Description
Our story is a classic “not so much a mid-life crisis as a definite stumble towards a new career” Our first venture which began in 2004 when we bought a barn in rural Hertfordshire which had a small parcel of agricultural land attached. Daphne had always been the gardener and I had been involved in heavy pool larding under careful instruction. However both of us have a passion for wine and decided to grow our own! So 800 vines were planted right next to the barn and so it began… After much stress, care and attention involving a lot of conversations with the vines, the first minuscule harvest was achieved in September 2008. My career hd been in International Pharmaceuticals which involved lots of travelling to parts of the world where vines grow without too much talking to. One of which was South Africa and along with friends from Johannesburg we often discussed the merits of having a vineyard in the Cape, while of course sampling the wines! In 2007 our friends told us of a wine farm for sale in the Breede valley. The following week-end saw us on a plane to Cape Town and we were soon shaking hands with Johnny, the seller of Goedvertrou and our new venture in the Cape began. Goedvertrou is a small farm which sits in a beautiful valley near Robertson, surrounded by mountains and bathed in African sunshine. So now we have Northern and Southern Hemisphere vineyards for our 2nd careers and intend to produce the very best premium wines from both.
Vierkoppen Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
Vierkoppen Tasting Note
This wine is aged in a mixture of French & American oak barrels for 18 months and then blended with a small amount of the same wine from the tank which brings fruit to the palate. A full bodied Pinotage with that distinctive, but soft, smokey Pinotage bouquet, well integrated tannins, vanilla, coffee and juicy bramble flavours on the palate. It will age well and pairs well with red meats especially beef and game. 3000 bottles produced. Alc: 14.5%
Davy Wine Tasting Note
Full bodied with notes of ripe plums, black cherry, cranberry and hints of vanilla. Just 3000 bottle produced. Aged for 24 months in oak barrels. Not every English wine grower has vines also in the New World, but Daphne and David Briscoe are nothing if not adventurous. Having learned their craft at their small vineyard in Hertfordshire, they jumped at the chance when Vierkoppen, a thirty acre estate lying in the Brede River Valley in South Africa, came up for sale. The fruit is selected bunch by bunch and then picked by hand, the pressing is done manually and there is ‘minimum intervention’. Their wines are rich and opulent and we think that this small ‘garage estate’ has bags of potential.
Laverne Wines Tasting Note
Produced in small quantities (1200 bottles) from a select block of Cab Sauvignon vines at our farm in Robertson. This is a full bodied wine which is unfiltered and has been aged in new French oak barrels for 12 months. It has flavours of cranberry, ripe cherry and vanilla with a pleasant tannin structure, drinking well now and will age for at least 3 years.
Award
John Platter 2015 – 4.5 Stars out of 5
