HermanusTimes

Hermanus Wine Club members were offered a selection of Lourensford wines at this month's meeting, with the occasion rounded off with a stunning honey liqueur which had members gasping at its 24% alcohol content.

Presented by the winery's cellarmaster Philip Constandius and national sales manager Wim Braak, the tasting concentrated on the cellar's Five Heirs range, but included wines from their up-market Estate label.

The first wine, however, was the recently revived Lanzerac Rose - both wineries being owned by Christo Wiese.

My taste bud memory does not reach back far enough to compare it with the original, but the ripe strawberry flavours and dry finish did raise faint memories of a wine which was a light casual drinker and an excellent accompaniment to picnic lunches.

Lourensford's mid-priced wines are marketed under the Five Heirs label, of which two whites and two reds were tasted. The 2007 sauvignon blanc offers typical green fruits on the nose, with limey overtones on the palate and a distinct acidity on the finish.

The chardonnay/viognier, on the other hand, has its typical buttery nose lifted by the peppery spiciness of the viognier, with added complexity on the palate.

Before tasting the Five Heirs reds, the presenters introduced a white wine from the top of their range in the form of the 2007 Estate Viognier. Blended with 5% chardonnay, this wine exudes elegance, with apricots and peaches on the nose and palate and a spicy freshness on the finish.

Returning to the reds, the first to be tasted was the 2005 Shiraz/mouvedre, a Rhone-style blend, with the mouvedre providing peppery overtones to the spiciness of the Shiraz. Although quite soft on the palate, some tannins are noticeable and it should age well.

The 2005 merlot has a 5% cabernet franc component and the result is a wine with a typical merlot nose, lifted by mint and green fruit on the palate - beautiful.

Top of the Lourensford range is the Estate 1700 (named after the year the estate was founded) and we tasted the 2003 vintage. A cabernet/merlot/Shiraz blend, this classy wine offers full blackberry fruits on the nose, which mellow out through leathery and tobacco overtones to produce a very smooth, accessible wine.

As a glimpse into the future, members were also offered a tasting of a barrel sample of the Estate Shiraz, which is due to be released later this year.

Co-fermented with 4% viognier, the wine shows considerable promise despite being very young and it will be interesting to see how it develops.

· The Hermanus Wine Club meets on the first Tuesday of the month and anyone interested in joining can call chairman Neil Bolton on 028-316 4937 or the treasurer, Lee Burman, on 028-312 3011 for more details.