Gad Kaplan's Wine Wisdom

Shannon Vineyards. 27 / 1/ 2014. Mount Bullet 2008. Elgin Valley. John Platter 5 stars. Alc 14%. 1. Colour- medium cherry.2.  Bouquet- cherries. Fresh cream. Beautiful bouquet. Cassis. 3. Palate – soft. Round. Delicious. Hedonistic. Beautiful soft acids. Incredibly soft.… Continue reading

Veenwouden Merlot 1997. 1. Colour- pale garnet. Nose- pure perfume. Smoky. Intense. bacon. Palate- orgasmic palate. There is an interesting story behind this wine. I found out that Veenwoudeen in Paarl, established in 1989 and 1st bottling in 1993 was… Continue reading

With Raoul and others 8/6/ 2020.    1. Cape Point Vineyards- Sauvignon Blanc 2000. Colour- pale straw. Nose – fig. green peas. Palate- smooth, fruity, herbaceous.  2. Savenniers- Domain du Closel 2002. Colour- dark gold. Nose- shy. Palate- rich. Smooth 13%… Continue reading

Chateaux d Yquem 1990 2/ 10/ 2020. Drunk with Jascha. Colour- burnished gold, pale copper rim. 2. Incredible nose. Barley sugar. Cream. Apricots.  3. Palate- rich, intense. Sweet but not too sweet. The background. Our family was making a lot… Continue reading

Drunk with Raoul and Howard. 13/1/ 2023. Vin de Constance 2015. Colour- copper rim. Golden centre. 2. Nose- honey. Shy. 3. Palate- intense. Extremely sweet. Very powerful. A vintage masterpiece. Muscat de Frontigan. With no botrytis.

Riesling 2017. Colour pale gold. Nose- Lovely bouquet petrol. Cassis. Cream spice. Palate- slightly bitter.  Chardonnay 2020. colour- pale gold. Nose- lovely creamy nose. Palate- disappointing and lacking in body.Métis- Sauvignon Blanc 2018. 1. Colour- pale straw. Nose- bouquet, aromatic… Continue reading

Weekend with Carl at the Paarl wine farm. Drunk at Reubens restaurant, Franschoek, 16/ 11/ 2008. Half bottle. Drunk with fillet steak. Top Chateauneuf-du- Pape. Colour deep ruby. Nose shy, hints of spice, cloves. Herbaceous. Palate. Intense, rich, ripe tannins.… Continue reading

Soon after arriving in the Cape, Jan van Riebeeck set about the task of making wine. On February 2, 1659 he wrote in his diary: ‘Today, praise be to God, wine was made for the first time from Cape grapes.”… Continue reading

The world of marketing reflects that we live in a universe that is very much concerned with image and style.With the reintroduction of South Africa to the global market, ‘Brand South Africa” has become a catchphrase that marketers are using… Continue reading

I met the late Owen Williams quite by accident. My mother had been friendly with the mother of an ex- girlfriend of mine, and she had suggested that she meet Owen Williams for tea and give him a lift to… Continue reading

Finally, Le Bonheur in Stellenbosch. With all the new trendy wineries on the scene in SA we don’t seem to hear much about Le Bonheur these days. But they made great Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1980’s. An edition of the… Continue reading

At the moment I have the problem that many of the dry whites in my cellar are coming out oxidised. I am not sure why. But my sweet wines are fine. Armin is my fishing friend. He is in the… Continue reading

My late friend George Shuttleworth was quite a character. He died recently at the age of 96. It was genetic. He had five brothers and they all lived into their 90’s.  George was really big and tall and strong. Even… Continue reading

Plasier de Merle, flagship farm for Distell and supplier of top grapes to Nederberg in the Paarl/ Simonsberg region really changed the style of South African Cabernet Sauvignon with their 1994 vintage. Although John Platter lists them as being established… Continue reading

Klein Constantia is a ten minutes drive from my house. It is part of the Constantia Wine Route. I love the drive to Klein Constantia, through the greenery, tall trees, winding roads and beautiful terraced vineyard slopes. Klein Constantia has… Continue reading