On the 25th of April Natalie Khüne winemaker of Perdeberg visited us, with Lydia Alfonso. It has been a while since Perdeberg has been to Vats, October 20 2015 to be precise, presented by Nadia Fouche and Quenunca Vogel. Natalie and Lydia were really good to us and brought us some awesome wines as you will see below. It is so great to have the person who made the wine with you, explaining how she made them and giving that amazing insight to what goes on at Perdeberg. The following is the tasting and their scores.
1. Perdeberg Vineyard Collection Old Vine Chenin Blanc Cap Classique 2019
Colour- light green, with a golden rim, very fine mousse. Nose- citrus, honey, pineapple, apple. Palate- crisp acidity, honey, citrus, apples, almost smoky, slight brioche, with lingering citrus and honey.
Score- 16.40.
2. Perdeberg Natuurlik (Organic) Chenin Blanc 2022
Colour- light green. Nose- perfumed, citrus blossom, fynbos, apple and spice. Palate- crisp acidity, soft, perfumed, pear, peach, apple, lingering peach.
Score- 16.00.
3. Perdeberg Vineyard Collection Chardonnay 2022
Colour- light green. Nose- citrus, toast, honey, lemon. Palate- crisp acidity, toast, citrus, honey, puckering mouth feel, peach, pear, lime and lemon, citrus lingering to the finish.
Score- 16.55.
4. Perdeberg Dryland Collection Courageous Old Vine Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2022
Colour- light green. Nose- citrus, honey, peaches, pineapple. Palate- crisp acidity, peach, creamy, apricots, pineapples, beautiful balance and mouth feel, apricot and peach lingering to the finish.
Score- 17.82, rated the third best in score for 2023 out of the 91 wines tasted so far. There are three Chenin Blanc’s in the top ten so far!
5. Perdeberg Dryland Collection Josephs Legacy (63% Shiraz, 14% Mourvèdre, 13% Grenache Noir & 10% Cinsault) 2019
Colour- inky dark red with no gradation to the rim. Nose- mint, caramel, coffee, black cherries, toffee and chocolate. Palate- crisp acidity, black cherries, chocolate, toffee, mint, black currant, with the cherry and chocolate lingering to the finish.
Score- 16.91.
6. Perdeberg Dryland Collection Tenacious Shiraz 2019
Colour- inky dark red, with a red rim. Nose- Christmas cake, caramel, chocolate, black cherries and berries, lead pencil and cedar. Palate- crisp acidity, slightly smoky, black currants and cherries, pepper, grippy, firm tannins, with the cherries lingering to the finish.
Score- 17.18, 13th best scored wine for Vats thus far in 2023.
7. Perdeberg Dryland Collection Fortitude Fortified Chenin Blanc 2021
Colour- golden yellow. Nose- citrus, apricots and honey. Palate- crisp acidity, soft honey, apricots and citrus, citrus and honey lingering to the finish.
Score- 17.44, tenth best scored wine for Vats this year.
Wow what an amazing experience to have tasted these wines and to have been spoilt rotten!! All the wines tasted were well scored. But to have two in the top ten and four in the top 25 is simply incredible. The Dryland Collection Josephs Legacy 2019, is tied in 21st with the Eikendal Charisma (Shiraz, Petit Verdot, 1% Sangiovese) 2021 and the Badger & Mountain Cape Red Blend 2019. The Top three Chenin Blanc’s were the two above and the Kleine zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2022 at sixth (17.57). Thanks greatly to Natalie, who really is an incredible presenter and quite clearly loves to make wine. But, a huge thank you to Lydia for bringing her to Vats!!!!
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