My tiny organ, which reaches depths social media cannot plumb, excels itself today, promoting a Latinate wine for those of us with a classical education. And I’m not talking visiting professors at the UCT Business School with no relevant qualifications. Fling poo at them all, say I. It’s what Caligula would have done. After all, Cal had great respect for horses, making one a visiting professor (surely Consul?, ed.) and since this wine is from Horse Mountain in the Swartland, its super appropriate.
Bottle of the week: This fruit bomb is a classy act
Doran Family Vineyards Incipio 2014
How much and where?
R125; www.doranvineyards.co.za
Why? The Gauls on the Rhone often add viognier to their syrah to reintroduce those peachy nuances bleached out by the pitiless Mediterranean sun. On the Paardeberg, wine maker Martin Lamprecht adds chenin blanc for the same effect.
This wine is a fruit bomb of note and should be served slightly chilled to prevent the exuberant flavours of plum and pomegranate from shattering the Lehmann Jamesse Prestige Grand glass (R450 at any upscale purveyor of stemware) this wine is best enjoyed in. What you save on the purchase price should be invested in glassware, as this wine is a classy act.
The bottle boasts a tactile embossed label reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, which comes as no surprise as owner Edwin Doran is also of the Irish persuasion. An attractive label is a sine qua non for those who drink with their eyes.
Sticking with the classics, “incipio” is Latin for “beginning”, a million legua away from “insipid”. A great match for duck breast or charcuterie – especially pork cured in the Iberian fashion. This is a summertime wine for when the livin’ is easy.
Rating: ****
***** Julius Caesar
**** Scipio Africanus
*** Pliny the elder
** Nero
* Caligula
