Johannesburg - We’re blessed with some of the country’s warmest daytime winters, but nights are bitterly cold, so if you’re looking for something to perk up your evening, here are a few suggestions:
* There’s nothing like a glass of fortified wine to warm you from your toes to your nose and Badsberg Cellar’s Red Muscadel 2013 is the perfect antidote to the cold. It was named best muscadel in South Africa at this year’s Muscadel SA Awards, achieving top honours as the only Platinum winner out of 25 entries.
Made from 100 percent Muscat d’Fortignan, it bursts with classical floral muscadel and raisin perfume. At R55 a bottle it’s a steal.
* Another fortified wine that calls for fireside sipping after a hearty meal is Muratie’s Ben Prins Cape Vintage 2009, which pays homage to Ben Prins, the estate’s winemaker from 1957 until 1987. Muratie’s port, which became synonymous with the estate, was first produced by George Paul Canitz in the 1940s, more than 70 years ago. Ben Prins arrived at Muratie in 1957, just before GP Canitz died. The Muratie Cape Vintage Port is produced from a vineyard planted in 1965 with the traditional Portuguese varieties (tinta barocca, tinta roritz, tinta Francesca and souzão) are all planted in the same block, which is hand-harvested at the same time so this “field blend” is unique to the Muratie Cape Vintage. Flavours of plum cake, mulberries and spices to leap out the glass. Muratie Ben Prins Cape Vintage 2009, packaged in a black canister, sells for around R170.
* There’s always a place for a full-bodied white wine in winter, which is why news that Bon Courage’s Chardonnay Prestige Cuveé won gold at the Chardonnay du Monde in France and were also chosen as one of the Top 10 chardonnay producers in the world is timeous. Then, there’s their fabulous Inkará shiraz, which won a gold medal in May at the Syrah du Monde in France. Tasted against 794 wines from 40 countries entered, the Chardonnay du Monde competition was judged by 300 internationally acclaimed judges who handed out 42 gold medals. The Bon Courage Chardonnay Prestige Cuveé is lightly oak-matured. R72 a bottle.
Their Inkara has been produced since 2001, made from hand-picked grapes and aged for two years in new oak barrels. R138 a bottle. (Their red muscadel 2013 won one of five gold medals at the annual Muscadel SA Awards function in May).
* Afficionados of organic wines are probably already familiar with Johan Reyneke’s wines, which have been produced biodynamically since 1998. Having sampled two of their recent releases, the biodynamic syrah (about R100 a bottle) and organic cabernet sauvignon (R60), I can vouch for their easy drinkability.
In the past, Reyneke blended his syrah with cab, merlot, and cab franc for his Cornerstone red, but decided to bottle it separately as a syrah.
While their maiden 2010 syrah, produced biodynamically on the farm, was awarded 94 points from Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin, the 2011 vintage got a 4½ star rating in this year’s Platter’s guide.
The current release, the 2012 has liquorice, white pepper, fynbos and violets on the nose, with red fruit flavours with white pepper and aniseed on the palatte.
Their shiraz cabernet 2012 is a blend of 92 percent shiraz and 8 percent cab sourced from organic vineyards.
Red berry and cherry, clove, musk and white pepper on the nose. Lightly oaked.
Saturday Star