Luke Likes Wine
Cape Town, South Africa · Email Me
Raconteur, flaneur, connoisseur, saboteur. Wine lover. Banker. Actuarial student. This is a place for me to do what I love most to do - talk about wine.
Read my most recent thoughts...
Wines I like...
Wade Bales Regional Series Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2019
Wade Bales, Constantia-based négociant, in 2018 released the first of his Regional Series, a Constantia white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, with winemakers from 7 top Constantia producers combining their collective expertise in these grapes and in the terroir of Constantia to produce a wine that embodies the strengths of the region.
The collaborative project has since expanded, and now includes a Breedekloof Chenin Blanc and a Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon, winemakers from those regions lending their deft hands to create two similarly excellent representations.
The 2019 vintage of this particular wine was recently named Winemag’s Sauvignon Blanc Semillon of the year with a grand 96 point rating, and is a poignant reminder not only of the calibre of Constantia whites, but also of how vastly underrated Bordeaux-style whites are in South Africa, their concentration and finesse often overlooked in favour of single varieties.
For this vintage, winemakers from 9 farms - Buitenverwachting, Constantia Glen, Constantia Uitsig, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Silvermist, Steenberg, Beau Constantia and Nova Zonnestraal - took part in a careful blending process after selecting a component from their top grapes to contribute to the blend, which is 67% Sauvignon Blanc and 33% Semillon.
The wine has an expressive floral nose, with peach blossom, nectarine, and grapefruit scents wafting out of the glass. Smell it, savour it, and prepare yourself for the divine concentration and power of fruit that your palate is moments away from experiencing. That richness and power makes the wine ideal for pairing with food, while the leanness and tangy lime notes give the wine vivacity and keeps your palate refreshed. Judicious oaking, using both French oak and acacia (the latter in the Klein Constantia component), gives baking spices and a long, lingering finish.
It is not only an outstanding representation of region, but also a mighty fine wine.
Retail price: R220.
Date published: 14 November 2021
Wade Bales, Constantia-based négociant, in 2018 released the first of his Regional Series, a Constantia white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, with winemakers from 7 top Constantia producers combining their collective expertise in these grapes and in the terroir of Constantia to produce a wine that embodies the strengths of the region.
The collaborative project has since expanded, and now includes a Breedekloof Chenin Blanc and a Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon, winemakers from those regions lending their deft hands to create two similarly excellent representations.
The 2019 vintage of this particular wine was recently named Winemag’s Sauvignon Blanc Semillon of the year with a grand 96 point rating, and is a poignant reminder not only of the calibre of Constantia whites, but also of how vastly underrated Bordeaux-style whites are in South Africa, their concentration and finesse often overlooked in favour of single varieties.
For this vintage, winemakers from 9 farms - Buitenverwachting, Constantia Glen, Constantia Uitsig, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Silvermist, Steenberg, Beau Constantia and Nova Zonnestraal - took part in a careful blending process after selecting a component from their top grapes to contribute to the blend, which is 67% Sauvignon Blanc and 33% Semillon.
The wine has an expressive floral nose, with peach blossom, nectarine, and grapefruit scents wafting out of the glass. Smell it, savour it, and prepare yourself for the divine concentration and power of fruit that your palate is moments away from experiencing. That richness and power makes the wine ideal for pairing with food, while the leanness and tangy lime notes give the wine vivacity and keeps your palate refreshed. Judicious oaking, using both French oak and acacia (the latter in the Klein Constantia component), gives baking spices and a long, lingering finish.
It is not only an outstanding representation of region, but also a mighty fine wine.
Retail price: R220.
Date published: 14 November 2021
Dalkeith Kalmoesfontein Chenin Blanc 2019
Kalmoesfontein is famously the home of AA Badenhorst Family Wines in the Paardeberg, both Adi and the Swartland being synonymous with some of South Africa’s most sought-after and respected wines, Old Vine Chenin Blanc in particular having made quite a name for itself.
The 2019 Dalkeith Kalmoesfontein Chenin Blanc, from grapes on that esteemed property, is a new release from Graham Weerts, winemaker at Capensis.
The wine takes on a different tactic to that prodigious and esteemed Chardonnay project: while the Capensis Chardonnays consist of grapes from across the Western Cape, aiming to show the best of “the dramatic landscape of South Africa” (and, in my opinion, succeeding), this Chenin Blanc is from that one site consisting of dryland bush vines over 50 years old.
If you enjoyed Graham’s Capensis wines, this will no doubt impress as well. Regular battonage and a number of maturation vessels create a remarkable texture – with small oak barrels, large foudres, and even ceramic eggs being used, each with their own purpose in mind.
On the palate are fresh cut apples, stone fruits, and an elegant layer of baking spices – nutmeg and allspice. A flintiness and tangy citrus finish provides freshness and vivacity, balancing the leesy richness and texture that I so love about this wine.
Retail price: R285.
Date published: 16 October 2021
Kalmoesfontein is famously the home of AA Badenhorst Family Wines in the Paardeberg, both Adi and the Swartland being synonymous with some of South Africa’s most sought-after and respected wines, Old Vine Chenin Blanc in particular having made quite a name for itself.
The 2019 Dalkeith Kalmoesfontein Chenin Blanc, from grapes on that esteemed property, is a new release from Graham Weerts, winemaker at Capensis.
The wine takes on a different tactic to that prodigious and esteemed Chardonnay project: while the Capensis Chardonnays consist of grapes from across the Western Cape, aiming to show the best of “the dramatic landscape of South Africa” (and, in my opinion, succeeding), this Chenin Blanc is from that one site consisting of dryland bush vines over 50 years old.
If you enjoyed Graham’s Capensis wines, this will no doubt impress as well. Regular battonage and a number of maturation vessels create a remarkable texture – with small oak barrels, large foudres, and even ceramic eggs being used, each with their own purpose in mind.
On the palate are fresh cut apples, stone fruits, and an elegant layer of baking spices – nutmeg and allspice. A flintiness and tangy citrus finish provides freshness and vivacity, balancing the leesy richness and texture that I so love about this wine.
Retail price: R285.
Date published: 16 October 2021
Glenelly Lady May 2015
I tasted my best wine of the year today.
I always knew it was going to be good, and had very high expectations – but after just the first sip, my senses were overcome and I feverishly grabbed my pen and paper to try and capture just a glimpse of the essence of the Glenelly Lady May 2015.
South African Bordeaux-style reds were what got me into wine, and what inspired a visit to Bordeaux in 2017, but in recent years, my preferences have leant more and more left to lighter, more perfumed wines. I think that might be changing after the Lady May took me back to the plush and complex wines of Bordeaux – no doubt influenced by the evocative tasting room setting; humble yet elegant.
The wine initially has a slightly sweet entry, compared to the 2014 which was a lot more tertiary before it had time to open up fully, that sweetness giving way to an explosion of flavours – tobacco, smokiness, pencil shavings, and an elegant minerality, enveloping with fine tannins, brooding dark fruit – but not so brooding to be intimidating – with bursts of plum and even citrus creating a mellifluous harmony.
A 68 word sentence is surely some kind of writing crime – but I hope it gives the kind of arresting, thrilling experience that sipping on this wine gives. It’s a wine that makes you think – inspires you to think – but it’s one that you could so very easily delve into and have no desire to come out of it.
Cellar door price: R630.
Date published: 13 June 2021
I tasted my best wine of the year today.
I always knew it was going to be good, and had very high expectations – but after just the first sip, my senses were overcome and I feverishly grabbed my pen and paper to try and capture just a glimpse of the essence of the Glenelly Lady May 2015.
South African Bordeaux-style reds were what got me into wine, and what inspired a visit to Bordeaux in 2017, but in recent years, my preferences have leant more and more left to lighter, more perfumed wines. I think that might be changing after the Lady May took me back to the plush and complex wines of Bordeaux – no doubt influenced by the evocative tasting room setting; humble yet elegant.
The wine initially has a slightly sweet entry, compared to the 2014 which was a lot more tertiary before it had time to open up fully, that sweetness giving way to an explosion of flavours – tobacco, smokiness, pencil shavings, and an elegant minerality, enveloping with fine tannins, brooding dark fruit – but not so brooding to be intimidating – with bursts of plum and even citrus creating a mellifluous harmony.
A 68 word sentence is surely some kind of writing crime – but I hope it gives the kind of arresting, thrilling experience that sipping on this wine gives. It’s a wine that makes you think – inspires you to think – but it’s one that you could so very easily delve into and have no desire to come out of it.
Cellar door price: R630.
Date published: 13 June 2021
Steenberg The Black Swan 2015
To reference my other life as a mathematician, a 'black swan event' is defined as one that is so rare that even the possibility of its occurence is unknown. The naming of Steenberg's The Black Swan wasn't in fact after this phenomenon, but rather after the fact that Catherina Ras, the first owner of the estate now known as Steenberg, mistook the native Sub-Saharan hadeda for a black swan.
For me, their wine is a happy black swan: a Sauvignon Blanc that shone through an overcast Constantia day and proved ageability, seriousness - and also, delight.
Years of work, and a pandemic's worth of introspection, have contributed to the direction of this wine going forward. Cellarmaster Elunda Basson describes it as "clean and naked", with no funny business like barrel fermentation, wild yeast - or even the addition of Semillon. As a Sauvignon Blanc, this is an ultimate expression of terroir and vineyard selection, now from two blocks of 10 - 15 year old vines from the coolest pockets on the estate.
Tasting through a selection of vintages - the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and the yet-to-be-released 2020 - allowed me to see the evolution of style that has taken place, but also gave a glimpse at how the cool-climate wine evolves in the bottle with time. (Notably, the 2020 has been bottled with a sugarcane cork - not only an environmentally friendly alternative, but it will eliminate any chance of TCA, a crucial issue when it comes to ageing wine.)
In terms of the lineup, the wine that stood out for me was the 2015 vintage. As opposed to the slightly older vintages, here the power of the fruit starts to rise, with a tropical nose breaking through, a playful acidity, and for me, a masterful balance of weightiness and lift. Subtle jasmine, grapefruit, and baking spices lie behind those initial tropical notes – proving that in Constantia, a hadeda may not just be a hadeda. If you look carefully enough, it might just be a black swan…
2019 retail price: R240.
Date published: 6 May 2021
To reference my other life as a mathematician, a 'black swan event' is defined as one that is so rare that even the possibility of its occurence is unknown. The naming of Steenberg's The Black Swan wasn't in fact after this phenomenon, but rather after the fact that Catherina Ras, the first owner of the estate now known as Steenberg, mistook the native Sub-Saharan hadeda for a black swan.
For me, their wine is a happy black swan: a Sauvignon Blanc that shone through an overcast Constantia day and proved ageability, seriousness - and also, delight.
Years of work, and a pandemic's worth of introspection, have contributed to the direction of this wine going forward. Cellarmaster Elunda Basson describes it as "clean and naked", with no funny business like barrel fermentation, wild yeast - or even the addition of Semillon. As a Sauvignon Blanc, this is an ultimate expression of terroir and vineyard selection, now from two blocks of 10 - 15 year old vines from the coolest pockets on the estate.
Tasting through a selection of vintages - the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and the yet-to-be-released 2020 - allowed me to see the evolution of style that has taken place, but also gave a glimpse at how the cool-climate wine evolves in the bottle with time. (Notably, the 2020 has been bottled with a sugarcane cork - not only an environmentally friendly alternative, but it will eliminate any chance of TCA, a crucial issue when it comes to ageing wine.)
In terms of the lineup, the wine that stood out for me was the 2015 vintage. As opposed to the slightly older vintages, here the power of the fruit starts to rise, with a tropical nose breaking through, a playful acidity, and for me, a masterful balance of weightiness and lift. Subtle jasmine, grapefruit, and baking spices lie behind those initial tropical notes – proving that in Constantia, a hadeda may not just be a hadeda. If you look carefully enough, it might just be a black swan…
2019 retail price: R240.
Date published: 6 May 2021
Taaibosch Crescendo 2018
A breath inwards to restore and fill one's lungs - and then, a crescendo. From stillness and quietude, arpeggios climb until they meet their mighty peaks - and leave the listener reinvigorated and the orchestra triumphant.
Tasting the new Taaibosch Crescendo provides much the same experience – no doubt for listener and orchestra alike. From the property and name of the Cordoba icon of years gone by, last produced in 2004, this rebirth couldn’t be more aptly titled.
65% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon make up this WO Stellenbosch which aims to be a true reflection of its origins and to pay homage to its rich legacy.
The wine itself is plush, with aniseed, cedar, and coriander seed aromatics adding to the dark depth of cassis and blackberry. So young, it does take a while to open up – adding to the (metaphorical, and literal) tension of the crescendo, and even as it does, with strong, yet fine, tannins. On the palate, it is a true Stellenbosch Bordeaux-style; richness and depth of fruit balanced by elegance and a finish that is long and savoury. This is a wine for the collection that will reward for years to come.
Retail price: R300.
Date published: 13 April 2021
A breath inwards to restore and fill one's lungs - and then, a crescendo. From stillness and quietude, arpeggios climb until they meet their mighty peaks - and leave the listener reinvigorated and the orchestra triumphant.
Tasting the new Taaibosch Crescendo provides much the same experience – no doubt for listener and orchestra alike. From the property and name of the Cordoba icon of years gone by, last produced in 2004, this rebirth couldn’t be more aptly titled.
65% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon make up this WO Stellenbosch which aims to be a true reflection of its origins and to pay homage to its rich legacy.
The wine itself is plush, with aniseed, cedar, and coriander seed aromatics adding to the dark depth of cassis and blackberry. So young, it does take a while to open up – adding to the (metaphorical, and literal) tension of the crescendo, and even as it does, with strong, yet fine, tannins. On the palate, it is a true Stellenbosch Bordeaux-style; richness and depth of fruit balanced by elegance and a finish that is long and savoury. This is a wine for the collection that will reward for years to come.
Retail price: R300.
Date published: 13 April 2021
Kleine Zalze Project Z Grenache 2017
Kleine Zalze's Project Z range was launched in late 2020 to much acclaim - just prior to release the estate had been named Platter's Top Performing Winery of the Year with seven wines being awarded 5 Stars by the Guide, three of which came from this elusive and experimental range made up of six wines with tiny production quantities mostly around 500 bottles.
The range emerged as an eclectic project where winemakers were free to experiment with creative winemaking techniques such as skin contact and the use of amphorae. That creativity comes through at a mere glance at the labels - this one designed by winemaker RJ Botha under the guidance of accomplished linocut artist Theo Paul Vorster.
As for the wine itself, it reminds me of why I love Grenache so much. With cinnamon and sweet red berries typical of the light-skinned grape on the front of the palate, the wine has a delicateness no doubt from minimalistic winemaking, the juice seeing 12 months in a 500L amphora and no oak.
As it develops on one's palate, this wine from 1981 Darling bush vines begins to sing, with a smokiness and herbaceous elements developing. Whilst quite tight on initial opening, after 24 hours the nose was leaping out of my glass even at fridge temperature, proving that the 'Angela Lloyd test' has true merit and will allow the best wines to sing even more melodiously. I love the freshness, acidity, and purity of fruit that is backed by super fine tannins and a mushroomy forest floor finish.
Production quantity: 551 bottles. Cellar door price: R420.
Date published: 15 March 2021
Kleine Zalze's Project Z range was launched in late 2020 to much acclaim - just prior to release the estate had been named Platter's Top Performing Winery of the Year with seven wines being awarded 5 Stars by the Guide, three of which came from this elusive and experimental range made up of six wines with tiny production quantities mostly around 500 bottles.
The range emerged as an eclectic project where winemakers were free to experiment with creative winemaking techniques such as skin contact and the use of amphorae. That creativity comes through at a mere glance at the labels - this one designed by winemaker RJ Botha under the guidance of accomplished linocut artist Theo Paul Vorster.
As for the wine itself, it reminds me of why I love Grenache so much. With cinnamon and sweet red berries typical of the light-skinned grape on the front of the palate, the wine has a delicateness no doubt from minimalistic winemaking, the juice seeing 12 months in a 500L amphora and no oak.
As it develops on one's palate, this wine from 1981 Darling bush vines begins to sing, with a smokiness and herbaceous elements developing. Whilst quite tight on initial opening, after 24 hours the nose was leaping out of my glass even at fridge temperature, proving that the 'Angela Lloyd test' has true merit and will allow the best wines to sing even more melodiously. I love the freshness, acidity, and purity of fruit that is backed by super fine tannins and a mushroomy forest floor finish.
Production quantity: 551 bottles. Cellar door price: R420.
Date published: 15 March 2021