Robertson Rocks

The average Portuguese consumes 57 Kg of fish a year. Which is quite remarkable as its probably more than her average body weight and certainly way more than the European norm of 21.5 Kg. Only the Japanese and Icelanders eat more. Which makes Miss Lucy from Springfield Estate in Robertson a tasty export for the Portuguese market as Miss Lucy is the nickname for Red Stumpnose. Yet here at SISAB, the annual Portuguese food and wine show in Lisboa now in its 20th vintage, the Maputo agent for Springfield (below) has never heard of the wine.

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What makes it doubly mysterious is that in Mozambique, imported wines from Portugal suffer under 147% duty while imports from SA come in with a VAT charge of 17%. A no-brainer for the fish-loving Mozzies who are world famous for their prawns.

Robertson is full of such vinous mysteries which is why some ignorant SA wine writers disparage the appellation. We love it and this month will be focusing on six wines from three producers who are rewriting the SA cellar book at the Pendock Wine Gallery @ Taj. Springfiled, Esona and De Wetshof all make dramatic terroir wines that speak of the place the grapes were grown. The wines include the

De Wetshof Finesse Chardonnay 2013
De Wetshof Nature in Concert Pinot Noir 2010
Springfield Miss Lucy 2014
Springfield Ancienne Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Esona Sauvignon Blanc 2013 and
Esona Shiraz 2012

and you’ll be able to taste them all this Thursday from 6-9pm. The next step is to open a Pendock Wine Gallery at the Polana in Maputo as the architecture of Sir Herbert Baker is as close as Mozambique comes to the classical elegance of our berth in the Taj Hotel.