How much? R50;
Where? Bergwater Vineyards, Prince Albert, Great Karoo 27 (0)23 541 1703;
Why? The Afrikaans nickname for the Karoo of Groot Dorsland (Great Thirstland) is now redundant with the arrival of this impressive blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Opinions are divided on its composition: the website lists it as Cab:Merlot:Shiraz in proportions 45:40:15 while the wholesale pricelist paints a different picture of Merlot:Cabernet:Shiraz in the ratios 58:31:11. Two other sources differ on the alcohol content: 14% on the web and 15% on the bottle.

Bergwater at the Troyeville Hotel

The wine is deep and dark like the desert sky at night (or the whole of SA if Eskom does it’s worst) and the aromas are rich, ripe and fruity like opening a tin with ouma’s kerskoek inside. This wine follows unmistakably in the tradition of dikvoet SA reds and is powerful and silky smooth at the same time. An impressive wine indeed and a bargain at the price.

The wine is well named after the farm Bergwater as only 200mm of rain falls each year and the vines are sustained by a nifty irrigation system from the Swartberg mountains. Prince Albert can add this wine to its impressive olives as yet another reason to take the road less traveled between Jo’burg to Cape Town.

Rating: ****

*****: Sahara
****: Arabian
***: Gobi
**: Patagonian
*: Mojave