How much? R200;
Where? Uva Mira Vineyards, top of the Helderberg 27 (0) 21 880 1683;
Why? Tom Cruise became a Hollywood heartthrob as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun. Matthew van Heerden should achieve the same thing in cellar circles with this single vineyard Chardonnay which earns him the accolade Top Grape, which is what Uva Mira means in Latin.

Top Grape: Matthew van Heerden

For those thinking that Hollywood blockbusters are inappropriate metaphors for the top end of Helderberg wine, I would simply point out that Tom’s call sign was Maverick and Matthew’s best friend Graham Weerts, now a leading winemaker with Kendall Jackson in California, used to make the Maverick brand for Bellingham while Maverick’s radar intercept officer was “Goose” Bradshaw and in SA circles, Goose is range of powerful wines made by Morné Jonker and Alwyn Liebenberg. Both Maverick and Matthew think that altitude is important in their respective professions.

This Chardonnay has more power than the SA Navy and takes corners tighter than an F-16 doing a 3G barrel roll. The flavours are a floral bouquet flying in tight formation with elements of an exotic tropical fruit salad as wingmen.

Rating: *****

*****: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
****: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
***: District 9
**: Invictus
*: Night at the Museum II