Now in Stock: Draaiboek!

With fruit sourced from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge and the wine-making talents of Stephanie Wiid, the Draaiboek team have released their 2021’s and we now have them in stock - here are their Tasting Notes for both, followed by Greg Sherwood’s notes for the Onskuld Chardonnay:

2021 Onskuld Chardonnay: Onskuld, meaning innocence in Afrikaans, invites you to savour the simple joy that Chardonnay brings. The 2021 Onskuld shows freshness and elegance that reflects the unique terroir of the Hemel & Aarde Ridge. Now on its third vintage, the Chardonnay allows fresh notes of citrus fruit to shine while perfectly balanced by its minerality and hints of nutmeg.

Viticulture: The Hemel & Aarde Ridge is the smallest appellation in the Walker Bay wine region. Our grapes are grown in a single 11-year-old North-East facing trellised vineyard, found at 300m above sea level in clay-rich Bokkeveld shale.

Winemaking: We follow a philosophy of minimal intervention, allowing the terroir to speak for itself.
The grapes were harvested by hand on 5 March 2021 and whole bunch pressed. It was fermented in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new, and matured on fine lees for 11 months. Only the best barrels where bottled.

Tasting Notes: Light straw-yellow hue characteristic of an oaked Chardonnay. Fresh aromas of citrus fruit – lemon, lime and grapefruit – with a subtle hint of toasted brioche, fennel and nutmeg.

The 30% new oak builds the balance in the wine and supplies a gentle texture to the mid-palate.

Ageing potential: The wine is ready to enjoy on release but will mature well for a further 8 to 10 years.

2021 Waagmoed Pinot Noir: The second chapter of the Draaiboek Wines story is Waagmoed, which means daring in Afrikaans. It tells the tale of bravery in crafting a Pinot Noir to capture the essence of the beautiful Hemel en Aarde Ridge. The 2021 Pinot Noir is a wine of depth and charm that offers delicacy and gracious elegance. The wine is instantly accessible on release and offers excellent drinking pleasure, but it will develop and mature very well for 3 to 5 years after release.

Viticulture: This perfumed Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown in a north-east facing single vineyard in Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. The 11-year-old vines are grown in Bokkeveld shale with a high proportion of clay, around 300m above sea level. Due to a cool, wet summer, the harvest was around ten days later than usual, following an even budding and slow but regular ripening.

Winemaking: We believe in minimum intervention during the vinification process. The fruit selection was a crucial part due to the vintage conditions. Bunches were sorted twice, first in the vineyard during the picking process and then again in the cellar. Natural fermentation was followed by ten months on its lees in 228-litre Burgundy barrels, 25% new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered and may display some harmless sedimentation over time. Only the best barrels were bottled.

Tasting Notes: Alluringly coy delicacy with a floral nuance on the bright cherry, raspberry and strawberry aromatics. Touch of spice and forest floor too. The palate is initially succulent and lively with the fresh berry flavours but then it broadens and deepens with gentle spice, loam and crunchy autumn leaf apparent. It’s fey and delicate but with wonderful fruit purity, seamless silky tannin and a sinuous suppleness and pliability that is so seductive yet simultaneously powerful and gracefully muscular.

Greg Sherwood MW: The 2021 Chardonnay from Draaiboek Wines is certainly an impressive creation. Immediately lifted and expressive on the nose, the aromatics boast complex layers that slowly unfurl to reveal pristine notes of white flowers, freshly baked baguette, spicy green apples, white citrus, waxy lemon rind and subtle hints of nutmeg. The palate is beautifully weighted with a medium bodied palate breadth and tangy acids that show deliciously racy, saline notes of Seville oranges, tangerine, granny smith apples and warm apple strudel pastries. Such a mouth-watering, joyful expression from one of the best white wine vintages in South Africa in the past decade. Drink this now or cellar comfortably for added complexity for 3 to 8+ years. (3,670 bottles produced.) (Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

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About Us

Have you ever heard about a great wine but could never find a bottle for yourself (to share with friends, of course)? Well, the team at Wine & Company do all the hard work for you! We visit wine farms and attend tastings to find, taste, and then stock wine from the smaller Estates and independent winemakers who buy grapes and produce outstanding wine under their own labels – much the same as the French negociants have been doing for centuries. Given that these winemakers make wine in such small quantities, sometimes just a single barrel, their wine will never be found on the shelves of the major retailers, but only in specialist shops like Wine & Company on High Street, Hermanus.

In addition to the great selection of well-known wines and MCC's, we also stock local craft gin and beer, French Champagne, Belgian Ales as well as whisky and other spirits. Wine & Company (established in 1998 by Bartho Eksteen) has a well-earned reputation for stocking hard-to-find small-batch wines and we strive to continue this great tradition. If you purchase a bottle of wine from us and it is faulty we will gladly replace the bottle and return the faulty wine to the winemaker.

Feel free to contact Wine & Company if you need a particular wine and we will do our best to source it for you. We are also able to ship wine locally and to most countries so do ask about international shipping.

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Please note that our website does not show the complete range of wine that we have in stock, so please do contact us if you are looking for something not listed online, especially those that are 'allocation' only. 

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