I, like the next person, consider myself to be somewhat of a budding wine connoisseur. I think a lot of girls, in their mid-teens (probably around the age of 16 or 17) start experimenting with rose wine with their girlfriends and add lots of ice and practice letting their inner coo-girls come out in each other's company. This is often accompanied by gossiping and gabbing over the latest news at school (or varsity later on) and exchanging stories, relationship advice and embarrassing moments.
As the years have gone on, and as one tries to move away from sweeter wines and such (or just raid your parent's wine rack), I have come to find that the drier and older wines have much more interesting stories to tell. When you taste your mom's white wine as a youngster, you are immediately put off by the dry and bitter taste of it and compare it to drinking vinegar or paint thinners (not that I have ever tasted that, but I guess that is what I would've imagined it to taste like, back then). But, as time goes on, you learn to enjoy not only the taste of a white or dry red wine but the process and flavours embedded into the wine and associated with it. The wine I want to talk about today is one that is arguably a very good wine for almost any occasion. Boekenhoutskloof in Franschoek (which is in the Western Cape of South Africa) is responsible for bottling "The Wolftrap" wines. I've tried both the white/ chenin blend as well as the Syrah Mourvedre Viognier Rhone blend. The normal retail price is around the R37 mark (but I bought mine on special at Checkers for R32.99!). Not only is the shape of the bottle as well as the labeling and branding on the wine unique and eye-catching; the iconic wolf on the bottle never leaves one's memory. As far as the taste goes, one can definitely smell and taste the wooden (oak) barrels in which it was matured. What I can taste are hints of nutmeg or cinnamon. The Wolftrap tastes better the more it gets a chance to breathe; some might say that the initial sharpness is a bit much, but, as the evening goes on, and there is a bit of oxidizing that takes place, it calms down and reveals its more velvety side and you are finally able to let the wolf out of its snare... (How's that for poetic?) This vintage; the bottle that has taken up temporary residence on my desk is only a 2013, which means that it is for immediate enjoyment and will compliment any occasion from a first date (impressing the lady with a suave choice of wine) to cooking up a bowl of pasta or warm veggie stew with your best friend on one of Pretoria's crisp, chilly winter evenings. Below is an image of the complete selection of The Wolftrap wines. They have a white, rose and of course the red wine as well. I apologize for not providing my own photo of the bottle, but have instead opted for the photo which can be located on their website : http://www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za/front
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AuthorHi there, my name is Judete Fourie. I am a twenty-something-year-old writer living in Stellenbosch in SA's Western Cape. Follow my day to day adventures that involve wine, wit and braaibroodjies. Archives
June 2017
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