Winter in the winelands and #DrinkChenin Day
After a sunny and warm May, winter finally arrived. The vines are now bare and lying dormant, but it does not mean that the same applies to the winery, tasting room and restaurant. This is the time for releasing new vintages and spending quality time with visitors, making it a great time to visit!
This month we celebrated International Chenin Blanc Day on 8 June and in our case, we are particularly proud to celebrate our Certified Old Vine Chenin Blanc wines. Stellenbosch has the largest Old Vine Chenin Blanc production, boasting 558ha of the total national plantings 2 207ha with Kleine Zalze Wines using the largest portion of Stellenbosch Old Vine Chenin Blanc fruit. RJ Botha, our cellarmaster, delights in this offering of Old Vine Chenin, using the fruit for the estate’s Family Reserve and Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc.
To take our commitment to the Old Vines further, we have just released our new Heritage Vineyards Old Vine Chenin blanc. This wine is dedicated to telling the story of the Old Vines with the label depicting the lifecycle of a vine. Now available from our cellar door or our online shop.
“There are two ways of recognising the allure of Old Vine Chenin Blanc,” he explains. “On the one side, there is the attraction of each vineyard having a story to tell. These stories are of old, gnarled vineyards growing on tough granite soils that have been exposed to stormy winters, breezy spring seasons and sun-drenched summers for more than three decades. Through age, they have become a part of the soils and their environment, able to truly express the world in which they have lived – the world that we on the outside call terroir.”
The second beguiling factor of Old Vine Chenin Blanc is working with the fruit in the cellar. “Old Vine Chenin Blanc vineyards express their varietal character and terroir more vividly than younger vines do; it’s as simple as that,” he says. “You see it in the tight bunches of small berries. The juice spreads its intoxicating aroma through the cellar at harvest time. And the balance between sugar and acid is tense, almost electric, leading to wines of multi-layered complexity.”
Fantastic results in Prescient Shiraz Report
Winemag.co.za's Prescient Report is a prestigious South African award covering a broad range of categories, ranging from Chenin Blanc to Cape Bordeaux Blends, to Cape White Blends and everything in between.
We are very pleased to announce that the Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Syrah 2021 received 95 points and a Top 10 place in this years Prescient Shiraz Report
This stunning Syrah is a culmination of years of experimentation and benchmarking in the cellar, aimed at modernising Kleine Zalze's Syrah offering, and it had paid off!
Techniques such as whole bunch fermentation, re-addition of mature stems into the fermentation tank and changing our oak regime to feature lighter toasting and less time in barrel feature in this wine. The result is a generous wine that is packed with flavour, both on the bouquet and palate.
Click HERE to read more.
Trophy Wine Show
The Trophy Wine Show is South Africa’s premier wine competition, identifying the very best Cape wines, recognising the achievements of the country’s winemakers, and honouring excellence in the wine industry. Some 645 wines were entered into the 2024 show, with 19 Trophies and 14 Gold medals awarded by the esteemed judging panel, including three international wine experts specially brought to South Africa for the event.
Kleine Zalze was awarded the Investec Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as a Gold medal for the Kleine Zalze Vintage Brut 2017. RJ Botha, Kleine Zalze’s cellarmaster, says winning the trophy underscores Kleine Zalze’s embracing of Cabernet Sauvignon as its core red variety in a diverse portfolio.
“Being awarded for two such diverse wines, underscores Kleine Zalze’s versatility and diversity as a wine producer, two elements harnessed by an unrelenting commitment to quality,” says Botha.
Click HERE to read more.
Kleine Zalze's curry-themed Sunday lunch for June
The colder weather is settling in, and there is nothing better than a hearty and warming curry Sunday lunch! To start your curry journey, we are serving a selection of roti, naan bread and papadams with dips and accompaniments as a starter for the table, followed by Tom yum pumpkin soup with coconut cream.
The main course is a tasty tamarind and masala lamb knuckle curry with coriander basmati rice, fried aubergine, and greens beans dressed in mint and yoghurt raita. Dessert is a traditional Malay koesister with served with a cinnamon, cardamom and star anise custard.
Sunday Lunch is accompanied by a complimentary glass of Visio Vintners Rosé 2022 or Alliance 2020, a stunning red blend from Visio Vintners.
The Kleine Zalze Sunday Lunch is R425 per person for four courses.
To make a booking, click HERE or call us on 021 880 8167.