Gabriëlskloof Rosebud Rosé
While enjoying a relaxing post-New Year break at Gloria Bay between Villiersdorp and Bot River, we spent time visiting a few of the local wineries, one of them being Gabrielskloof.
The winery is located a few kilometres travelling east from Bot River towards Caledon and well worth a visit. The magnificent stone building which is surrounded by vineyards houses the winery and cellar as well as a restaurant, deli and tasting room. The latter are contained in a quadrangle and look onto two large ponds encircled by lush green lawns and with the heat we experienced on the day it was a welcome oasis.
Gabrielskloof was established in 2002 with their first wines being bottled in 2007. From onset the winemaking team at Gabriëlskloof had a vision to produce quality, well-priced wines that showcase the terroir of the Bot River region.
This vision has certainly paid off as their wines have been well received in the market as well as being listed in top restaurant wine lists around the country. Although the vineyards which were planted in 2003 are now well established, the land itself might remember when 150 years ago, farmer Gabriël le Roux planted the first vines here. He produced wine and brandy to sell to travellers journeying from Cape Town to the outskirts of the colony.
Two ranges of wines are produced, the Reserve and Premium, and they are offered for sale at the deli. As we were looking for two wines to enjoy that evening we opted for the rose and the red blend both from the premium range. The rose, called Rosebud, is particularly interesting as it is a combination of 55 percent Viognier and 45 percent Shiraz.
The grapes were harvested from specific vineyards on the same day and the Viognier is picked at optimal ripeness whereas the Shiraz is at a slightly lower sugar level than for a red wine. After an overnight rest the grapes were carefully bunch sorted before being crushed and pressed.
The result is a delicious slightly off dry aromatic wine offering creamy flavours of ripe strawberry and freshly cut peach.
The wine displays a beautiful rose bud colour and with the low alcohol of 12.5 percent made it a perfect wine for our sun downer that evening.
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