Keermont Terrasse
2021
The sweet spot for wine drinkers is when a critical assessment of a wine suggests it’s a good product – and what’s in your glass is aligned with personal preference. When this wine is also versatile in terms of occasions to enjoy it, the stars are truly aligned. Keermont Terrasse is such a wine.
At the risk of stating the obvious, wine tasting is a highly personal endeavour. Every wine drinker has their own preference when it comes to the flavour profile or the style of wine in the glass. And then, of course, one needs to consider the occasion or event at which the wine is being enjoyed.
When assessing wine critically, however, a taster needs to develop the ability to taste a wine on its own merits and shouldn’t allow their personal preferences to dictate. Let me explain. Personally, I struggle to enjoy the primary flavour profile of viognier. But when I taste a viognier, I should be able to assess whether the particular wine is a good example of the variety in terms of its colour, nose, palate and aftertaste. Needless to say, despite an assessment that a wine might tick all the right boxes, personal taste will always triumph – I don’t possess a single bottle of viognier in my cellar!
Of course, wine drinkers hit a sweet spot when the assessment of a wine suggests it’s a good product – and what’s in your glass is aligned with personal preference. When this wine is also versatile in terms of occasions to enjoy it – with food or simply on its own – the stars are truly aligned.
Keermont Terrasse is one of those wines. Keermont is a beautiful farm that lies in the folds of the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountains, just up the road from Waterford Estate and adjacent to De Trafford. So it’s certainly in esteemed company.
Terrasse is a barrel-fermented white blend that derives its name from the terraced vineyards leading up the mountains on the estate. Keermont has six different white wine varieties planted on these terraces, and every year they make up a unique blend depending on what the year offers them. The base is chenin blanc, with other varieties such as chardonnay and sauvignon blanc to form the bulk, and drops of roussanne and marsanne to give the wine a slight spicy, aromatic lift.
I have enjoyed this wine for many years, but the 2021 vintage surpassed my already high expectations. The nose shows a herbaceous top note before citrus, stone fruit, some leesy complexity and spice, while the palate has good fruit density to go with punchy acidity before a savoury or saline finish. In short, a mouthful. These flavours are in harmony and the subtle wood treatment adds to the complexity.
This wine is made to be shared with good friends, or if you’re feeling selfish, drink it on your own. After I tasted the wine, I browsed through the 2023 Platter Wine Guide to discover it got a five-star rating. The professionals were in agreement.
Sanlam Private Wealth clients can purchase the Keermont Terrasse 2021 for a special price of R223.00 per bottle (cellar price R248.00 – minimum purchase 12 bottles) by filling in the form below.
All wine offers expire after 30 days. Subject to availability.
For more information, visit keermont.co.za.
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