24 May 2004

Edward de Bono observed that the mind recognises the familiar. Hence we can grow accustomed to – and like – even wine that is faulty. This is the danger us wine producers/marketers face.

So, last month we duly entered our 2003 Cloof Dusty Road Cabernet Sauvignon in the Grapeworx cabernet tasting. This consultancy, formed around the esteemed palates of Cape Wine Masters Allan Mullins, Clive Torr and Irina von Holdt, assisted by experienced wine insiders Mark Norrish, Andrew Baker and Rob Meihuizen, was formed in 2003 to do in-depth assessments for particular wines. Accepting that not all wineries can afford to do this, they now also do monthly tastings, which gives us the opportunity of getting unbiased third-party opinions of our wines.

For the April tasting, 123 cabernets right across the price spectrum were entered. These were all tasted blind, following which they reported that:

- our wine ranked 16th, which placed it among wines that are much higher in price
- the panel indicated an average retail price of R50 (which makes the R35 cellar door price extremely good value!)

Allan Mullins recorded: “Ruby black, cassis, blackcurrant, ripe black fruit, juicy, drinks well with good plum fruit.” Other tasters praised its “drinkability”, “nice balance”, “big fruit” and “very soft tannins”.

Of course, we already had the approbation of the panel that selected this wine for service on South African Airways. In this case we were the top-rated cabernet submitted for Economy.

No barrels were used, so the key to this wine is fabulously ripe and juicy fruit from Cloof, and the adjoining property Burghers Post.

Dusty Road, the brand we created for our entry-level wines, refers to the 5km long gravel road that leads from the R315 to the Cloof cellar. Its dustiness in summer is a product of the hot, dry conditions that give rise to the wonderfully concentrated fruit we harvest.