An exceptional roussanne

2017 DeMorgenzon, Roussanne This standout wine shows crystalline freshness and a deep, resonant palate.

Matthew Jukes
By
published
in Features

914_MW_P42_Wine-Roussanne

2017 DeMorgenzon, Roussanne, Stellenbosch, South Africa (The Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, Stellenbosch, South Africa Saturday 29 September 2018).CapeWineMakersGuild.com, info@capewinemakersguild.com, +27 (0)21 852 0408.

Roussanne is one of the most wistful and hauntingly perfumed of all white grape varieties and, while the grape is not necessarily a heavyweight, it does, however, require a fair dunk in oak to show off its full array of skills. Carl van der Merwe is one of the 47 members of the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) and he is responsible for this exceptional wine.It manages to show crystalline freshness on the nose and then a deep, resonant palate of citrus and pineapple pith, and it was one of a handful of standout wines at the recent press tasting ahead of this year's CWG auction.

While I found a few semillons, a chenin, a few pinot noirs and even two pinotages (see my website for more highlights), the standout red was made by Rianie Strydom. The 2015 Strydom Family Wines The Game Changer Cabernet Franc-Merlot is a two-barrel selection coming from two different vineyards on the Helderberg. The perfume alone is sensational and this recipe (used most famously by Cheval Blanc) and Rianie's careful oak maturation has resulted in a literal game-changer for the Cape.

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To register your interest, give CWG's general manager, Kate Jonker, a call on the number above. She will be very happy to help you. You can download the list of the wines from the website and faites vos jeux.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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