Tibby and I and our son, David, had a wine tasting at De Grendel wine estate in Durbanville near Cape Town on Saturday 18th December. We liked two of their red wines.
De Grendel must be one of the closest wine estates to the centre of Cape Town being about 18kms away. The suburbs of Cape Town run up to the edge of the farm but the farm retains a sense of the rural. There is a long approach drive up the hill through the vineyards. The main buildings of the farm are new and interesting. The visitor descends from the main entrance down an internal walkway with windows giving a view into the cellars. The pleasant modern tasting area offers plenty of seating inside or on the veranda. We had a wonderful view over the vineyards and Table Bay to Table Mountain. We were served by a young chap who was knowledgeable about the wines and was absolutely proper and pleasant but had the charisma and enthusiasm of a lump of wood.
We found their sparkling MCC Brut 2008 and their Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc 2008 too fruity for us. Their rather expensive Pinot Noir 2008 was too innocuous and their Shiraz 2007 too busy for us. Their best wine was undoubtedly their Rubaiyat 2007 which is a Bordeaux type blend with Sauvignon Cabernet (86%) dominating and Merlot (7%), Malbec (6%) and Petit Verdot (1%) supporting. But at R240 per bottle it had to be good. The winner for us was their Merlot 2008 which we found full bodied, very smooth and a delight at R85 per bottle.
Back to the Wine Estates index
Comments are closed.