Intensely aromatic with a rush of citrus, gooseberry and tropical fruit flavours … the Lategan family know how to make great Chenin! They’ve been winemakers in South Africa for 150 years, and the multi-medal winning Cape maestros have produced yet another triumph. White River has been your favourite Chenin for years, and fans will love it more than ever with this mouthwatering vintage. And if you’ve yet to have the pleasure of this delicious white, there’s never been a better time!

Long Product Description

Bruce Jack, the man behind this stunning white, has just been named South Africa’s Winemaker of the Year – twelve months after his Flagstone cellar scooped Winery of the Year. Helped by a glorious 2009 Cape vintage, Bruce has triumphed again by rounding out classic, zippy Chenin (South Africa’s white speciality) with soft, aromatic Viognier. He learned his craft at iconic Aussie wineries Grant Burge and Simon Hackett and also worked a vintage in Bordeaux, where he was struck by lightning while forklifting a pallet of wine! It could be the source of all his energy, not to mention his talent for super-charged whites! Truth is, he knows the technical side of winemaking inside out and has a real passion for every wine he makes. The Chenin comes from old, bush-trained vines and gives this wine great concentration and structure. Viognier adds honeysuckle scents, spiced peach flavours and creamy texture. A gentle kiss of oak and Bruce’s all-round brilliance make for a very memorable white that excels with pan-fried scallops or char-grilled king prawns.

Douglas Green began his business with the purchase of the Forrer brother’s Stukvat liquor business in Paarl’s main road in 1938. Recognised as South Africa’s first true negotiant wine producer, he bucked conventional wine trends and ignored regionalism in favour of quality and price. Traversing the Cape winelands seeking out first-rate vineyards and cellars, he sourced grapes and wine to blend in his top quality range of wines. It was not long before this progressive approach established Douglas Green wines amongst the most reliable quality and affordable wines in South Africa.

Buitenverwachting means ‘Beyond Expectation’, and the wines produced by this winery, established in 1773, certainly live up to their name! Pale lemon in colour, aromas of green figs, gooseberries and a hint of green peppers give a lively nose. The perfectly balanced zesty acidity and citrus fruit flavours on the palate combine to give a dry, full bodied wine.

Groote Kaap (‘The Big Cape’) red is a fruit-packed, inky-dark giant of a wine, made by multi award-winning duo Franz Smit and Jacques Erasmus. The first step was to select a sun-trap vineyard near Montagu, Western Cape (355 days of sunshine a year!). The next trick for a big, rich red like this one is to delay harvest until the very last moment, because optimum ripeness is key. After that, the fruit was picked by hand in the cool first light of morning (this keeps it impeccably fresh and aromatic). Only the fact that leopards roam the vineyards by night prevented the team from an even earlier start! As a result, this hugely popular wine packs a serious punch, but is effortlessly complex too – don’t miss it.

Neil Ellis, from his winery and estate in Stellenbosch, pioneered the planting and sourcing of grapes from cooler, relatively unknown regions of the Cape, such as Elgin and Groenekloof. In the Darling hills, 50km north of Cape Town, the cold winds from the icy South Atlantic waters provide the perfect climate for producing top quality Sauvignon Blanc. This is a mouthwateringly fresh and supremely well balanced wine displaying aromas of tropical fruits with herbaceous and capsicum notes. A crisp, steely but fully ripe palate with an elegant and long, concentrated finish.

This wine has an incredibly complex and enticing nose of spices, violets, truffles and dark chocolate with hints of ripe cherries as it opens up. These all carry through to the equally expressive palate and then melt away into a long, velvety finish. It will compliment all manner of dishes but try it with venison fillet.

Ask anyone in the know who the most charismatic, innovative man in South African wine is today, and Charles Back’s name will come up. Voted the second most influential man in the industry (behind a certain Mr Mandela!), he is one of country’s undisputed winemaking legends. We’re thrilled to have secured this gorgeous wine – a delicious testament to his appetite for the unusual. Grenache is rare in South Africa, and only a small volume is currently produced. Taste this trendsetting wine and you’ll see why this can’t be the case forever. Six Hats is an exceptional, intense effort – and it’s Fair Trade too! The Six Hats project seeks to highlight the various roles of everyone involved in wine farming. The hats indicate partnership, change, potential, equity, dignity and sustainability – the six cornerstones of Back and his team’s philosophy. The wine had the chance to strut its stuff next to its peers in October 2010 at a Fair Trade tasting. Decanter magazine’s Tastings Director Christelle Guibert was impressed, calling it a wine “I would gladly drink on a regular basis … packed with juicy red fruit.” It certainly is that: its gorgeous, sweet black fruits leap from the glass and make it an irresistibly refreshing proposition … but its peppery complexity and power means it’ll also stand up to some of the richest food on your table!

Our friends at Wine Hound would really like to receive your Christmas orders as early as possible and no doubt you’d probably like to receive a special offer in return?

Well, here’s the deal: simply order by midnight this Sunday 4th Deecember and we’ll automatically deduct £10 off your total order value. Just enter the unique code LRQDUC into the relevant box on the checkout page.

Save an extra £5
If you have friends, colleagues or relatives who also enjoy wine, here’s an opportunity to receive a further £5 discount. Forward a minimum of one of their names and email addresses to us here and we’ll automatically upgrade you with a £15 voucher (sorry, you can’t use the £10 and £15 vouchers together!). Your friends will each also receive a £15 voucher to use against their first order.

We have loads of great offers on our web site, not just on South African wines, but also including the Wine Hound Christmas Box and a wide range of Champagnes. So, why not tick something off your ‘to do’ list early and order your festive wines this week?

It’s an offer not to be sniffed at!