Avontuur Estate - Wine Tasting

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Avontuur Estate, home of Fine Wines, nestles against the Helderberg between Stellenbosch and Somerset West is a producer of top-quality wines, particularly Reds. The soils, aspect and meso-climate combined with the cool south-easterly winds from the nearby Atlantic Ocean in Summer, produce grapes of exceptional quality.

This Estate was bought by Tony Taberer in 1983. At that stage the farm was only 40 hectares in size, with Cinsaut and Steen making up the majority of the vineyards. These vines had been planted ten years earlier, along with a block each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage.

Realising the vast potential for classy wines, Tony and his General Manager at the time, Manie Kloppers, immediately started a replanting programme. In 1988, a further 40 hectares were purchased from the adjoining farm, San Gabriel, and the Avontuur dream was alive. The cellar and winery were built in the same year and her green and white colours have since become synonymous with regular travellers down the R44.

In the early 90's, under the guiding hand of Frenchman, Jean-Luc Sweerts , Avontuur became widely recognised as the early pace-setter for easy-drinking reds in South Africa.

In 1991, we released our instantly popular Cabernet/Merlot blend, made for immediate drinking rather than long-term cellaring.

In the late 90's, Lizelle Gerber replaced Jean-Luc as winemaker, and really harnessed the estates' incredible potential for elegant wines. Her record speaks for itself. In her 3 harvests with us, Avontuur won the trophy for the best Chenin Blanc (wooded) in 2002, our Pinot Noir was the only wine to receive an award in its category at the London wine awards and the Noble Late Harvest received 5 stars from John Platter, 2 years in a row. These, amongst countless other accolades with Avontuur, set her in a class of her own.

Willie Malherbe has since taken over the reigns as winemaker and continues in the proud tradition with top local and international accolades for the Baccarat 2001, gold medals for his Shiraz at the Young Wine Shows in 2003 and 2004, as well as 4 stars in Wine Magazine and Johan Platter for the estate's Reserve Chardonnay, Luna de Miel.

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