Come Valentine’s Day, be sure to have a good bottle of ‘pink’ on hand
IT IS SAID that there’s no more appropriate wine to pour on Valentine’s Day than a pink one: roses and rosé for the love of your life! And particularly if it’s going to be a celebratory occasion, it should be something special, something with a bit of pop and fizz, something you can count on for an exciting touch!
South Africa’s top ‘pink’ bubbles, those Cap Classique sparklers with salmon hues, glints of onion-skin and other delightful shades that have been most applauded most often over the years include two wines from Robertson, Bon Courage Jacques Bruére Brut Rosé and Graham Beck Pinot Noir Rosé, and from Stellenbosch the Brut Rosé of Kleine Zalze – all featured in the 2021 SA Wine Classification.
The Kleine Zalze NV is a bargain bubbly at R136 a bottle (on special for R112.40 ex-cellar at the time of writing). However, selling at R280pb, the 2015 vintage of what the Graham Beck folks also refer to as Brut Vintage Rosé stands out as one of the Top 10 Cap Classiques overall on the basis of best track records, pink and white. And there’s a nice story to it…
The first Graham Beck wine was made 30 years ago. Since then there have been a number of milestones, one of which involves how once upon a time, a small portion of Chardonnay ended up in the Pinot Noir Rosé blend – a ‘mistake’ that the winemakers have repeated ever since, a pioneering first insofar as whole bunches of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are pressed together as a blend (minimum of 85% Pinot).
GRAHAM BECK PINOT NOIR ROSÉ 2015
WO Western Cape: 90% Pinot from Elgin, Durbanville and the Slanghoek Valley; 10% Chardonnay from Graham Beck’s Robertson estate. Whole-bunch pressing, and after the initial fermentation, the wine was lightly fined and bottled for a second fermentation according to the Méthode Cap Classique. Five years on the lees (spent yeast) before disgorging.
Alc 12.7 | RS 5.6 | TA 6.4 | pH 3.1
Winemakers’ Tasting Notes: Salmon-pink hue, light yeasty aromas, and on the palate, strawberry notes, fresh sherbet, berry-laden ripeness, subtle spiciness and a rich, creamy complexity. Fine mousse, long finish. “From a languid picnic under the stars to a five-star meal, this bubbly’s sheer versatility makes it the ideal companion for indulging in life’s little pleasures.”
Food Pairing? “The ideal partner to seared or Thai-style salmon or tuna…”
