Jonkershoek

Jonkershoek

Sauntering along the Jonkershoek road is quite humbling.On one side is the Jonkershoek mountain, on the other the Stellenbosch mountain, with the Eerste/Jonkershoek river winding along the valley in between. The rock faces rise sharply and majestically, making you feel somewhat small and insignificant in the greater scheme of things.

I christened the area Cab Alley because the grape is the focus of a number of producers in the Jonkershoek valley. There are two potential starting points as you the approach the mountains - Lanzerac or Rozendal - but I'd recommend keeping one or the other until last, because that way you can end your winerouting with a meal at either.

Lanzerac is home to the first commercially bottled Pinotage and forms part of the Christo Wiese wine portfolio. There's a well-staffed tasting room with a R15 tasting fee, which entitles you to sample five wines (and you get to keep the branded glass as a souvenir). Cheese platters are also on offer, with meal options including lunch and dinner at the 5 Star hotel on the property.

You'll need to book at Rozendal. It's on the outskirts of Stellenbosch suburbia and yet after driving on the farm road for a few hundred meters you'd swear you were deep in the countryside. It's got a real farm feel about it - complete with Jersey cows, a horse or two and a potbellied pig. Wine tastings are held in the manor house, and there are cottages dotted around the property should you want a winelands base to stay at. (Tip: look up before entering the front door - two eagle owls perch in the branches of the oak tree and are totally unfazed by the procession of people).

Natalie Amman has taken over the Rozendal winemaking from father Kurt and has kept up his organic and biodynamic tradition in the eight hectares of vineyard. In addition to a red wine blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, she also makes a wicked vinegar that's macerated on green tea, lavender and chilli and spends time in old sherry barrels. Bookings for either lunch or dinner are essential because everything is made fresh - and preceded by a small glass of vinegar!

Chris McDonald (no relation of mine) is a master of making things work at Klein Gustrouw. Again, call ahead fi rst because there are no specifi c tasting facilities at this estate. McDonald makes just one wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend - and is happy to demonstrate his second- hand tanks and handy gadgets that make life easier for him and allow for gentle handling of the fruit.
Right next door is Le Riche Wines - in fact, the Le Riche family and the McDonalds inhabit the same building. It's quite unique in that it's a typical H-shaped Cape Dutch manor house that was bricked up in the middle years ago, the result of two brothers splitting an inheritance. Its historic importance has been recognized by the National Monuments Council. Etienne Le Riche is one of the coun- try's best Cabernet Sauvignon makers, focusing on this grape in both a Reserve and a blend format, to which either Merlot, Pinotage or Shiraz is added. Either he or his right-hand man Mark Daniels are always available to offer people a taste of their four wines, all reds.

Neil Ellis and Stark-Condé wine cellars are adjacent to each other on the Oude Nektar property. Ellis's tasting room is open every weekday and until 14h00 on Saturdays - you're guaranteed a warm welcome from Toanette Dirker, the tasting room manageress. There's a fee for tasting the range but that's waived if wines are purchased. And it's a broad range: Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage as well as various blends - the flagships packaged under the Vineyard Selection label and including some hard-to-come-by numbers (one of my "wines of the year" for 2006 was Neil Ellis's Grenache, which was only available from this tasting room).

Stark-Condé has been open to the public since December, but it's best to call ahead and fi nd out if José Condé is in - he's a busy man and could well be in Asia or the United States, marketing his increasingly popular Cabernet Sauvignon. He's a graphic artist by training, a winemaker by desire, and, having lived in New York and Tokyo before heading south, is among the fi rst to admit that the Jonkershoek is like heaven on earth.

 

"MUST TRY" WINES:

o Klein Gustrouw - an elegant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that benefits from a bit of time in bottle. Perfect with dinner on a winter's evening.
o Lanzerac Pinotage - South Africa's fi rst to be commercially bottled. Taste it out of nostalgia, appreciate it for its lively fruit character. And the Rosé if it's available.
o Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon - the Reserve is everything a Cab should be (elegant, rich with fruitcake and spice fl avours, velvety mouthfeel) and shrieks class.
o Neil Ellis - Sauvignon Blanc from Groenekloof near Darling, Chardonnay from Elgin (he was one of the fi rst to see the potential of the area) and then his Stellenbosch Cab.
o Stark-Condé Cabernet Sauvignon - gorgeous, with heaps of ripe black fruit, subtle fl oral notes, harmonious wood. Wonderful soft mouthfeel.