IT was a mouth-swilling fortnight for wine lovers in KwaZulu-Natal with the annual Mercury Wine Week capturing the headlines – and breaking the attendance record at this three-night festival (August 27 to 29) at Suncoast Casino.
That was also the week in which the Little Havana restaurant in uMhlanga hosted Vinovation in which a group got to try local and international wines and spoke to winemakers about their products.
The Mercury Wine Week had most of South Africa’s heavy-weights present, including many from the Meridian Wine Merchants stable. These included Rupert and Rothschild, Martin Meinart Wines, De Grendel, Meerlust, Paul Cluver, Simonsig and Springfield.
One unusual wine was Meinart’s white merlot, called The Italian Job, which had plenty of chardonnay characteristics, but attracted lots of conversation because of its uniqueness.
I also enjoyed the wines of Creation, Neethlingshof, where there was a knock-out chenin blanc, Klein Zalze and Grand Provence.
Wines here are made by well travelled and respected Karl Lambour who has become one of the foremost winemakers in South Africa. He is also the general manager of this famous wine estate in Franschhoek.
Career highlights during his decade as a winemaker include The Bergkelder, Zevenwacht Wine Estate, Meerendal Wine Estate, Constantia Glen Winery and Holden Manz Wine Estate, where he held the position of director of wine production, marketing and sales.
Over the years, Lambour has accumulated numerous awards for his wines, with highlights being double gold medals at Veritas, gold and Best in Class at the International Wine Challenge and Decanter Wine Awards and most impressively 93 and 92 point wines in Wine Spectator.
Lambour presented two of his wines at a small but special lunch the next day, bringing his sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon to the award-winning 9th Avenue.
After that treat, wine writers headed for the Vinovation evening.
This was put together by Myles and Lance Buxton of La Cave fame at the La Lucia Mall and was both authoritative and relaxing, giving small groups of people the chance to walk around the restaurant deck and listen to the experts talking about their wines.
Wines we tried were from new estates, many of whom several of us had never tasted.
This included Bloemendal Wine Estate, whose flagship Suider Terras white was marvellous, four well crafted wines from Sumaridge, who concentrate on pinot noir and chardonnay being from the Hemel and Aarde valley, Blakes Family Wine (a lovely red called Amathyst with shiraz, pinotage and cabernet) and a wonderful bubbly, the Huis van Chavallerie which comes in a magnum bottle.
The international selection also had gems including a Reserve Sec Philipponnat (R650) and wines from California, Germany and Spain.
• For more details, call Myles Buxton at 082 584 1724.