Invited to a blind tasting of the 40-odd wines on the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction yesterday a fortnight, together with Christian Eedes, Tim James, Christine Rudman and Michael Fridjhon, I thought that participating in a sighted tasting this afternoon of the same wines would not quite be cricket. After all, I’ve made something of a crusade of blind tastings (“shallow” as Tim calls them) over the years. But I couldn’t resist the public showcase this evening, if only to sample some of the Salon de Refusés, which are something of a cause célèbre this year.

In poll position as you entered was my Paardeberg neighbour Adi Badenhorst who had Dutch/Afrikaans singer Stef Bos helping out on his stand. I took the opportunity of giving Stef a copy of my recently published Good Value Guru Diaries 2010. “I love books much more than music” revealed Stef, “there is something magical about them.” Although better than both my book and my music was Adi’s Vin Jaune, made Solera style from four consecutive vintages in old Sherry barrels.

Stef and Adi

“It failed to be certified by SAWIS five times,” revealed Adi “and it’s very rare indeed for every member of the panel to reject a wine.” Any hint of fruit flavour has long been transformed and the wine is nutty with the taut minerality of the granite mountain on Adi’s Kalmoesfontein farm. A most extraordinary wine that makes the Cape Winemakers Guild worthwhile for vinous magpies like I.

Among the wines refused admission to the auction this year was the Haskell Vineyards Bordeaux Blend made by newbie Rianie Strydom. With a towering reputation for scintillating Shiraz, Rianie’s true passion lies further west, in Bordeaux. Her Morgenhof Première Sélection was always the most underrated red on the Simonsberg. Let’s hope the Guild doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past on the Helderberg.

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