a great mouthfeel, with a lingering aftertaste. We loved having this with a lemony Greek lamb, but it will go equally well with fried or grilled fish, or sushi.