Boschendal Newsletter March 2015

Wednesday, 1 April, 2015
Boschendal Wines
Harvest, Birthday Celebrations and Egg Hunts
What a year this is setting up to be - we celebrate our 330th birthday and our viticulturist Stephan Joubert is extremely excited by the quality of the 2015 harvest, a vintage he believes could be an all time great! We also invite you to join our Easter egg hunt and you could win a case of our 5-Star Cecil John Reserve Shiraz.
Regards,

Ben-Johann Du Toit
Marketing Manager, Boschendal Wines

Celebrating our 330th Birthday!
‘Old’ should never be confused with ‘age’. Some things improve with time, so we intend to celebrate our 330th birthday in style and wine lovers should keep an eye out for the release of commemorative limited edition wines.

Click here to read more online.

Harvest 2015 just could be the best ever
t’s a fantastic vintage, says viticulturist Stephan Joubert. If I ever have to choose a vintage to buy wine to keep, this will probably be my first choice.

The 2015 vintage has been fantastic in the vineyard with very little challenges and could be one of the greatest ever, says Stephan Joubert, the DGB group viticulturist responsible for ensuring Boschendal’s award winning winemaking team is supplied with grapes of exceptional quality.

“It’s a fantastic vintage with wines that will probably age better than any other vintage. If I ever have to choose a vintage to buy wine to keep, this will probably be my first choice, I am very excited about the cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but actually most cultivars this year.”

From a scientific point of view, 2015 is ticking all the boxes. “This year we have had excellent grape analysis (TA – Total Acidity, pH), some of the best I have seen in many years. The TA (Total Acidity)was high with low pH,” says Joubert.

Click here to read more online. 

Michael Olivier features Elgin Chardonnay
A perfect impression of its provenance. The Boschendal Appellation Series Elgin Chardonnay expresses the cool cool climate of Elgin.

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Heritage and Family fun at Easter event
Children will have a ball following the clues at our Easter Egg hunt in the natural surrounds of the picnic garden on Friday, 3 April.

Start off your family-themed Easter weekend with an Easter Egg Hunt in the natural surrounds of the picnic garden on Boschendal Farm on Friday, 3 April from 09h30-11h00. Children aged 3-10 will have a ball following the clues to “win” Easter eggs, within sight of parents enjoying a brunch picnic basket, packed with love and care by Chef Christiaan Campbell and his team.

Click here to read more. 

Our agricultural produce used in Gift Range
Two new ranges, available for sale in the Deli and Gift Shop at Boschendal Farm, continue the agricultural tradition which is at the heart of this iconic establishment.

The Boschendal Body Products range make use of the olives, herbs and oils available on the grounds and in the mountain areas surrounding the farm. “It all started with the organic lavender grown in abundance here and from there extended into the use of fynbos and other indigenous herbs and plants,” say product developer Kim Mehmel. Soaps, oils, creams and scrubs are for sale and as soon as production is steady, further outlets will be investigated.

Click here to read more online.

Win a case of Cecil John Reserve Shiraz
One lucky subscriber will win a case of our Cecil John Reserve Shiraz, fast gaining recognition as one of South Africa’s best with the 2012 vintage following in the footsteps of the 2010 by securing a 5 Star rating from the Platter’s South African Wine Guide.

“A second Platter 5 Star in three years is a tribute to our winemaking team’s commitment to quality and consistency, attributes which have contributed to the Cecil John Reserve Shiraz being recognised as one of South Africa’s outstanding wines,” says Jacques Roux, Marketing Director Wine at DGB.

Winemaker Bertho van der Westhuizen says the Cecil John Reserve Shiraz 2012, one of just five Shiraz wines to get a 5 Star Platter rating, will age for 8 to 10 years before expressing its full potential.

Click here to read more online.
 
Wine 101
"You can age your Vintage Methode Cap Classique. Depending on the particular year, vintage MCC can age especially well. The trick, though, is that MCC demands excellent storage. If kept in a cool, dark, humid place, these can age for up to ten years, especially in the great vintages. They lose some effervescence but take on a complexity of flavour similar to fine white wine."