They say that good things come to those who wait… and indeed it does!

After what has seemed like endless months of planning and building, we have at last launched Caveau at The Mill.

Thursday the 25th January 2007 marked this eventful occasion in what can only be described as the pure essence of everything we stand for: excellent wines, delectable food and the coming together of dear friends, which were all present in abundance. It’s always lovely to share such occasions with friends and family and to this end our sincere thanks to all who joined us in celebrating, in particular, those who travelled from afar. For those who were unfortunately not able to be there, we look forward to welcoming you soon soon! Also feel free to visit our new website (www.caveau.co.za) to see some pics!

Another launch that is also most definitely worthy of a mention is that of Signal Hills Winery and Bistro in Town. Launched just over a week ago, this winery is situated in the renowned Mandela Rhodes Place and is anticipated to become one of our countries most visited wineries! Owner and dear friend Jean-Vincent Ridon has been producing some fantastic wines and in appreciating the importance of complimenting this with fantastic food has sought the expertise of Caveau’s chefs. Appropriately named Petit Caveau, this bistro boasts a daily chalkboard menu with some of Caveau’s favourites. Be sure to pop in to visit Jean-Vincent and sample some of his wines … you wont be disappointed!

Till then... keep swirling!

Au Revoir

P.S. – We would sincerely like to apologise to anyone who received an ‘un-openable’ version of the e-mail invite to our launch of Caveau at The Mill. We were experiencing some technical problems and sent it out in error!

Paul Cluver Wines are grown on De Rust, one of the largest and oldest estates in the Elgin Valley. The Estate, an hours drive from Cape Town, falls within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve where conservation and sustainable use of natural resources are pursued with the ultimate goal of balance and harmony between man and nature. The Estate, bought in 1896 by Dr Clüver's great-grandfather, to provide summer grazing for livestock, houses the first cellar to be established in the Elgin Valley.

The cool climate of this wine-growing area has the potential to provide slow ripening grapes with resultant delicate aromas and fruit character similar to that of Burgundy. Careful site selection and soil analysis led to the first plantings of noble varietals in 1986. Originally planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Weisser Riesling, the estate in the early 1990's saw the augmentation of new clone Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. Mindful of the management of quality from vineyard to bottle, a small, made to measure cellar was erected with the focus being on hand crafted premium quality wines.

With regards to this particular wine, only the best quality grapes in two different blocks of Gewurztraminer vineyards are used. The harvesting date is not only determent by chemical analysis but also by taste, this is done to ensure that we harvest at the optimum ripeness level. In the cellar we do not follow a recipe, decisions are made on an ongoing bases to ensure that we make the best possible wine in each vintage.

The result : a great Gewürztraminer that has typical litchi flavours with rose petals and honeysuckle on the nose, which carries through to the palate. The mouth feel is big with a lovely long aftertaste and clean finish. This wine is extremely aromatic with beautiful floral flavors and with the slight bit of sugar on the wine, it is a natural partner with spicy food – be it Asian or just something with chilli in it. It also does very well with any wine with coconut milk in it. But don’t try and limit at that – try it with white meat (fish, poultry and pork), salads, vegetable dishes or on it’s own.

Jean’s Thoughts
Coming from a part of the world which produces amazing Gewurtztraminer (Alsace), I often find it difficult to find some good ones in SA. Either they're too sweet or lacking in fruit. I must say however, that the Cluver family have produced a well balanced wine here . Whilst the palate is fruity, you don't feel as if you're eating a bowl of sugar either! Very close to a European Gewurtztraminer. Well done!

Brendon’s Thoughts
The cool climate of Elgin is very evident in the making of this Gewurtz … it is off dry with good fruit flavours. This is most definitely a favourite food wine of mine. Well done Andries!

At Caveau:  R 100.00 per bottle

Every now and then, Caveau receives stock at a reduced or “special price”. This may either be in order to move produce a little faster or due to wine farm promotions that may be running at the time. At Caveau we feel that our patrons should be the first to experience the benefits of such kickbacks and we have in turn decided to run monthly specials.

This month, our special offering is Cape Points 2004 Chardonnay. This wine shows a complex array of citrus and apricot flavours with strong minerality and some subtle toasty notes which all follows onto a wonderfully full palate with crisp acids and great length. This Chardonnay is drinking beautifully at present, but try to exercise patience as it will only improve over the next 2-5 years.

Available from Petit Caveau for only R 62.00 per bottle, should you be interested in purchasing this wine for your own private collection or just to enjoy with friends and family, please feel free e-mail your order to: info@caveau.co.za

"Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life's most civilized pleasures." - Michael Broadbent