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South Africa

 

New Award Winning Wines arriving shortly!

Now here's a country which has suffered at the hands of unscrupulous wine merchants and the large factory produced brands. I've tasted virtually hundreds of frankly awful South African wines wondering what all the fuss was about in the media. How could a nation have such a large wine industry if it was all such poor quality? The truth is, there are good South African wines, we just have to search very hard to find them in the UK amongst the mass of cheap plonk that's swamping the supermarkets and the greedy pub companies. The secret, as with most wine regions, is to search out family owned wineries where the emphasis is on quality and the owners are passionate about what they produce.
 
 
Zevenwacht

As all our regular customers know, we personally select every wine on this site on it's own merits, we don't simply list every wine from each producer. Very occassionally we happen across an outstanding winery where virtually every wine they produce is something special, and that's what has happened here with Zevenwacht. We're very fortunate to have formed a good relationship with Denise and have the opportunity to exclusively offer our customers some of their very limited production top end wines. I urge you to give them a try, they're fantastic.

Zevenwacht, owned and run by Denise & Harold Johnson, is an independent estate of 500 hectares with 200 hectares under vine, mostly noble varieties. Their winemaker, Jacques Viljoen, takes a bold approach to winemaking, using modern technology as well as traditional cellaring techniques to produce elegant premium wines. We're now having some of their top wines shipped over, due in mid October including their extremely limited Bordeaux blend the 'Z'.

The estate comprises as well as the winery, of a cheese factory, a chef school, top restaurant with banquetting and conferencing facilities, as well as an inn and guest cottages, and is a fully licensed wedding venue all set in stunning surroundings! On top of all this they make fantastic wines too!

Please note - we're awaiting stocks of these new wines from South Africa. Due in mid October.
zevenwacht
 
 

Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl

Michael Angelo Awards - Gold Medal, Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 08 - Bronze, Wine Magazine 4 Stars.

13.5% abv. Another superb wine from Jacques Viljoen. A lovely, crisp, fresh Sauvignon. Bags of fruit with very good balance and length. It seems Jacques really does get the best out of any varietal. He's an expert wine maker who takes enormous pride in producing superior quality wines.

Zevenwacht Website

Price: £9.19 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Zevenwacht The Tin Mine White Blend 2006 Stellenbosch 75cl

Old Mutual Wine Show 09 - Bronze Medal.

This is a lovely wine, rich and exotic with plenty of body, tropical fruit flavours and palate cleansing acidity. It's a blend of three grapes - Sauvignon Blanc, cool fermeted to retain freshness, Chardonnay lightly oaked for body, richness and texture, and Viognier again lightly oaked. Ideal as 'a glass of wine' but also pairs well with food. Highly recommended.

Zevenwacht Website

Price: £9.19 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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OM
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Zevenwacht The Tin Mine White Blend 2006 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 360 2008 Stellenbosch 75cl

Old Mutual Wine Show 09 - Silver Medal. IWSC - Silver. Decanter - Commended. John Platter 4 Stars

Only 6000 bottles of this top Sauvignon Blanc are produced annually. It's sourced from their highest single vineyard, south facing from the top of which there's a 360 degree view of the entire estate, hence the name. The grapes are harvested by hand at night to retain maximum freshness, with 15% barrel fermented to increase richness, body and complexity. It has strong, ripe fruit flavours, rich on the palate with great balancing acidity and tremendous length. Great wine.

Zevenwacht Website

Price: £11.75 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 360 2008 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Zevenwacht Z Gerwurztraminer 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl

John Platter 4 Stars

Only 1200 bottles have been produced. It's made from grapes from 25 year old vines, which underwent 'rigorous selection' before being picked by hand in the early hours of Saturday morning, March the 8th! Now that's what I call a hand crafted wine! I can't praise this wine enough. Zevenwacht describe it as 'sumptuously fragrant... beautiful mouthfeel....seductive mid palate and a lingering finish'. This really is an exceptional wine, and a real bargain at this price, but be quick it's extremely limited.

Only 42 Bottles left!

Zevenwacht Website

Price: £14.95 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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92 Points

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Zevenwacht Z Gerwurztraminer 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 
jordan image
 
 
The Jordan winery today is run by Gary and Kathy Jordan making some outstanding world class wines. The 300 year old 146 hectare farm was purchased by Gary's parents - Ted and Sheelagh - back in 1982, when they undertook an extensive replanting programme of all the vineyards. Gary and Kathy spent a couple of years abroad learning their wine making skills then returned home in 1992 and began producing quality wines from 1993 onwards, once the vines were mature.

Gary and Kathy are 'next door neighbours' and close friends with Harold and Denise of Zevenwacht - although I wouldn't like to walk from one house to the other! The secret to both estates' success is largely due to the same factors - yes, you need wine making skill and experience as well as a dedication to producing the best quality wine possible, but both these estates also have an array of different terroirs. Here lies the real skill of matching each grape variety to it's ideal terroir. Because of the specific landscape both estates have slopes facing to all four points of the compass, all at different altitudes, different degrees of slope and aspect to the sun, and all on 600 million year old soils with unique qualities. Add to this the cooling Atlantic and Indian oceans and the mediteranean climate and there's a myriad of different combinations.

The Jordans have got it right - and so have Zevenwacht - with each variety in it's ideal location producing optimum fruit. Their wines are highly recommended.
 
 

Jordan Chenin Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl

14.5% abv. The Jordan winery is owned and run by David and Kathy Jordan, both qualified winemakers having studied at the Davis institute in California. They are now well known for producing world class wines. This Chenin is barrel fermented, pale gold in colour with a clean fresh nose. There's plenty of delicious fruit upfront and a nice finish - a little drier than the typical Chenin. A good wine to enjoy on it's own on a sunny afternoon.

Jordan Website

Price: £8.06 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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Jordan Chenin Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Jordan Chardonnay 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl

Yes, this is the 'wooded one' at this price, not to be confused with Jordan's cheaper unwooded offering.

14% abv.Pale gold in colour with plenty of fruit on the nose. Concentrated fruit on the palate and really good length. This wine's not as full bodied or as buttery as typical new world Chardonnays say from Australia. More a combination of new world and old world in style.

Jordan Website

Price: £10.21 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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Jordan Chardonnay 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Jordan Chardonnay 2008 Stellenbosch 75cl

Yes, this is the 'wooded one' at this price, not to be confused with Jordan's cheaper unwooded offering.

14% abv. Decanter Silver Medal Winner. John Platter 4 Stars. Pale gold in colour with plenty of fruit on the nose. Concentrated fruit on the palate and really good length. This wine's not as full bodied or as buttery as typical new world Chardonnays say from Australia. More a combination of new world and old world in style.

Jordan Website

Price: £10.21 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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DEC
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Jordan Chardonnay 2008 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay Reserve 2008 Stellenbosch 75cl

John Platter 4.5 Stars. The 2007 won Gold Medal Best in Class at the IWSC.

This is a great wine. Big rich buttery flavours on the palate initially, then the oak shows through on the finish. This is a full bodied, luscious wine which would be lovely to enjoy on it's own, but we also paired it with a cheese tasting we were doing, including a spicy chile cheese - Snowdonia Cheese Company's Red Devil - and it stood up to the heat and strong flavours really well. I've tasted a lot of Chardonnays but I can't recall any that balanced the fruit and the oak so superbly. Great length too. Highly recommended.

Jordan Website

Price: £17.16 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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DEC
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89 Points

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Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay Reserve 2008 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Capell's Court Sauvignon Blanc Linton Park 2007 75cl

14% abv. Pale green in colour. This unwooded Sauvignon has crisp fruit on the palate, medium body and weight in the mouth with a good balance between fruit and acidity. Ideal as an aperitif or to accompany seafood dishes.

Linton Park Website

Price: £6.46 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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Capell's Court Sauvignon Blanc Linton Park 2007 75cl
 
 

Eikendal Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl

13.7% abv. Also a great Sauvignon. Lovely strong fruit, well balanced with crisp acidity and a really long finish. It sounds like the same description for Zevenwacht. They're both great wines. I recommend you try them both and decide for yourself.

Eikendal Website

Price: £8.52 (Inc.  VAT at 17.5% )


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Eikendal Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl