The Hyatt was heaving this evening with hedonists at the annual Meridian Trade Tasting. Sartorial Solly Kramer in glasses with green top frames (“only tall people can see I’m so fashionable”) and Nick van Huyssteen (of Saronsberg fame) looking more like Antonio Banderas each time we meet. Like Antonio who stars in the latest Almodóvar, Nick is a slave to the fickle gods of art and he’s just bought some buildings opposite the Biscuit Mill and is moving a forge from Simonstown for Dylan Lewis whose latest works remind of Jane “Butcher Boys” Alexander. Not a bad muse to follow. On the wine front, a bottle of Nick’s Grenache 2010 was my standout red, long with a 2008 magnum of the Spanish grape from Vriesenhof. The Cape is obviously turning Spanish this season.
Antonio - fashion icon for Tulbagh estate owners
In the white department, De Grendel Koetshuis 2011 Sauvignon Blanc is a total masterpiece and at R85, a total steal. Extended lees contact had me asking about the wooding regime (none) while David Nieuwoudt’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011 has the most amazing aftertaste. His Cederberg paradise used to be planted to tobacco and some of that “after action, satisfaction” lingers in this wine.
Rumour has it that Constantia Uitsig is about to change hands for R170 bar, perhaps to the bicycling boys who snapped up Klein Constantia for R185 million. For a clean sweep, they’ll need deep pockets as Buitenverwachting won’t go for a penny less than R600 million according to my source at the bottom of the spittoon. The price that was offered by a frequent flyer from Lufthansa last year.
Meanwhile the extended Rupert family’s love affair with all things Chinese continues apace. Hein Koegelenberg, seigneur à La Motte was looking dashing in a tailored black Mao shirt while Schalk-Willem Joubert, winemaker at Rupert & Rothschild, returned yesterday from two weeks in China. His Baron Edmond 2009 red blend is now Merlot dominated – a subtle bow to Chinese consumers who hate tannic Cabernets even more than running dog capitalists. It’s like killing a chicken to scare a monkey as someone said in the Financial Times yesterday.
