I was spoilt this
Christmas with my family and friends giving me
what I love most:wine! Although my day to day
life exists around wine and being fortunate to
have the opportunity to taste many different wines,
it is still special to receive a bottle or two
as a gift.
The 'givers' tell me that they do some research
on wines that I am enjoying and then try and select
something I may not have tasted recently.
One of the wines I received was the Lazanou Organic
Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2008. Although I had tasted
(and thoroughly enjoyed) the wine in November
at the Nedbank Green Wine Awards, where it was
the outright winner for the best organic wine
in South Africa, I never bought some for myself.
So on Boxing Day we were invited out to friends
for lunch. They love their wine and Marlene's
food is always so delicious. As they were preparing
a cold buffet I thought Chenin would be a perfect
partner for the food.
Marlene prepared turkey in a delicious summery
peach infused sauce, Christmas ham with light
creamy mustard dressing and platters of smoked
salmon trout accompanied by bowls of interesting
salads.
The Lazanou Organic Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2008
offers aromas of apple with enticing hints of
green melon leading to rich flavours of crunchy
apple (since the wine was kept on the lees for
6 months) balanced by clean acidity. We were impressed
how well this unwooded Chenin Blanc complemented
the food and sorry we only had one bottle!
Lazanou Organic Vineyards was started by Josef
Lazarus and Candice Stephanou when they bought
the farm in 2002. It had been operating as a plant
nursery and at the time had only a tiny vineyard
(0.6 hectare) of Chenin Blanc.
Situated in the beautiful Wellington Valley the
farm is small with a total of area of just over
8 hectares. Today just over 5 hectares are under
vine with varieties suitable to the microclimate
found on the farm such as Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay,
Viognier, Shiraz and Mourvedre. The remaining
area includes cow pastures, olive groves, a fruit
orchard and a bird sanctuary.
Lazanou Organic Vineyards are certified organic
producers with the SGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance)
and so international organic standards are practised
in the vineyards and the cellar.
I will be buying more of this wine to drink now
but I feel that with its complexity it may be
an idea to cellar a few bottles try in a couple
of years. |