After visiting Landskroon, our next stop on our journey through Paarl took us to Anura Vineyards, only about a 12 minute drive away and yet a completely different experience awaited us down the road ahead.
I am almost certain the sign saying ‘Dead slow, keep well left, Give way to tractors’ is tribute to not only the jovial spirit of Anura but the fact that this is one of those estates you could stay at all day, having an absolute blast and really might need reminding to drive slowly, keep to the left ( I am sure I covered this when completing my driving license a few years ago, and that well you might be lucky enough to spot a tractor trundling lazily down these well manicured roads.
The views here are truly breathtaking, the majestic mountains towering overhead certainly brought me down to earth in a jiffy. As we walked up to this tasting room I sensed a friendliness in air, then again it could have been the friendly looking weather-vane aka frog on the roof beckoning and welcoming us closer with every step.
As we got to the door my deepest suspicions were confirmed, we had entered what can only be described as an extremely happy-go-lucky , friendly environment that made me want to stay for as long as possible. At the desk we were greeted by our lovely hostess, Linda. A more enthusiastic and welcoming guide through the tasting we were about to embark on could not have been asked for. Even with a large group of 20 people entering the room just after us, she still found the time to make this an experience I will personally be going back for perhaps more than just once.
This was not just a wine tasting either, it was a full cheese and wine tasting. We sat next to the coziest fireplace ( although fire wasn’t necessary to make it feel that way) and lounged out on the comfortable leather couches. Linda seated us and gave us a copy of the wines to choose from. Then before we had even had much chance to think about it properly, she was back in a flash with the most divine platter of cheeses from the Forest Hill Cheesery, biscuits and home made jam. Her description of these was enough to make anyone’s mouth water, and mine was no different. She then covered the tasting options again and we chose the Anura limited release Charonnay 2008, the Barrel selection Viognier, Anura Rosé 2009, Merlot Reserve 2005,Petit Verdot 2007 and Syrah/Mouvedre reserve. It was a line up that took our breath away as we savored every precious drop of these gorgeous wines. Can you believe it, tasting just these 6 wines took us over an hour? I am quite serious, over an hour! On taking a closer look at the pricing we got quite the shock, their wines are amazingly reasonably priced with their Sauvignon Blanc 2009 vintage starting at R40 per bottle and going up to the most expensive , only R180 per bottle for their elegantly hand crafted Pinot Noir and Charonnay based MCC Brut which spent 18 months on the lees to develop.
Considering Anura’s seriousness about making well priced, accessible and elegant, complex quality wines whilst receiving hundreds of accolades from pretty much every big wine competition host in South Africa, Anura’s atmosphere remains jubilant, forward thinking and relaxed. Besides all these amazing features, Anura also boasts the Lily Pad restaurant and it honestly feels a bit like a home away from home, farm style decor and the wide selection of delicious cape cuisine appeals to a wide variety of tastes. They are also able to accommodate large functions and I would recommend visiting this estate any day. You will be back for more, I know I will..
March 15th, 2010 1:22 pm
[...] we had already tasted quite a few more than 13 at the previous estates we had visited ( Landskroon, Anura and Fairview) and felt we may be better off tasting only 5 instead. The wines we tasted were the [...]