2009-09-30 – all aboard the wine bus!

Hmm. We were able to get up relatively early and were otherwise in pretty good shape after our evening of RoF indulgence. After our showers (cold ones, brrr!), we walked into town to get some breakfast. We forgot to write down the name of the place... bah. But we got an “English breakfast omelette” - a big fluffy omelette filled with bacon, sausage, mushrooms, etc. Yummy and filling!

The guy who owns Otter's Bend Lodge, Mark (who is part Norwegian, owns a farm in Norway, and has a daughter who lives in Bergen), runs wine tours in the Franschhoek area, so we did a tour with him.

Our first visit was to GlenWood. We tried the Sauvignon blanc 2009, the Semillon 2007, the unwooded (claimed to be a sushi wine) and wooded chardonnays, the Merlot 2007, the Shiraz 2007, and a Syrah and Viognier blend (2007); this last one was quite nice.

The next stop was to Boekenhoutskloof. Yes, it's a challenge to pronounce. They are the wine estate that does, among other things, the Porcupine Ridge range. But since we are familiar with it, we went right for the flagship – the Chocolate Box 2008. Only 888 barrels of this was produced, and it is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Viognier. And yes, as the name suggests, the wine has a very chocolatey palate. We also tried their Syrah 2006, which was nice, but it was nothing like the chocolatey winey goodness. So we bought a bottle of Chocolate Box to take home.

Next on the tour was Stony Brook. We tasted the Sauvignon blanc 2008, Rosé 2008 (this is of Merlot), The “J” 2008 (35% Viogner, 40% Semillion, 25% Sauvignon Blanc), Semillion Reserve 2007, Shiraz 2004, Shiraz-Mouvrede 2005, “The Max” 2005 (named after their pet dog; blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot).

Then we went to La Couronne. They were very crowded, so we didn't really stay too long. We tried the 277 Mereaux Red 2003, the Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and the Shiraz 2006.

By then we were hungry, and stopped at Moreson for lunch. We had some tasty ravioli, but the portion was surprisingly and annoyingly small. We also did a tasting here. They have a very nice Merlot 2007 and a Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 that was so good we bought a bottle.

We ended the tour with a visit to Chamonix; their tasting room was freeeeeezing cold. We tasted the Sauvignon blanc reserve 2008, Rouge 2007, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and Troika. The Troika was excellent but a bit overpriced (in our opinion), so we didn't buy a bottle.

A nap was in order when we got back to our room; we were both quite exhausted after managing six wineries in one day! After our nap, we walked into town and ate dinner at a nice bistro called The French Connection. We both got filet mignon (because it was only 180 grams, compared to the other steaks, which were 300 grams). This was delicious; it was very flavorful and tender! The filet mignon was served with a three mushroom sauce, some greens, some vegetables, and frites for Ms. Penguin and rösti potatoes for Mr. Penguin.