Tag Archives: Rhone-style

Saronsberg Full Circle has not come full circle in 10 years, getting better and better!

Saronberg Bottles Whale CottageLast week a number of writers was invited to a ten-year vertical tasting of Saronsberg Full Circle, the wine estate’s flagship brand, followed by lunch at the Cape Grace.  While the reason for the choice of name is not known, the wine is likely to not come full circle, getting better and better with every vintage.

Winemaker Dewaldt Heyns has a wonderful ability to explain his wines, speaking with passion but without technicalities, remembering the Saronsberg Dewaldt Heyns Whale Cottagepeculiarities of each of the ten vintages which we tasted, without a note to refer to.  The tasting was held in the recently refurbished Leeward Room, adjacent to the Signal restaurant and facing the refurbished pool area. During the tasting the glass sliding doors were closed when the pool chlorine could be smelt inside the venue.  We were spread over four round tables, with chairs with unusual modern upholstery in black, grey, white and burgundy, in contrast to the green velvety drapes.  I Continue reading →

Solms-Delta launches Gemeenskap wine club for its gemeenskap!

Solms Delta Gemeenskap Mark Solms Whale Cottage PortfolioI have not previously experienced Solms-Delta owner Professor Mark Solms as such a ‘grapjas’ (could this be a new name for a future wine?), bringing the house down with his honesty and ‘loskop professor’ talk about his wines and its Gemeenskap, losing the thread of what he wanted to say on a few occasions.

Mark is a passionate wine estate owner, whose mind races ahead faster than he can say the words, and is internationally renowned as a neuropsychologist, lecturing in London and at the University of Cape Town. His students must have a ball in his lectures. On Sunday he hosted members of the wine estate’s gemeenskap, to introduce to them the latest vintages of his wines, to introduce the new winemaker Solms Delta Gemeenskap Hagen Viljoen Whale Cottage PortfolioHagen Viljoen, and to introduce the Gemeenskap community club.  He came to the farm in 2001, and explained that the building in which we were tasting the wine was already called Fyndraai, and therefore they kept the name.  They now have consolidated three neighbouring farms, ‘because we are so good at what he do’, he said.  Music is an important passion on the farm, and Mark said that they ‘farm with music’ as much as they ‘farm with wine’!  Next year a Music Centre will be established on the wine estate. Continue reading →