White

It was important to Rick that The Liberator should, in some small way, mark the events to date of the year 2020. Horrific bush fires in Australia, unprecedented plagues of locusts in East Africa, COVID-19… Plus, the uncertainty inflicted on the world with the perfect storm of Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

OUT OF STOCK AWAITING NEW VINTAGE TO ARRIVE

Pale straw-yellow in colour, fragrant with a slight floral aroma with notes of sage, hay and almonds. On tatsing all these lovely elements come out and if you are lucky a bit of honey too. it`s a great wine, fine and elegant. Who`d have thought you would get all that from a pinot grigio... but you do!

The Lady symbolises the expressive characters captured by different varieties – the fragrance and richness of Viognier, the finesse of Hárslevelü, the freshness of Sauvignon Blanc, and the enticing texture that Semillon offers. A blend of Viognier 52%, Semillon 21%, Hárslevelü 16% and Sauvignon Blanc 11%.

This Viognier is rich yet fresh with white peach and floral characters. Elegant but intense on the finish, this wine delights the palate with fresh fruit and complementary minerality.

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.

Vineyards around Lake Kaltern are very small in size and most of the winemakers in the region have less than one hectare of land, for a small winemaker it is virtually impossible to make and market their own wine so the co-operative of Kaltern was set up in 1906 with the goal of producing high quality wines.

Bright yellow splashed with gold, Waldschutz Kamptal Reisling offers the nose peach and apricot, with a sun-warmed flinty note. In the mouth, lively flavours of peach, sweet grass, kiwi, and a pleasing acidity; the soil’s steely minerality can be felt on the taste buds.

Cantina Orsogna is an award-winning Abruzzo cooperative specialising in native grapes of the region. This wine is a beautiful balance between the floral fruit character of Malvasia and the richer texture that comes from the skin contact, with notes of orange blossom, jasmine, kumquat and apricots.

Picked from 50 - 60 year old vines, Clos de la Vielle Chaussée is a classic Muscadet with aromas of white fruit and citrus peel, ripe green apple and bread crust. Perfect with seafood.