Intellego new releases

If you like your wines “natural”, which is to say more funky than squeaky clean, the Swartland producer Jurgen Gouws is your man. Tasting notes and ratings for the new releases as follows:

Intellego Chenin Blanc 2022
Price: R235
Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 2002. Released last year, time in bottle has done this wine good, the mid-palate having filled out. Pear, peach, soft citrus, hay and some yeasty complexity on the nose. Medium bodied with moderate acidity, pleasantly smooth textured, the finish gently savoury. Alc: 13%.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

Intellego The Story of Harry 2023
Price: R175
69% Chenin Blanc, 31% Chardonnay – 40% of the Chenin fermented on the skins for seven days. Matured for 11 months, the Chenin in old 500-litre barrels and foudre, the Chardonnay in old 228-litre barrels. Pale orange in colour. The nose is rather neutral but subtle notes of pear, lemon and orange plus some smoky reduction can be detected. Light bodied with bright acidity and a finish that is pithy in texture and salty in flavour. Well balanced. Alc: 12%.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

Intellego Elementis Skin Contact Chenin Blanc 2023
Price: R315
Grapes from an Abbotsdale vineyard planted in 1988. Fermented on the skins for 14 days. Matured for 11 months in old 500-litre barrels. Gorgeous aromatics of potpourri, apple and citrus while the palate has great fruit density, snappy acidity and a super-dry finish. Clearly defined, both aromatically and flavour-wise. Goosebumps inducing. All that’s good about orange wine. Alc: 11%.

CE’s rating: 96/100.

Intellego The Sleeping Co-Pilot Skin Contact Viognier 2023
Price: R315
Whole-bunch fermented and left on the skins for 14 days. Peach, apricot, orange, honeysuckle, fynbos and a faint petrol-like note. The palate shows dense fruit, tart acidity and a grippy, bone-dry finish. Highly unconventional but impossible to ignore… Alc: 12%.

CE’s rating: 91/100.

Intellego The Pink Moustache 2024
Price: R175
48% Cinsault, 35% Syrah and 17% Mourvédre – the Cinsault fermented whole-bunch and left on the skins for four days, the other two varieties pressed directly to barrel, maturation lasting five months. Pale red in colour. Cherry, strawberry, red apple, candyfloss and fynbos on the nose. The palate is fruit and fresh, the finish slightly salty. A touch simple but super-quaffable. Alc: 12.5%.

CE’s rating: 88/100.

Intellego Kedungu 2022
Price: R170
46% Mourvèdre, 24% Cinsault, 18% and 12% Pinotage. Released last year, this still has pretty aromatics (red cherry, floral perfume and fynbos) but the palate is starting to look lean and angular – drink up. Alc: 11.5%.

CE’s rating: 90/100.

Intellego Syrah 2022
Price: R265
Whereas grapes for the excellent 2021 vintage came from the Paardeberg on granite, the 2022 is made from Abbotsdale fruit grown on iron-rich soils. Fermented under semi-carbonic conditions for 10 days on the stems. Matured for 11 months in old 500-litre barrels. Red and black berries, olive, cured meat, earth and white pepper on the nose. The palate is light-bodied with moderate acidity and soft tannins, the finish gently savoury. Readily accessible.

CE’s rating: 92/100.