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The home of Fairview wines is a 300ha farm on the south-west-facing slopes of Paarl Mountain, a granite rock outcrop in the heart of the Paarl wine district, viticulturally among the most historic and influential areas of the Cape winelands. Standing among the lavender beds in the terraced front garden of the winery, you’ll look out across rolling fields and see distant flat-topped Table Mountain, a world-famous landmark standing guard over the city of Cape Town, South Africa’s tourist mecca perched on the Cape Peninsula at the southern tip of the African continent.
Winemaking on the farm can be traced back to 1699, not quite a half-century after the first European settlers arrived in southern Africa. But its wines entered the modern era with the first bottling under the Fairview label in 1974 by the Back family, owners since 1937. Today, some three decades later, grandson Charles Back II has brought Fairview wines to world markets. One of South Africa’s pre-eminent vintners, he has earned Fairview (and its ancillary brands Spice Route, Goats Do Roam and Agostinelli) a reputation for consistent quality across a range of innovative styles, using both classic and unusual varieties. And he has helped pioneer a modern culture of wine growing in South Africa that embraces typicity of terroir, unrestricted by ‘estate’ appellation, by both developing his own vineyards to their full potential and seeking out new viticultural sites to grow fruit for wines to please popular tastes and discerning palates.
At Fairview, the winemaking philosophy is that wine is an integral and joyful part of everyday life. An unbridled enthusiasm, sense of fun and pure pleasure in growing vines, vinifying wine, and presenting it to wine lovers in all manner of exciting guises, pervades Fairview.
In this particular wine, the combination of fruit from various vineyards is carefully blended so as to get the best out of the various components. The Fairview grapes provide freshness and fragrant upfront fruit, while the dryland component provides depth, richness and full mouthfeel. Whole bunch pressing retains the freshness, which balances well with the fragrant flavours.
With its pale golden hue, its aroma of fresh bouquet of kiwi, litchi and nutmeg, evolving with peach and white flowers its good fresh palate balance with gentle oaking and fragrant fruit and la rich lingering finish, this viognier will be at its best before the end of 2007.
Jean’s Thoughts
Fairview did it again! They have produced a value for money wine! It is fruity, it has a touch of grassiness and it is refreshing in the palate. A good food match for the summer, think of seafood or cold cuts.
Brendon’s Thoughts
This wine has a discernable touch of peach on the nose and palate, agreeable alcohol and is a perfect summer and food wine that will compliment seafood and salads perfectly!
At Caveau: R 165.00 per bottle
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