What I Drank Last Night

Last night the launch of Magna Carta 2009, the flagship offering from Constantia winery Steenberg, this being the second ever release after the 2007 vintage, the 2008 not producing wine of sufficient quality to bear Magna Carta designation. The 2009 is a blend of 60% Sauvingon Blanc and 40% Semillon, the latter component fermented in [...]

Yesterday a vertical tasting of of all six vintages to date of Constantia Glen Sauvignon Blanc followed by lunch to mark the opening of the property’s new tasting room. The tasting was hosted by winemaker Karl Lambour and consultant Dominique Hebrard, previously of famed St-Emilion property Cheval Blanc and now of Bellefont-Belcier. There are some [...]

As featured in the last issue of Business Day WANTED: “Magic in the bottle” claims the back label of Genie, the Brut Rosé 2007 from Robertson property Silverthorn, and it’s difficult not to come under the spell of this appealing pink bubbly. The wine is made by John Loubser, whose day job is cellarmaster and [...]

For a pretty wide spread of wine scores, check out how the Steenberg Shiraz 2008 did in this year’s Global Trader Shiraz Challenge convened by WINE magazine: I gave it 14 on the 20-point scale, Carrie Adams of Johannesburg wine retailer Norman Goodfellows 14.5, James Pietersen, beverage manager for Cape Town restaurants Balducci’s and Belthazar [...]

One of the producers I will be reviewing for Platter’s 2011 is Constantia Uitsig and on Monday, I joined viticulturist and winemaker André Rosseau as well as marketing manager Francois Theunissen for a discussion of the new-release wines followed by lunch at La Colombe, twelfth on this year’s list of the world’s 50 best restaurants [...]

Fruit of our loins Zoë turns one on Friday 11 June – what other baby has her own birthday countdown clock? With her in the safekeeping of granny last night, her mum and I snuck off for drinks at Caveau at the Mill in Newlands. A blackboard advertised “Vintage Wines at Vintage Prices” including Constantia [...]