Red blend from the Franschhoek Valley in South Africa

I’ve spent a number of good holidays in South Africa. This is primarily because I like spending time with my twin sister, G and her husband, T. T is from Zim and has a lot of connections in SA and moreover, his late mother, Monica, whom I had a lot of affection for resided in Knysna, c.491km from Cape Town. A few years ago, Emilio agreed to my suggestion to jet off to Cape Town from Spain (where we celebrated Christmas and New Years) so we could spend some of our holidays with G&T, their kids and Monica. The weather that greeted us was perfect; a much needed respite from the cold bitter winds we experienced in Spain. We had a fantastic time in Cape Town and yonder, including a visit to Franschhoek valley to sample some fine wine and cuisine, supposedly to be the best in SA. 

  

Franschhoek (“French corner”) is a village situated some 80km east from Cape Town. Popular grapes in this region include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Cabernet  Sauvignon. Wine producing started in the 17^th century, when French Protestants refugees (the Hugenots) settled on land provided by the Dutch and cultivated grapes in the surrounding mountain slopes. The scenery of this village is breathtaking and there are many enchanting wine farms offering tasting as well as fine dining. Watch this promotional video if you have 4.55 minutes and want to glimpse the picturesque village.

La Motte Wine Estate beguiled us in on a beautiful summers day. The winery was crowded and busy but we still managed to sample a good number of wines at leisure and browse in the lovely farm shop for wine paraphernalia. Afterwards, we sat relaxed on the loungers on the sunny lawn, discussing (rather tipsily) how beautiful the estate was and our haul: mostly red blends, which we then preferred to the SA's native Pinotage. The estate was bought by a South African industrialist called Dr Anton Rupert in 1970 and subsequently restored. It is now owned by his daughter Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg (a mezzo soprano in SA) and managed by her CEO husband.

  

Not surprisingly, La Motte 2008 Millenium is a bottle we opened a few weeks ago with a lot of happy memories. Fruity and spicy, it was medium bodied and provided a lingering finish. The blend of this wine varies depending on the year. For example, the vintage we drank consisted predominantly of Cabernet Franc (44%),  Malbec (11%) mixed with Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2011 bottle on the other hand, has mostly Merlot (60%) and Carbernet Franc (31%) and a residual a mix of Petit Verdot and Malbec. The different components were left to age separately for 15 months in French oak barrels before being blended. At only R84.00/ Euros 5.65, we both found the price:quality ratio more than reasonable.