South African Wines Part Eight: Robertson

The opportunity to participate in a Hands on Harvest brought us out from Cape Town to the Robertson Wine Valley for some bonus tastings. Robertson is a little further out than our usual haunts in the Cape Winelands. About two hours from Cape Town, it is about halfway to the Garden Route.

First stop, Graham Beck, home to fine Methode Cap Classique (MCC), fine Sauvignon Blanc and fine red blends. Graham Beck is a legend in South Africa and his vast farm, Madeba with its steel, glass and corrugated iron winery building on Route 62 is like a monument to his elevated stature in South Africa.

Graham Beck Winery

A former mining and horse-breeding magnate, Beck is driven by bubbles. The bubbles of MCC. We bought three of his 2012 Cuvee Clive untasted (it is not available for tasting).  

And we also bought three of the Ad Honorem (again not available for tasting.) Out of the wines we did taste, we especially liked The Ridge Syrah and bought a couple of those as well.

According to John and Erica Platter's Africa Uncorked, The Ridge is a single vineyard wine from a block rooted in red limestone and had recently been picked by Decanter magazine as one of the top Shirazes in its price bracket. A Shiraz predicted to become Graham Beck's super-premium label

Robertson itself is not an especially pretty town but it does have its quaint spots. It is mainly home to the mega-powerhouse 10-million litre Robertson Winery with its 43 owners. And next door to Robertson Winery is the Klipdrift Distillery, which makes one of South Africa's best-loved brandies.

cool herald weathervane

Fraai Uitzicht

We tried weeks before coming to Robertson to get a reservation for dinner at the wine estate Fraai Uitzicht but it was completely full with guests who were staying on the estate. We drove over anyway to check to see if there were any last minute cancellations, but no luck.

I did have a back up reservation at the Robertson Small Hotel though. Change that forecast to good luck!

Their in-house restaurant Reuben's was fabulous. A hidden jewel in Robertson. Not really all that hidden actually, but their sophisticated menu featuring upmarket bistro offerings seemed better suited to us than the local farm fare at Fraai Uitzicht. Maybe next time.

We wanted to "drink local" and left it to the sommelier to chose two selections from the Robertson Wine Valley. He chose Springfield Estate's the Work of Time (2008) for dinner and for dessert, the 2012 White Muscadel Weltevrede Ouma se Wyn.

Vince loved them both so much that we stopped to pick more up at the Robertson Wine Shop on our way out of town to take home with us to Joburg!

beautiful gardens at the Robertson Small Hotel

We spent the following day at the Excelsior Wine Estate in nearby Ashton for a Hands On Harvest and of course we tasted some wine there too. This visit was a mere toe dip in the Robertson and Worcester pool. We will be back!