Brookdale new releases

Can Paarl make great wine? Not Agter-Paarl and Voor-Paardeberg which are essentially a poor-man’s Swartland. Not Simonsberg-Paarl which is the wrong side of the right mountain but the rest of Paarl. Brookdale is on the slopes of the Du Toitskloof mountains, in the area generally known as Klein Drakenstein, but situated on the Hawequa Bos Pad – winemaker Kiera Scott Farmer (30-years-old) says it’s a goal to get “Hawequas” recognised as an official ward by the Wine & Spirit Board!

Scott Farmer isn’t doing it all on her own – English businessman Tim Rudd is owner since 2016 while viticulturist Jaco Engelbrecht and winemaker Ducan Savage, both of the highest repute in their respective fields, have consulted. Still, Scott Farmer’s wines are attention-grabbing, perhaps not the very best in the country yet, but you have the sense that it’s only a matter of time. Tasting notes and ratings as follows:

Bradbourne 2022
Price: R350
NEW. A blend of approximately 50% Grenache Blanc and the rest Piquepoul Blanc, Roussanne and Marsanne. Complex aromatics of green, white and yellow fruit, herbs, spice, some flinty reduction and a little waxy character. Concentrated fruit, texture that starts creamy but ends pithy and well-integrated acidity – layers of flavour, the finish long and dry. Alc: 13%.

CE’s rating: 94/100.

Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021
Price: R350
Grapes from vineyards planted in 1985. Harvest involved four separate pickings. Matured in mostly older 500-litre barrels before being transferred to foudre, total time before bottling 20 months. Citrus, peach, a touch of hay and some waxy character. Terrifically concentrated and thick textured but not short of freshness – on the contrary, for all the fruit weight, there’s also big acidity. Layers of flavour, the finish intensely savoury. Alc: 13%.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

Sixteen 2022
Pirce: R380
From a 2ha vineyard planted to 16 different varieties. Two pickings, fermented and matured for 13 months in older 500-litre barrels. Lemon, peach, quince, fynbos and a hint of lanolin on the nose. Good fruit density – quite broad in structure, lots of flavour and not without freshness. Rather subtle given the infamous heat spikes that applied in the lead-up to harvest. Alc: 13.5%.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

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