Wine of the week: Leeuwenkuil Shiraz 2013

10 May 2015 - 02:00 By JOANNE GIBSON

One of the nicest things about my new home is the olive "grove" in the garden. It may be years before my five little trees bear fruit, and I hold out even less hope for a harvest from the gnarled old vine providing shade next to the braai, but my little corner of the Mediterranean magically transports me out of suburbia every time I sit outside with a glass of wine. A bigger Mediterranean corner of the Cape is the Swartland, a wheat-producing area now famous for wines made by some of SA's most passionate winemakers. Olives are also on the map of the Sanlam Swartland Wine & Olive Route.mini_story_image_vleft1Incorporating the towns of Malmesbury, Piketberg and Porterville as well as the twin villages of Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West, this is a large and geographically diverse area. Unirrigated and low-yielding bush vines planted on ancient schist, granite and clay soils first attracted visionary Charles Back of Fairview, then his protégé Eben Sadie - widely regarded as SA's first cult winemaker - and other self-described "revolutionaries" including Adi Badenhorst, Marc Kent and Andrea and Chris Mullineux.What many of these winemakers had in common was a supply of grapes from the Dreyer family at Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards. In 2012, however, the Dreyers decided to launch their own range of wines - and they're walking tall among giants following a 92-point rating in UK wine magazine Decanter for their Leeuwenkuil Shiraz 2013.The Decanter panelists loved its "delicate violet nose . bright red fruit, fine peppered tannins and crunchy acidity". I love its freshness, ripe cherry and raspberry fruit, clove-like spice - and its incredible retail price of around R45 a bottle...

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