Le Belle Rebelle new releases

Mariëtte Stofberg of Le Belle Rebelle in Breedekloof has an introduced a new set of wines termed the Rebelle range, where she gets to use bough-in grapes and  more unconventional winemaking techniques. Tasting notes and ratings for the current releases as follows:

Butcher Bird Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Price: R158
From Durbanville grapes. A grassy top note before cucumber, lime and lemon on the nose while the palate shows good fruit density and bright acidity before a pithy finish. Very typical of the variety.

CE’s rating: 90/100.

Intrepid Chenin Blanc 2019
Price: R240
Grapes from a 1985 Breedekloof vineyard. 10% skin fermented. Matured for nine months in second-fill oak. Pear, peach, yellow apple and a slight earthiness on the nose while the palate has good fruit concentration, crisp acidity plus a little phenolic grip to the finish.

CE’s rating: 91/100.

Solitude Chenin Blanc 2019
Price: R240
Grapes from Swartland. Winemaking as for Intrepid. Aromatics of potpourri, peach, naartjie, ginger and some yeasty character while the palate displays sweet fruit – not short of flavour but a little bit amorphous and soft.

CE’s rating: 89/100.

A Bird in the Hand Semillon 2019
Price: R240
Grapes from the Stofberg property planted in 1997. Fermented (again 10% on the skins) and matured in French and Hungarian oak barrels, 25% new. Apple, peach and apricot plus hay and vanilla on the nose. Surprisingly weighty and textured given a modest alcohol of 12% but little too much oak-derived character detracts slightly.

CE’s rating: 89/100.

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