Kleinood Tamboerskloof Katharien Rosé

This piece was originally published by Port2Port.

Kleinood
Tamboerskloof Katharien Rosé
2022
Stellenbosch

Now, I could be a crazy sniffing wine person wildly attributing aromas to anything that so much as brushes past my olfactory senses, but I am convinced that January has a smell. It’s a mixture of holiday independence, sunscreen encrusted beach bags and pheromones wafting off the tanned bodies of all the Capetonians who have invariably shed their winter cuddle buddies in search of steamy summer flings. In fact, if one could bottle January, it’s unclear on whether I’d wear it or simply huff it with the eagerness of a fourth grader discovering UHU glue.

If you left my January scented bottle uncorked and wafting like a room diffuser, the Tamboerskloof Katharien Rosé is the bottle to take you by the hand and follow me down this rabbit hole. As pure and delicate as its pale ballet shoe colour would suggest, a pink haze of strawberries and red cherries descends, luring you into summer’s endless possibility. Yet, its bracingly crisp Pink Lady apple crunch texture makes it clear this wine isn’t just about flimsy summer dresses and daisy chains, but has the cheekiness to hold its own should the evening move to weightier topics.

Pair with: Endless summer afternoons that make you forget supper time was two hours ago, with chins sticky from giant watermelon slices and ladybirds traversing the backs of tanned thighs.