The Liberator

Episode 29 represents the 5th ever Chenin Blanc released by The Liberator (and there you were thinking this was a blatant and cynical reference to a famous perfume). It also happens to be the single largest Liberator ‘Episode’ release to date.

This wine is part of the superb parcel of wines `liberated` by MW Richard Kelly. Richard has sourced this Syrah from the De Morgenzon vineyards in Stellenbosch and closely resembles the wines of Crozes-Hermitage & Saint-Joseph. The wine shows red-black fruit & a slight floral note on the palate.

Calitzdorp is not the logical place to go hunting for Riesling, but here is another potential ‘hit’ that came out of Rick’s world tour of the Cape in March 2020, just prior to lockdown. The still-fermenting juice was presented to Rick by Margaux Nel of Boplaas, from grapes she and her partner, Leon had sourced from an apple farmer in Elgin.

“GSM” and “SMG” are both everyday acronyms within the wine fraternity for blends of these 3 grape varieties, but have you ever come across a wine labelled as MSG…? I suspect not, and it’s because producers are afraid that their wine will be tarnished with a link to the well-known, much-maligned food flavour enhancer.