Angela Lloyd –
Angela Lloyd writes about Seven Springs “Progress since I last tasted these wines, especially in the Sauvignon Blanc and two reds, is most encouraging…” Angela Lloyd – A journey into wine
Angela Lloyd writes about Seven Springs “Progress since I last tasted these wines, especially in the Sauvignon Blanc and two reds, is most encouraging…” Angela Lloyd – A journey into wine
The quality and the intelligent, classy and quite European-styled nature of this whole portfolio continues to impress.
A review from leading UK wine writer, Joanna Simon
“There are times when only Chardonnay will do as far as I’m concerned. Sauvignon Blanc is there when you need a brilliant espresso-like boost, but good Chardonnay is there for you all the time – when you’re tucking into lemon- and herb-roasted chicken, seared scallops or roasted veg, or when you’re just chilling out with a glass of wine. This one, from English-owned vineyards pretty well within spitting distance of the Atlantic Ocean in the Western Cape, is Chardonnay in its best modern guise: crisp and polished with zingy lemon fruit, a whisper of pineapple and honey and the delicate toast and cashew flavour of classy French-oak barrels.”
We have just had a whole page devoted to Seven Springs Vineyard in the November edition of Decanter Magazine. The whole article is entitled “Buying a Vineyard” but we guess in our case it could have been entitled “Buying a piece of land with cattle roaming on it”….but we guess that might not be a too appealing headline. This is the article as it appears in the magazine.
Read below what Tom wrote about our wines in his Wine Pages website https://wine-pages.com/tasting-articles/seven-springs-overberg/
by Tom Cannavan, 09/17
I have reviewed the Seven Springs range a couple of time previously, ever since meeting English owners Tim and Vaughan Pearson back in 2008. That was just as they were about to release their first ever wines from a ‘labour of love’ project in South Africa’s Overberg region, close to the town of Hermanus. Tim’s early career was as an agronomist, but he and Vaughan built a successful contract cleaning business in the UK (which they still run), which allowed them to follow this dream.
They found the perfect spot in 2006, virgin land which was cleared and planted to vine over the following years. Now, a decade on, those first vineyards are reaching maturity, this relatively cool, coastal-influenced area suited to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for white wines, Pinot Noir and Syrah for reds. With them since first plantings are Vineyard Manager Peter Davidson, and since 2010, the increasingly recognised talents of winemaker Riana van der Merwe, with experience not only in here native South Africa, but in Oregon, California and the Rhône.
The quality and the intelligent, classy and quite European-styled nature of this whole portfolio continues to impress. Taste for yourself at my London Festival of Wine on October 14th 2017 where Tim and Vaughan will be pouring their wines.
Seven Springs Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – Scores 91/100
Seven Springs Vineyard, Unoaked Chardonnay 2013 – Scores 89/100
Not the most expensive wine in the Seven Springs line-up, but you know I really enjoyed this. Only 12.5% alcohol, but crammed with flavour and a lovely creamy texture too, it flirts between nectarine sweet juiciness and the zest of fresh squeezed lemon, and slipped down very easily indeed with chicken in a garlicky, lime and ginger-spiced marinade.
Seven Springs Vineyard, Chardonnay 2014 – Scores 90/100 Seven Springs has come a long way in a short time, including scooping a ‘silver’ in the Decanter World Wine Awards for this wine. Aged in 300-litre barrels for a year, it has toast and vanilla, but the cool harvest has also created a touch of green – fig and greengage – that gives lovely tension and aromatic complexity, the wild yeast ferment adding a savoury aspect. In the mouth it has bold, fresh acidity to offset the ripe stone fruits, teetering on tropical, but drier and more restrained as it finishes with fine clarity.
Seven Springs Vineyard, Young Vines Pinot Noir 2013 – Scores 89/100
There’s a delightful subtlety to the way the oak has been handled here, adding sheen and gentle creaminess to the ripe, supple fruit, a hint of Pinot truffle and briar. In the mouth nicely fresh and agile, a spine of acidity, a touch of oak chariness, and the savoury fruit and spice finishing quite long.
Seven Springs Vineyard, Syrah 2013 – Scores 91/100
Always one of my favourites in the Seven Springs range, this powerful 14% Syrah has youthful exuberance to spare, with a bold, ripe black fruit aroma, underpinned by notes of chocolate and tobacco, but there’s a hint of violet lift in there too. Smooth and creamy on the palate, the weight of that fleshy berry and plum fruit is there, tight, fine tannins and juicy acids completing a deliciously easy-drinking yet quite structured young wine that will cellar for a few years.
We are proud to announce that we achieved three excellent awards from the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards. Having decided to enter our Syrah 2012 and our two Chardonnays (oaked 2011 and un-oaked 2012) we were absolutely delighted with getting a GOLD award for our 2012 Syrah and BRONZE for the two Chardonnays. To put this into context it is like winning a medal in the Olympic Games, well in wine terms. As our vines are still very young (the syrah and chardonnay vines were 4.5 years old when the grapes were picked) we are really ‘over the moon’ with the way our vineyard and wines are developing. Testimony for this goes to Riana van der Merwe, our young winemaker, and Peter Davison, our vineyard manager. It is the hard work and dedication of the two of them that has enabled us to achieve this is such a short space of time.
SEVEN SPRINGS SYRAH 2012 and OVER THE MOUNTAIN SYRAH 2012 – DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS GOLD http://www.decanter.com/dwwa/wine/713/Seven+Springs-Syrah-2012 The Decanter description for this wine reads:-
Leading South African sommelier, Miguel Chan, has reviewed our latest Pinot Noir (our 2012 ‘Young Vines II’) and scored it 91+ points out of 100. This wine was made from 3.5 year old vines and shows the fantastic potential our vineyard has for this, and our other, varietals. The same wine is being sold in the USA as Over the Mountain Pinot Noir 2012.
As a wine and food commentator, I am fortunate to be invited to some pretty awesome wine functions. Fortunately these happen usually in some of Cape Town’s leading restaurants where chefs go all out to showcase their dishes to a group of people who certainly appreciate what is put before them. Jos Baker, the doyenne of food and wine writers in South Africa, and in my view a living National Treasure, once said to me “the wine is there in the bottle, you have to bring the food to it.”
I have recently attended two such functions at Dear Me, a restaurant in Longmarket Street
Read the full post by Michael Olivier’s Blog
Thanks for the wonderful post Michael!
Also see Michael Olivier’s online magazine; Crush