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THE DRIFT ESTATE
MOVEABLE FEAST
After KWV’s legislative control over the production and sale of South African wine was lifted in the early 1990s, industry pioneers started to venture beyond the planting areas approved by the winemaking cooperative. One such new region is Elim in what’s now known as the Agulhas Wine Triangle – today Elim is known as one of the most unique terroirs in the world. A visit to the area wouldn’t be complete without tasting the produce of wine dynamo Bruce Jack, whose feisty The Drift Estate Moveable Feast red blend is certainly an exceptional, superb quality wine.
In the 1990s, a courageous trio of wheat farmers in the Elim district – Johan de Kock, Francis Pratt and Dirk Human – entered into a collaboration with renowned winemaker Charles Hopkins (now with De Grendel), viticulturist Johan Wiese, accountant Pieter Strauss, and wine businessman Hein Koegelenberg (of La Motte fame) to launch a brand called Land’s End. Thanks to their foresight, the Elim ward has become established as a unique phenomenon in the world of wine – its natural features and climatic influences have resulted in highly distinctive, one-of-a-kind flavours.
In 2018, another wine pioneer, Bruce Jack, decided to focus on building the family estate, The Drift, near the village of Napier close by. Bruce was the founder of Flagstone Winery and later Group Winemaker of Accolade Wines, the fourth largest wine business in the world. He’s been described as ‘one of the most engaging characters in the global wine trade’.
Moveable Feast was the culmination of a dream for Bruce. ‘As a young, idealistic winemaker I dreamt of making one red wine from my own estate. My vision was to blend this wine mainly from two varieties that I loved then and still love today – shiraz and malbec,’ he says. He has complemented this blend with small amounts of varieties with distinctive individual characters such as touriga nacional, pinot noir and tannat.
In his own words: ‘With this wine we want to capture the essence of this corner of the universe, the spirit and the beauty of this place. We want to paint the landscape with aromas and flavours, and we use wine grapes as our art materials.’
The label on the bottle captures the attention and on the retail shelves, it should spark consumer interest. The wine features ripe blackberry fruit and herbaceousness, typical of The Drift farm, with white pepper and a touch of cigar box on the nose. The palate presents with dominant ripe fruit showing a more elegant red spectrum with cherry, raspberries and plum above an underlayer of enticing dark chocolate and darker black fruits like mulberry. There’s no doubt this wine represents the signature of the estate: elegant and balanced.
In my view, the winemaker correctly believes the wine will support a ‘traditional Overberg Highland braai or a slow-cooked farm mutton drenched in farm olive oil’. Personally, I’m of the opinion that the elegance of this wine allows for enjoyment on its own.
Sanlam Private Wealth clients can purchase The Drift Estate Moveable Feast 2016, a cool climate blend from Bruce Jack’s family farm in the Overberg Highlands, for a special price of R153 per bottle (cellar price R180).
The offer is open exclusively to Sanlam Private Wealth clients. All wine offers expire after 30 days. Subject to availability.
For more information visit thedrift.co.za.
COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THIS OFFER AND WE’LL GET BACK TO YOU.
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Sizwe Mkhwanazi has spent 14 years in Investment Management.
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