An evening with the CWG and George Spies

CWG members receiving a standing ovation

Last week we celebrated the 32nd Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction. In true Boland style, one day is simply not enough to mark such an occasion and work pretty much took a back seat while prospective buyers and wine lovers ventured around the Winelands, attending gourmet evenings and pre-tastings or playing a round of golf in the CWG Classic - which my hubby's team won by the way! #welldonebokkie.

I attended the annual pre-auction tasting for the very first time at Spier last Friday night.  Now, these wines are made in super small batches and they truly are the 'cream of the crop'.  Although they were all exceptional my human nature allows me to have favourites...so here they are...

Simonsig Mediterraneo 2015
66% Roussanne, 28% Granache Blanc, 6% Verdelho
Fragrant and creamy turkish delight nose with lots of floral and sweet fruit aromas.  The mouthfeel is broad and lovely with a good acidity that provides length and follow through.  I just love these punchy white blends.  They are perfect food wines and age so well.

Kaapzicht Estate Auction Selection 1947 Chenin Blanc 2015
100% Chenin Blanc
Beautiful perfumed nose laced with flowers, clementines and subtle spice.  The entry is quite powerful and broad.  This wine grips your palate's attention right to its mineral lipsmackingly-good finish.  Not bad for a 69year old bush vine that has stood the test of time.

Tokara Siberia Chardonnay 2015    
100% Chardonnay 
Pure Chardonnay fruit.  On the nose pineapple and lemon drops take centre stage while subtle brioche nuances dance in the background.  The palate is round and ripe with excellent balance and concentration.  As a Chardonnay lover it was hard for me to pick only one favourite.  The Jordan Auction Selection 2015 as well as the Waterford Kept Aside 2015 trailed closely behind my first choice.  In the end it was the Tokara's drinkability that won me over...I just couldn't spit it out.

Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Seadragon Pinot Noir 2015
100% Pinot Noir
Gorgeous spice, ground cloves and black pepper meets pure untainted Pino fruit.  Complex but still so straight forward.  It's depth and concentration will make for an excellent food wine.  I must admit, the Paul Cluver Auction Selection Pinot Noir 2014 came a close second.  I just love Pino's that display true fruit character and superlative oak balance.

The Drift Farm Kindered Shiraz Malbec Barbera 2014
33.3% Shiraz, 33.3%Malbec, 33.3% Barbera
Inky, concentrated and painstakingly well blended.  Black cherry and plum flavours ooze onto the palate with characteristic dark spices adding more drama.  The melange of cultivars are perfectly integrated.  A super blend - my favourite of the tasting.  Bruce Jack is to viniculture what Karen Zoid is to musical collaborations...a true genius.

Rust en Vrede CWG Auction Estate 2013
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Pure cassis, plum and blackberry aromas on the nose follow through on the palate with elegance and poise.  This is a beautifully balanced blend, a true classic with loads of complexity and a creamy lingering finish.  This property has paved the way for icon blends in Stellenbosch and with this wine they have proven themselves yet again.

Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2013
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc
Perfumed cassis, sour cherries and hints of sweet liquorice tease the nose while a broad and structured palate grabs your attention!  This is truly a South African classic that 'hits all the right spots'.  Not many can perfect the alchemy of such balanced richness.

Rijks CWG Pinotage 2013
100% Pinotage
The sweet and spicy plummy nose that firsts greet you has 'Pinotage' written all over it.  But, nothing can prepare you for the bright red juicy fruit flavours and great follow through on the palate.  The finish is silky smooth and creamy.  A well made delicious wine with just the right oak/fruit balance.


The highlight of the evening was a bottle of very special wine my husband Jakes brought to dinner after the tasting.  It was a bottle of 1962 Cabernet Sauvignon (rumoured to have been) made by George Spies for 'André Simon's Memorial Dinner' pictured left.  Now this wine is even rarer than the fabled 1966 and 1968 GS Cabernet Sauvignons that Spies made at Stellenbosch Farmers Winery in the late 60's.  I've have had the privilege to taste the 1966 GS and I was blown away by the wine's character at such an old age.  But the 1962 we tasted that evening reawakened the myth of George Spies.  The wine was still so youthful...even the colour was crimson red with only a faint amber tinge.  The nose was quite austere with leather and forrest floor aromas masking the fruit initially.  In hindsight we needed to let it breath for longer because fragranced red berries only emerged later in the glass. The wine still had excellent structure and such a great length.  

Wow...can we still make wines like that?  Wines that will age 50+ years?  Funny that we as humans go to great lengths to live longer and look younger these days, but lately we don't put much effort into making and preserving things that can be enjoyed by generations to come...   

Record sales were achieved at the auction on Saturday amounting to a total of R13 833 200!  The highest price went to the Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2013.  

I wonder what a bottle of the George Spies '62 would have fetched...