06 February 2008

Delheim Pinotage Rosé

Two weeks ago I posted a picture of Delheim’s first Pinotage grapes being harvested. They were pressed to make Delheim’s popular Rosé and yesterday lunchtime I tasted the work in progress.

It was a neon pink colour and smelt of bread and pear drops. Fermentation hadn’t completely finished and it had yet to be fined, which accounted for its yeastiness being clouded. This was very dry, with just 2 grammes per litre of residual sugar. Delheim’s winemaker, Brenda van Niekerk, will soon blend in a tiny amount of Muscat de Frontignac to round out the wine and sweeten its edges. But it was showing great promise and was right on track to follow the lineage of the 2007 Rosé.

And it was a bottle of the Delheim Rosé 2007 that we had with our lunch in Delheim’s garden restaurant. Compared with the tank sample, this was brilliantly clear and pink. The nose was filled with the scent of rose petals and the wine, chilled in an ice bucket, was just the thing for a hot summers day. Refreshingly fruity, interesting and quaffable. And unavailable. Demand for this wine has been overwhelming and Delheim has now sold out of Rosé until the 2008 vintage is bottled, which they are expecting will be some time next month

The lunch menu changes monthly and as usual I was torn between choices. I picked Ostrich Bobotie with rice and home made chutney. The bobotie was cooked in an individual serving dish and really scrumptious – moist with a risen egg custard on top and aromatic spices and almond slivers flavouring the meat . Next time I will have the Cape Malay chicken curry wrapped in a filo pastry parcel which my companion praised, or will I have oxtail cooked in Shiraz or lamb shanks cooked in Merlot?

Choices, choices…..

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