Kobie and Faisal

Hey Angels!

Just thought we would keep you guys updated with what is going on in Stellenbosch and in our vineyards.

A shortage of water can have a drastic effect on our vines and the grapes on them. Since the 2015-17 drought, when Cape Town almost ran out and people queued to fill water bottles in the street, dam water levels have needed to be monitored very closely.

Winter rains are the key and this winter has been fairly dry. Out of the 44 damns in the Western Cape, the average water level is now about 64%, below where it should be for the time of year. At Moerbei we’ve been watching the situation and carefully managing our water use, even though we have our own borehole that has never run dry. Even for us our yields were down about 20% during the drought.

Fortunately, within the past month, we’ve had some excellent rain reducing the stress and making the Rainbow Nation come to life, literally. The picture shows a beautiful rainbow over our vineyards during recent rains as we look out to the mountains around Stellenbosch.

Very Best,
Faisal

Hi Angels,
 
We have some very exciting news, a new wine is on the horizon!  Made from grapes on our 42-year-old block of Chenin Blanc, it’s coming into stock at Naked towards the end of 2022.  Any wine is given the designation “Heritage” in South Africa once the vineyard, from which the grapes are produced, is over 35 years old. Many of you will know that old vines, when well looked after, will produce fruit with exceptionally intense and complex flavours. That’s the case here! With bold, bright, clear peach notes and hints of salted caramel and (slightly quirky) quince, this Heritage Chenin Blanc would make an amazing pairing with creamy chicken dishes or some meatier, rich seafood.
 
Our 2021 vintage of this wine has just been bottled and labelled and will be shipped imminently.  Meanwhile, the 2022 vintage has been put in French oak barrels to mature, giving Kobie and I the chance to get together and taste. As you can see in the pictures – it’s developing beautifully!! Safe to say we can’t wait for the Heritage Chenin Blanc 21 to be added to our wines for angels.  For those of you who love our White Gold but can’t get your hands on enough of it, this wine is an intriguingly delightful alternative, made in a similar style.  Do look out for it!
 
Very Best,
Faisal

Hi Angels,

At the beginning of this year, Ray on the Naked Wines Youtube channel did a vertical tasting of our Directors Reserve 2015, 2016 and 2017. He talks about the effect the drought in South Africa had on the 2016 vintage and compares it to the 2017 vintage, both which are available on our page.

The Directors Reserve is a blend of Cabernet, Sauvignon and Merlot and has been matured in French oak barrels for nearly two years. It’s both a rich and deep wine but go listen to Ray as he talks you through it!

I’d definitely recommend giving it a quick watch if you were thinking of trying one of the vintages (or both!) and wanted some more information.

Moerbei’s Directors Reserve Vertical Tasting -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_fBH99ibc

Very Best,
Faisal

Hi Angels,

It’s very exciting to announce that two of our wines have been awarded bronze medals in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2022! The Sauvignon Blanc 2021 and the Redridge Pinotage 2020 were clearly big standouts against the 18,244 wines from 54 countries tasted and judged by 250 wine experts. Definitely worth a try if you are a fan of a Sauvignon or a Pinotage!

If you are unfamiliar with these awards, Sarah Jane Evans MW, the co-chair of Decanter, says that the results of ‘The Decanter World Wine Awards is something really special. We pay huge attention to the wines we have, each one we approach like one of the family, in the sense that we really care for it, study it and then rate it as it is now.’ And here at Moerbei, we are glad to be part of their family of awarded wines!

Explore the Sauvignon Blanc 2021 or the Pinotage 2020, if Red is more your fancy, and give them a taste!

Very Best,
Faisal

Mmmmmmsmooth strong deep just my kind of wine.One observation !If the wine had another year to mature it would be sensational.If you have some still in cask please let me know for next year.

Happy Easter Angels
Some more news from Moerbei now that harvest is over and things are quietening down in the cellar. I am pleased to say that Kobie Viljoen has led our winemaking activity for this harvest and has done a great job taking over from Willie. It’s been an incredibly hot and very dry year (again!); so yields are down – great news for quality, more of a problem to make the quantities that our Angels wish for though…!!
Winemaking is much more of a team process than everyone thinks. We rely on great feedback from our Angels and the NW tasting experts as well as the hard work and skills of our vineyard/viticultural team. The expression “good wine is made in the vineyard” is absolutely the case and growing good grapes is as much an art and a science as is winemaking. In our vineyards the supervisory work is carried out by Lodewyk and his right hand man Koos, both pictured below with the winemaking team (and ruffty, tuffty farm dogs – Casper & Maya). Lodewyk and Koos have lived on the farm with their families and looked after the vineyards for the last 20 years… without them we would never have been able to make the wines we do!
Managing the “supply chain” has to be done as well; everything from barrels, bottles, corks, capsules, labels, cartons has to come in 100% right and 100% on time and be properly co-ordinated with what’s going on it the cellar– bear in mind that the details of every wine and vintage are different, so this can easily become a logistical nightmare. Meanwhile all the various approvals need to be sought and attained for every wine/vintage from the industry supervisory bodies and others. 1 person can’t do it all and here again a team approach is needed – so, plenty to keep Kobie, Eleonor, Willie and the rest of the team busy!
We are working on releasing the 2016 vintages of both the Cabernet Shirax 2016 and the Redridge Pinotage, both very popular wines. I am hoping we will get them to the UK by end June latest….the work never stops!!
Very best
Faisal

What an absolute treat! Big rich flavours, a small hit of acidity at the end that balanced it all out! Loved every bit of it. Tried it again the next day and still gorgeous.

4.5 Velvety dark fruit with a sweeter finish. Slight plummy tartness. Normally don’t like a too sweet or vanilla finish but this was subtle.

Perhaps I'm losing my 'nose' for wine :-( ...I found this a pleasant enough white wine but lacking the "explosive tropical fruit entry - a cocktail of ripe guava, freshly cut grapefruit and sweet pineapple. Secondary nuances of lemongrass and mandarin" etc. etc. that the label suggests. Maybe try again as it's not expensive.