Off the beaten track: Doolhof’s ‘Blood from Stone’ and more
THE LIMIETBERG can seem somewhat unreal at times. The light can play tricks on the mountains above those green valleys, although the rocky slopes can indeed be pretty red. Blood red even. Hence the name of the flagship Malbec from Doolhof Wine Estate in Wellington – the ‘Bloedklip’ 2018 having been ranked alongside some of the finest expressions of the variety from Argentina, France and Spain at the 2022 Global Malbec Masters in London, with both the 2018 and 2020 vintages awarded gold medals in the 2022 SA Malbec Challenge. A Malbec specialist, Doolhof also makes a Single Vineyard Collection Malbec, a Malbec Blanc de Noir, even a Malbec Gin.
Not that the winemaking team doesn’t also have other attractions: the Môrestond Chardonnay 2018, for example, scored 96 at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK); the Cab Franc 2019, top of its class at the 2022 National Wine Challenge (SA); and it was just a few years ago that the Riversteen Chenin Blanc 2017 earned a trophy for highest score overall at the SA Terroir Awards.
Off the beaten track on one of South Africa’s less-travelled wine routes, Doolhof is down the road from the Bainskloof Pass that connects Wellington to the Breedekloof and beyond on the other side of the Limietberg mountains. In 2020 the farm was acquired by RAB Capital, a mining finance company based in the UK whose subsequent investments in the property include a new restaurant. Here, guests are invited to taste and purchase wine, lingering on the terrace to sample flavourful dishes – mains from R110 to R220. You could opt for a riverside picnic, there are trails to walk or cycle, plus you can stay over in an upmarket guesthouse or choose the glamping option.
Malbec might have originated in France and is widely used as one of the five varieties permitted in Bordeaux-style blends, but when bottled on its own it’s Argentina where most of the best examples come from. In South Africa, the farms that make a feature of it in their wine portfolio can be counted on one hand – which makes Doolhof particularly appealing.
DOOLHOF BLOEDKLIP 2018
WO Limietberg, Wellington. Single-vineyard Malbec. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks with gentle pump-overs several times a day. The wine is aged in 300L French oak for 12 months, the Bloedklip being a three-barrel selection from the Single Vineyard Collection Malbec 2018, with the wine blended and then returned to barrel for a further six months. 1169 bottles produced.
Alc 14.3 | RS 1.6 | TA 5.9 | pH 3.4
From Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: On the nose, richly dense and savoury with hints of plum and black truffle – slightly rustic. The fruit is pure and concentrated, following through with well-rounded and -balanced tannins.
Food Pairing Suggestion: ox-tail potjie, or a well-aged sirloin, or chill the wine a bit and enjoy with herring prepared unfilleted over wood-fire coals.
R945pb ex-cellar (R225pb for Doolhof Single Vineyard Malbec 2020).
