On the 23rd of April Dianri Wessels presented the wine of Kloovenburg to us. It has been a while since we tasted the wines of Kloovenburg 12th of April 2022, to be precise, also presented by Dianri. It is always great to have Dianri present to us, as she is a fantastic presenter and knows so much about all the farms, as well as wines she has in her portfolio. Dianri usually spoils us with something different, which she certainly did in this tasting. There were a couple of first, install for us! The tasting was in the order below, the comments of the tasters and the average scores too.
1. Cap Classique Blanc de Blanc 2022 (Single Block), the fist Cap Classique from this farm.
Colour- light green-gold, with a fine mousse. Nose- citrus, brioche, honey. Palate- crisp acidity, soft citrus, brioche, honey, bone dry, with an orange finish.
Score- 16.50.
2. Chardonnay unwooded 2022
Colour- light green. Nose- citrus with lemon and oranges, salty, peach. Palate- crisp acidity, citrus, orange, naartjie, rich peach, creamy, persimmon, honey, pear.
Score- 15.94.
3. The Village Red 2022 (47% Grenache Noir, 42% Shiraz, 11% Mourvèdre).
Colour- dark red-purple, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- spices, black pepper, savoury with sun-dr1ed tomatoes and olives, plum, mulberry, black cherry, black currant. Palate- crisp acidity, soft tannins, plums, black berries and cherries, black currant, raspberry and mulberry, spice, chocolate, beautiful structure, still young and needs time.
Score- 16.13.
4. Grenache Noir 2022
Colour- light browning red, with no gradation to the rim. Nose- herbal, citrus, caramel, smoky, strawberry and raspberry. Palate- crisp acidity, soft tannins, caramel, smoky, toasty, sour red cherry, strawberry and raspberry, toast, with ripe strawberries on the finish.
Score- 16.27.
5. Lledoner Pelut 2022 (also known as the Hairy Grenache) a first for us all.
Colour- light red with no gradation to the clear rim, lots of tears. Nose- toast, spice, pink Roses, red cherry, raspberry. Palate- crisp acidity, soft tannins, full in the mouth, caramel, toffee, red cherry, raspberry, strawberries that linger full to the finish, beautiful length.
Score- 16.30.
6. Merlot 2019 (Single Vineyard)
Colour- dark red, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- savoury, chocolate, coffee, cassis, black cherry. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, coffee, mocha, chocolate that lingers to the finish, black berry and cherry, plum, nuts, lovely smooth palate.
Score- 17.00 (tied 14th for the year out of 75 wines tasted thus far, tied with four other wines, one of them the Hartenberg Merlot 2018).
Two firsts, the Cap Classique the first ever for Kloovenburg and the Lledoner Pelut, which is a first for SA. This estate makes beautiful wines at very affordable prices, such as the Village Red at R100. Most tasters said when they found out the price, that they would have added a full point or more to the score. A stand out for many was the Merlot and it shows in the score, top wine for the tasting too. Second was the soft Cap Classique and third the amazing Lldoner Pelut. Dianri, thanks for such an amazing tasting with rich lovely wines.
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