THEY CALL it ‘The Tea Leaf’. On the label, there’s reference to a ‘brew’, and yes, there is a note of tea in the flavour profile. But it’s made from grapes, fermented in tank and barrel, and a rather fine wine at that – a favourite of the Winemag panel and one of the best-value combinations reviewed in their 2020 Cape White Blend Report. What makes it distinctive is that where the fruit comes from there are rooibos (red tea) bushes growing in between old bush vines – Chenin and Palomino over 50 years old, with younger Grenache Blanc in the mix.

Once harvested, the grapes are trucked nearly 200km from Piekenierskloof outside Citrusdal, north of the Swartland, down the N7 and R45 to the Boutinot company’s Wildeberg winery in Franschhoek. Initially, the colour of the juice is “almost grey” and there are “hints of green-tea aromas” wafting around the cellar during the crush. The current-release 2018 has more Grenache Blanc in the blend than was the case with the previous vintage, and you might well detect a subtle oxidative characteristic on the palate. Interesting indeed!

TEA LEAF 2018
WO Western Cape, South Africa: bush vines on the Piekenierskloof escarpment in the Citrusdal Mountain district, some blocks planted in 1962, interspersed with indigenous rooibos tea plants growing wild. Chenin Blanc (65%), Grenache Blanc (30%) and Palomino (5%). Natural fermentation (wild yeast) in old wooden barrels and steel tanks.
Alc 13.1 | RS 2.6 | TA 6.2 | pH 3.3
Excerpts from producer’s tasting notes: Complex sandy-stone-fruit nose with notes of crushed granite, slightly saline. Broad, persistent palate.
Food recommendation: simply-cooked fish dishes, scallops, salt-and-pepper squid or fishcakes, light seafood pasta, risotto, rich salads, sushi.
Wildeberg cellar-door price: R95pb.

Wildeberg Barrel Cellar, Franschhoek