A toast to our bartenders

Brenda 2 Comments May 24,2024 Bar, Guests, Journeys, Our Team, Wine List

All hail International Wine Day! In his departure speech, our CEO Rohan often jokes about how seriously we take drinking here at Rovos Rail so we thought we’d pour ourselves a glass of bubbly and tell you a little about the bar staff on board and how they can often be the toast of the train.

Operating a luxury product can come with some tough customers so, as we are not positioned to employ qualified sommeliers, we provide regular bar, wine and cocktail training for our bartenders and ensure they know about our incredible South African offerings. The two-year pandemic gave us pause to revisit our menus and include more local produce wherever possible. In the last decade, it has been wonderful to see young entrepreneurs creating interesting wines, spirits and mixers and, with South Africa being one of the top 10 traditional wine-producing countries in the world, we have a brilliant selection to choose from. See our wine and spirit stories below.

Preparation for each journey begins in our beverage store where a dedicated on-site team pre-packs the stock required on board. This includes wine, brandy, gin, rum, vodka, whisky, spirits, digestifs, grappa, liqueur, beer, cider, non-alcoholic options and mixers. The bartenders check, count and load the stock into cages, which are trolleyed to the train. Then it’s off to the kitchen store where they check out their glassware, swizzle sticks, olives, Maraschino cherries and all the other goodies they need, which are also trolleyed to the train. Once on board, they unload and pack the bars to their liking as it is their domain for the duration of the journey. When the guests arrive, the fun begins.

Out of our whole crew, the bartenders are the most recognised and sought after as they not only serve all the guests but sit up late into the night chatting away with them. They sometimes make long-lasting connections, especially on our long journeys. We’re fortunate that we haven’t had too many raucous parties but there have been many dawns met with strong coffees and Bloody Marys at breakfast.

Our teams work hard and deserve the lovely feedback they regularly receive about their service. During one of our recent video shoots, Tristan – one of our young barmen – happened to be available so we followed him around for a while. Listening to him talk about his passion for South African wine and our selection on board left an impression on us. To see a young man so eager to learn and do his job well, and leverage the education and opportunities received at Rovos Rail, feels hugely rewarding.

So, as it is International Wine Day – and our 35th birthday – let’s raise a glass to our stellar team and all the sommeliers, connoisseurs and winemakers around the world. Cheers!

Stories: Floral Rum, Rum, Vodka, Meerlust, Thelema, Hamilton Russell, Vagabond, Mr Bubbles, Silverthorn, Fable Mountain.

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Shopping for Lobito

Brenda No Comment Nov 9,2023 Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Journeys, Menus, Trail of Two Oceans

Shopping for Lobito began in late April, about six weeks prior to the train’s departure from Pretoria.

As you can imagine, shopping for the Lobito train, which travelled through areas which are sometimes difficult to find on a map, required a significant amount of planning; especially when it came to food and beverages. With no real opportunities for a resupply of fresh produce or items such as wine along the way, most of the stock had to be loaded onto the train in Pretoria.

At Rovos Rail, we work so hard to try and deliver creative food and an array of beverages to our guests on a daily basis which is quite the challenge on a train which is travelling, with six different sets of passengers on six different journeys, a distance of 23 400kms! We caught up with Maryke and Dominique, the matriarchs of our food and beverage department, to find out just how they went about shopping for Lobito.

Dominique, the head of our food and beverage department, advised that the kitchen team on board have a fresh fruit and vegetable resupply at specific points along each of the six trips:

Pretoria to Cape Town journey: All stock will be loaded onto the train in Pretoria
Cape Town to Dar es Salaam: The kitchen team stocks up in Cape Town and then again in Krugersdorp
Dar es Salaam to Lobito: A full order of fresh produce is ordered a month in advance and delivered to the train in Dar es Salaam
Lobito to Dar es Salaam: We are able to restock certain items in Lobito so our kitchen teams have to go shopping at local markets for any outstanding fresh produce
Dar es Salaam to Cape Town: Again, a fresh order is delivered to the train in Dar es Salaam and a resupply is ready in Krugersdorp
Cape Town to Pretoria: A full order is delivered to the train in Cape Town

The logistical planning of food, beverages and the supply of water is astounding with our teams persistently following up to reconfirm orders with new vendors who perhaps do not understand how crucial these supplies are to the success of these journeys.

Other interesting and jaw-dropping facts are the quantities of certain items consumed.

Examples are

4000 to 5000 eggs used for breakfast service and baking
4900 bread rolls
± 890 to 1500kgs of sustainably sourced meat
± 780 to 800kgs of sustainably sourced fish
± 680kgs of dairy produce (milk, yoghurt, creams and a wide variety of cheese options)

It’s impressive, isn’t it?

Dominique tells us that all dry goods are all resupplied at the locations mentioned above because there is not enough space on board to carry it all.

In addition to the stocking of food produce, all liquor, non-alcoholic beverages and bottled water also had to be loaded prior to the train’s departure in Pretoria.

The issue of fresh bottled water, both still and sparkling, has always been a challenge because boxes of water take up much needed space on the train. And as some of you may know, large quantities of bottled water can be costly, especially cross-border in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola – shopping for bottled water in areas such as Kolwezi or Lobito is too difficult and far too expensive.

One of our saving graces is that we had the foresight about 20 years ago to recognise the demand for bottled water (as opposed to tap) so we set up our own water supply company in Cape Town which we called Babamanzi. The company is SANBWA approved and adheres to all the necessary regulations in addition to using plant-based bottles which are also sent back for recycling.

In total, across the six journeys, 600 boxes of still and 300 of sparkling water were loaded onto the train.

And as for the rest of the beverages provided on board. Well, a full bar is loaded onto the train which consists of a variety of wines, spirits, liqueurs, beers, ciders, mixers and a robust supply of non-alcoholic drinks such as cocktails, beers and juices. For these six journeys, our bar team loaded nearly 1000 boxes onto the train with opportunities for any required resupply only available in major city centres.

We spent some time with Maryke, Dominique and the kitchen team, filming behind-the-scenes of chef training, coordinating and packing. We are continuously impressed by our food and beverages team and are always grateful for their ability to learn from each journey so that the preparations for future trips are even more efficient.

Click here to watch the team in action.

The 19^th of August, marked the end of our Trail of Two Oceans trip for 2023. The train has successfully travelled from Pretoria to Cape Town, from the Mother City to Dar es Salaam and for the Tanzanian capital all the way to Lobito in Angola and back. It’s the third time we have operated the Trail of Two Oceans and we are proud that each venture, although laboured with all sorts of behind-the-scenes challenges, has been successful!

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Our new relationship with Fable Mountain

Brenda No Comment May 31,2023 Bar, Guesthouses, Menus, Wine List

Compelling wines of great distinction

Rovos Rail is proud to welcome Fable Mountain Vineyards to our family and excited to serve their delicious wine to our guests.

Fable Mountain Vineyards is a remote artisanal winery in the Tulbagh region, tucked high up against the rugged slopes of the Witzenberg Mountain range, approximately two hours from Cape Town.

Although a fairly young wine farm – it was originally called Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards – it has a history worth noting.

The Scott and Austin families purchased this 180 hectare farm on the edge of the region’s wheat belt in 2000. Construction of the cellar started two years later and the search began to find a winemaker who could share the vision of organically working the farm.

Chris Mullineux joined the venture in 2002 straight out of Stellenbosch University and was quickly joined by an assistant from the US, a young woman named Andrea who was to become his wife. The two would later become shining stars in the Cape wine industry.

Although still a novice, Chris had a passion for the vineyards, seeing himself as a winegrower rather than winemaker; a concept rather unfamiliar in the Cape at that time. This philosophy continued after the departure of the Mullineux’s and through the tenure of Callie Louw, who is now in charge at Porseleinberg in the Swartland.

Between 2005 and 2010, this isolated farm quickly became one of the most talked about projects when it came to wine. Following a visit to the farm in 2006, Tim Atkin, Master of Wine, wrote: “I’d go so far as to say that this is one of the most exciting new wineries I’ve come across in the past decade.”

Then it all went quiet and the farm was put up for sale. Charles Banks, who headed up an American consortium, acquired Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards in October 2010 and changed its name to what it is now known as today, Fable Mountain Vineyards. The same year also saw the arrival of winemakers Rebecca Tanner and Paul Nicholls.

In the autumn of 2016, a circle was completed when Tremayne Smith, who was assistant to Chris and Andrea Mullineaux, arrived on the farm to take charge of the cellar; his first vintage was 2017. Smith has subsequently left to focus on his own label with Francois Haasbroek now at the helm.

One thing has remained constant throughout; the dedication and attention to the vineyards and the quality of the wines themselves.

The higher parts of the farm adjoin a wilderness nature reserve and, at an elevation of between 400m and 650m, was identified as being ideal for the growing of grapes. This site is significantly cooler than the valley floor, and the steep mountain slopes offer shade to the vineyards into the late morning, with the constant breeze ensuring a healthy canopy.

The soils are made up of ancient vertical shale and saprolite, providing excellent drainage and giving the resulting wines a good sense of minerality.

Fable focuses on producing pure expressions of Rhône varieties: Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre are the farm’s main plantings as they thrive in this hot, arid climate. Fable Mountain also makes a white wine which is sourced from vineyards in the Swartland.

The site is a challenging one with bush fires, extreme weather and natural dangers ever present during the growing season. Under the watchful eye of Haasbroek, the vineyard team at Fable Mountain continue to use a biodynamic and agro-ecological approach to ensure that the integrity of the site is maintained.

In addition to the 32 hectares of vineyards, Fable Mountain strives to maintain a balanced, diverse farm ecosystem. During the winter months, herds of Nguni cattle and Merino sheep graze through the vineyards. This, combined with ample cover cropping, provides natural compost and aids in building the soil for future vintages.

The winemaking process at Fable Mountain is hands-on; all grapes are hand harvested and fermented naturally in small tanks and barrels. The team employs a gravity-fed system in their renovated cellar, keeping pumping to a minimum. It ensures gentle extraction and subtle tannin development.

The rosé of choice on your next Rovos Rail adventure is the Fable Mountain Vineyards Belle Flower Rosé 2019, which is named after the abundance of beautiful wild flowers that appear every spring on the mountain.

This is a Provence-style rosé made from carefully selected parcels selected for their quality and fragrance. The grapes are picked early so maintain a good alcohol in the final wine. The grapes are whole bunch pressed before being settled and racked into old 500 litre French oak barrels where they undergo a natural fermentation; malolactic fermentation* is allowed to take place as well.

All the different batches of fruit are kept separate and blended only at the end with maturation lasting 14 months before bottling.

The colour of the Belle Flower Rosé is pale pink with salmon hues. The nose is beautifully layered and complex with wild strawberries, rose petals and hints of mandarin orange and citrus blossom. Strawberries carry through on the palate accompanied with honeydew melon and baking spices such as nutmeg and cardamom with subtle hints of dill and a stone minerality. The finish is long with soft creamy layered flavours and mineral and fresh lingering acidity.

It pairs wonderfully with a variety of dishes including tapenade, a salad Niçoise, paella or grilled chicken.

Anorak Facts:

Residual sugar 2.8 gl
pH 3.53
Alcohol 13.5 %
Total acid 5.1 g/l
Free SO2 11 mg/l
Total SO2 69 mg/l

*Also called malo or MLF, malolactic fermentation is a process where bacteria converts tart malic acid in wine to softer, creamier lactic acid (the same acid found in milk). The process reduces acidity in wine, enhancing the body and flavour persistence of wine, producing wines of greater palate softness.

Images courtesy of Fable Mountain Vineyards

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Meerlust, iconic South African wines

Brenda No Comment Jul 22,2022 Guesthouses, Guests, Journeys, Menus, Wine List

Rovos Rail and Meerlust — *The Blonde Abroad with the Meerlust Pinot Noir*

How many ways are there to applaud Hannes Myburgh and his Meerlust team? Rovos Rail has enjoyed the happiest and longest relationship with the iconic wine farm and it’s little wonder that Meerlust is regarded as a South African national treasure.

It’s one of the oldest family-run wine farms in the country having been owned since 1756 by the Myburgh family for a remarkable eight generations. The gracious Cape Dutch Manor House is also the oldest surviving grand farmhouse in the Stellenbosch district.

Meerlust also produced the second Bordeaux blend ever produced in South Africa – the Meerlust Rubicon – which soon became a benchmark of local red wine quality and gained iconic status in the global marketplace.

“Alea iacta est” (The die is cast) are the words that Julius Caesar is supposed to have said as he led his troops towards Rome in 49BC. The crucial border of the ancient capital was the Rubicon River and the decision to cross it marked an irrevocable point in history. It would profoundly shift the course of Roman politics; there could be no turning back.

Some 2000 years later, a watershed event occurred in the life of Nico Myburgh, father of the current custodian of Meerlust, Hannes Myburgh. Holidaying in Bordeaux, he discovered that the terroir in this area of France was similar to that of the Eerste River Valley. Both have a distinctive climate, characterised by a cooling sea breeze. And both have a soil structure made up of decomposed granite and clay.

Nico returned determined to create a blend of his own that would match those of the French. In 1980, after several years of experimentation together with winemaker Giorgio Dalla Cia, he announced the birth of the new blend. With proportions of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, a new style of wine was created in South Africa. Like Caesar, there could be no turning back.

Nico and Giorgio had already considered a number of names for the new blend when Professor Dirk Opperman from the University of Stellenbosch, a friend of Nico’s, suggested that “Rubicon” might be appropriate. The pair had, after all, crossed a new frontier – and changed the way South Africans thought about red wine.

An interesting point to note is that Billy Hofmeyr of Welgemeend released the first Bordeaux blend in 1979. Meerlust has, however, discovered bottles of the 1978 Meerlust Rubicon although these were never released commercially. These were found at the Tabernacle at Distell, the famous underground wine cellar in Stellenbosch, and four bottles were sold five years ago at the Nederburg Auction for ZAR16 000 each.

Today Rubicon is only made in quality years and the portions of each variety vary according to vintage (it also now includes a little Petit Verdot). Since its beginnings in 1980, five vintages have been declassified and not released – the 1985, 1990, 2002, 2011 and the 2019.

The 2018 Rubicon, currently being served on all Rovos Rail journeys, is a classically proportioned blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.

The harvest season was really challenging, due to a prolonged drought which some believe to be the worst in 100 years.

Each vineyard block is hand-harvested and fermented separately, run off into 300-litre oak barrels and large foudre*, and monitored until it is time to blend; in this vintage it was after eight months. At that point, a careful assessment of the merits of each parcel is assessed and the blend decided upon. It spends another 10 months in barrel for harmonisation before bottling, where it will see out another two years before it is released. However, further bottle maturation is advised for the intriguing complexity of this classic wine to unfold and reveal itself.

It boasts the quintessential Rubicon nose with violets, ripe plum, cedar wood, fennel and intense spiciness. A typical liquorice note also evident on the nose. Still young and intense, the palate is full bodied, structured but packed with fresh dark fruit and rounded tannins. This is a vintage that is more approachable in youth because of the ripeness and richness levels attained in 2018 but will provide great complexity with further maturation.

It is a stellar advertisement for Meerlust and an illustration of the commitment to quality that underpins this famous old estate.

It is a wine that demands food! Feed it a roast beef done rare. This iconic Bordeaux red blend also pairs well with venison, game, pot roast and noble cheese. Or serve with slow roasted lamb shank and oven roasted sweet potato.

Meerlust was one of the early pioneers of Pinot Noir as well with the release of its first Pinot Noir also in 1980. This was around the same time that Hamilton Russell near Hermanus released its first vintage.

Stellenbosch is typically considered to be too warm for growing Pinot Noir, however Meerlust’s proximity to False Bay makes it at least three degrees cooler than the typical average temperature in Stellenbosch.

The Meerlust Pinot Noir 2020 is an exciting fusion of the refreshingly modern and the tirelessly classical. The grapes are selected from three clones of Pinot Noir with an average age of 21 years. Grapes were handpicked from two blocks. The majority of grapes are destemmed and crushed to small fermenters, but a portion of the harvest is only destemmed, and another portion is fermented as whole bunch. Light handling during fermentation allows gentle extractions resulting in elegant structure. The wine was matured in new and second fill barrels for 10 months before bottling.

On the nose the wine shows pronounced floral perfume with brooding and alluring red berry fruit, earthy, wild mushrooms and hints of spice.

On the palate there are very pure Pinot fruit flavours on entry with red cherry and musk flavours tied together by a fresh acidity. The wine has layered complexity with great elegance and finesse. There is a fine and delicate, almost powdery, tannin on the finish.

It pairs with various food dishes including white and red meats, duck, Parma ham, grilled line fish, tuna, wild mushrooms and traditional cheeses.

Anorak Facts:

Meerlust Rubicon 2018
Residual sugar: 2.6 g/l
PH: 3.63
Total acidity: 5.54 g/l
Alcohol: 14.3vol %
Meerlust Pinot Noir 2020
Residual sugar: 2.51g/ l
PH: 3.55
Total acidity: 5.71g/l
Alcohol: 12.5vol %

* A foudre is a large wooden vat, popular in France’s Rhône Valley, significantly larger than typical oak barrels, often with the capacity to hold more than a 1000 litres of wine. Using a larger vat or barrel than a typical barrique means there is less wine to wood exposure and less obvious wood or oak flavours.

We feel privileged to work with this icon in the South African wine industry and we are thrilled to be able to serve these two delicious wines on our trains.

Congratulations to you, Hannes and team!

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Rovos Rail and two beautiful Thelema wines

Brenda No Comment Jul 18,2022 Charter Train, Events Train, Guesthouses, Guests, Journeys, Menus, Wine List

Never did a great man hate good wine …or an accountant named Gyles become an award-winning winemaker.

33 years on and at Rovos Rail we are still star struck by these two beautiful Thelema wines.

It’s a story that reads like fiction. A hard-working articled clerk visits a bottle store in Kimberley and finds his life changed forever when he has a sip of Puligny-Montrachet from far away Burgundy.

It reminds of us of our beginnings. A hard-working businessman visits an auction hosted by the Heritage Railway Association of South Africa and his life changed forever. The story of how Rovos Rail and Thelema have not only succeeded but also persevered since the 1980’s is one of relentless dedication, optimism and trust.

Our infamous Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon may have tasted stars but this bottle of sublime French Chardonnay resulted in our accountant leaving the profession, moving his young family to the Cape winelands and starting a new life’s journey.

The man in question is Gyles Webb, now the owner of two renowned South African wine estates – Thelema Mountain Vineyards outside Stellenbosch and Sutherland Vineyards in Elgin.

After his epiphany, Webb headed to Stellenbosch – with his wife and baby son in tow – to do a B.Sc. (Agric.) degree majoring in Viticulture and Oenology. He then worked for Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (SFW) and did a stint in California before purchasing a run-down fruit farm at the top of Helshoogte Pass in 1983. This became Thelema which released its first wines in 1988. In 2002, a second wine estate Sutherland was added to the family stable.

Situated on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain, Thelema occupies mainly south-facing aspects that afford spectacular views of the Simonsberg, Drakenstein and Jonkershoek mountains. Elevations ranging from 370 to 640 meters above sea-level make the 157-hectare estate one of the coolest and highest wine farms in Stellenbosch.

Webb was named John Platter’s Wine Man of the Year in 1993 and was the Diners Club award winner for 1994. Current Thelema and Sutherland winemaker is Rudi Schultz while Webb remains as owner, director and cellarmaster.

Although it was a white wine that captured Webb’s imagination all those years ago, the high altitude and rich red soils at Thelema are ideal for premium quality wine grape production and the estate is now one of the leaders in Cabernet Sauvignon, placing Stellenbosch Cabernets firmly on the global wine map.

With some of the most exceptional terroir in the Western Cape, Thelema have rightly resurrected and restored their premier league standing as one of the most sought after and age worthy wine producers in the Cape, a position they held throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Travellers on Rovos Rail can sample the Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. This was a warm, dry vintage with a late start which resulted in smaller tonnage but yielded balanced, well-structured wines with lovely intensity.

All fruit was destemmed, crushed and pumped into stainless steel tanks and saw two aerated pump-overs per day during fermentation before being racked into barrels for malolactic fermentation and an additional 18 months of ageing in French oak barrels, 40% of which were new.

It is complex and stylish, with classic Stellenbosch Cab aromas of ripe blackcurrant, violets, dark chocolate, cedar wood, cedar spice and pencil shavings. This wine is bone dry yet exhibits a lovely sweet fruit character on the palate, showing exceptional depth, weight and length. It is drinking well now, but you can tuck this wine away for 15 years for greater reward. It is a perfect accompaniment to grilled beef, especially with a Béarnaise sauce and rocket salad.

Nearly 20 years after purchasing the Thelema farm, Webb felt it was time for a new challenge. He embarked on a search for the right property and terroir for a second vineyard and, in 2002, purchased an idyllic apple farm in the cool coastal region of Elgin and Sutherland was born. Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay grapes were planted first and more varietals added over time.

The Sutherland Vineyards are situated nine kilometres off the Atlantic Ocean with altitudes of 140 to 250m above sea level with ideal cool climate conditions.

The same ethos is used with Sutherland as with Thelema: Grape quality being the single most important factor and a policy of minimum interference, allowing the wines to be a true expression of each vineyard.

The Sutherland Riesling 2021 is made in an off-dry style, showing fragrant spice, orange blossom and lime on the nose with flavours of white peach, hints of citrus and an elegant minerality. The wine shows a delicate balance of sweetness and acidity. Enjoy as an aperitif or with salads, chicken and mildly spicy dishes.

You may be interested to learn that Thelema is named after monk, doctor and writer François Rabelais’ Abbey of Thélème, an imagined utopian abbey on the banks of the Loire. Only one law governed its members: “Fay ce que vouldras!” – “Do what thou wilt!” Among Rabelais’ more memorable quotes were “Wine is the most civilised thing on earth” and “Never did a great man hate good wine.”

It is a message that Webb clearly took to heart more than 40 years ago.

Anorak Facts

Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Residual sugar 2.1 g/l
pH 3.48
Total acid 5.7 g/l
Alcohol: 14 %
Awards: 4.5 stars Platter’s Wine Guide 2022;
93 points Tim Atkin and Greg Sherwood
Vegan and vegetarian friendly

Sutherland Riesling 2021

Residual sugar 6.0 g/l
pH 2.77
Total acid 7.9 g/l
Alcohol 12.5%
Vegan and vegetarian friendly
Only 5184 bottles produced

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Rovos Rail goes greener with Fortis X

Brenda No Comment Jul 18,2022 Guesthouses, Guests, Journeys, Menus, Sustainability

Our time at Rovos Rail during various levels of lockdown in 2020 and 2021 was not spent idly. We spent many months discussing how we could go even greener and we finally had the time to tackle the issue of bottled water. This has been a long time coming and we are relieved and happy to have introduced new plant-based and biodegradable water bottles to our trains, departures lounges and to our guesthouses.

We have our own small bottled water company called Babamanzi based in Cape Town which has been certified by SANBWA – South African National Bottled Water Association. Our water plant is small and energy-efficient which further assists us in reducing our environmental footprint. The introduction of our new bottles ensures that we are supplying water to our guests which has been locally sourced and packaged with our planet in mind.

Over the years we have tried various earth-friendlier options which have included glass and aluminium but neither worked too well. We have to take a great deal of water with us on our journeys, especially our longer trips, so we needed a solution where the boxes could be stacked safely and nothing would break or explode.

We got in touch with the good folks at Fortis X who helped us navigate all of our water needs. The plant-based water bottles are made entirely from sugarcane and 100% biodegradable into compost. Fortis X also manufacture bottles from a variety of materials which include Bio-PET, PHA, PLA and other compostable as well as bio-based polymers. Some of these polymers are sugarcane based, which means the bottles are 100% made from plants, with zero plastic and no additives. #

All the water bottles are tested as food-contact safe, with zero leaching into the contents of the bottle. Further testing proved rapid decomposition in certain environments, especially with compost. Such materials degrade into lactic acid which is a valuable soil supplement.

This range of revolutionary bioplastic products are made entirely from naturally-occurring plant sugar (dextrose) found in harvested plant starch. Many products can be made from bio-based polymers and Fortis X specialises in producing bottles and bottle preforms.

At Rovos Rail we understand that as a participant in the local and global hospitality industry we have a responsibility to go greener wherever we can. Our team is working tirelessly to find solutions to the remaining waste challenges we have and we are committed to being as earth-friendly as possible. We are the green train after all.

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Rovos Rail and the Hamilton Russell Chardonnay

Brenda No Comment Jul 15,2022 Guesthouses, Guests, Journeys, Menus, Wine List

Rovos Rail has enjoyed a long love affair with the Hamilton Russell Chardonnay and are proud of our happy relationship with the family and team. The superb dry white has been a firm favourite on our wine list since our early days and it has always been an incredible treat for our guests.

The plaudits keep coming in for their 2021 Chardonnay and we are delighted to be in a position where we can still serve this delicious wine on board all of our trips as well as our guesthouses. Especially on our Cape Town journey as the estate is not too from the Mother City and absolutely worth a visit!

It marks the 40^th vintage of Chardonnay from one of South Africa’s most renowned estates with 2021 being an exceptional vintage for the farm. Owner Anthony Hamilton Russell is clearly excited about this wine: “Both the winemaker Emul Ross and I believe this to be the best vintage of Hamilton Russell Vineyards to date.”

Considering how well Hamilton Russell wines do both locally and in the international marketplace, this is an impressive claim with those who have tried it believing it has all the hallmarks of an absolute classic.

Back in 1975, successful advertising executive Tim Hamilton Russell (Anthony’s late father) bought 170 hectares of land (a former sheep and wheat farm) not far from Hermanus and planted the first vineyards in what was to become the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley ward (appellation) in 2009.

*Image courtesy of Hamilton Russell Vineyards*

Hamilton Russell had been encouraged by his friend Dezso Pongracz (whose surname was given to the well-known MCC) to look outside of conventional wine-making areas in South Africa. Hamilton Russell senior himself believed that the southern location and cool climate of the area would produce excellent wines and this wine-making pioneer was soon proven correct.

The estate is located only three kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean and the cool breezes that come from the ocean make this one of the coolest regions for wine production in South Africa.

In the spirit of experimentation, Hamilton Russell senior made 11 wines from eight different wine varietals with the first harvest in 1981. But it was not only in wine-making that he was a forerunner. In an industry not renowned for its progressive politics at that time, Tim was a passionate advocate of minimum wages for Black workers and was a prime mover in the abolition of the “dop” system of paying wages in wine. In 1989, Hamilton Russell and four other Cape winemakers formed the Cape Winelands Commitment, which rejected apartheid and outlined improved farm employment practices.

In 1991, his son Anthony Hamilton Russell, the current second generation owner, took over and purchased the property from his father in 1994. Anthony and his wife Olive conducted extensive soil research and immediately changed the farm’s focus entirely to only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – ideally suited to the sunny but cool, maritime climate and the “stony, iron- and clay-rich shale derived soils” in Africa’s southern tip.

Today there are 30 Ha of Chardonnay and 22 Ha of Pinot Noir vines, specialising in producing highly individual terroir driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which are widely regarded as the best in South Africa and among the finest in the New World, and are available in restaurants and shops in more than 50 countries worldwide.

While production is small, the impact on international and local markets has been significant.  Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay is different to most New World Chardonnays; low-vigour, stony, clay-rich soil and a cool maritime mesoclimate give rise to a tighter, drier, more complex mineral character and length to complement the varietal fruit. The yields are smaller and the wines perfectly express the terroir in which they were grown.

The Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2021 was matured for nine months in a combination of 228- and 300-litre barrels, of which 26% were new, plus a small portion in foudre*. 2021 is regarded as a stellar vintage that was later and cooler than usual. The nose shows blossom, intense citrus and pear, subtle oak and a little smoky reduction while the palate has soft oak spice, well integrated creaminess, good fruit purity and bright natural acidity.

It is a wine with classic Hamilton Russell Vineyards’ length and complexity – elegant, textured and intense with a strong personality of both place and vintage. This wine pairs wonderfully with poultry, fish and seafood served with creamy sauces. It’s ready to drink now but will get even better over the next few years.

Anorak Facts

Alcohol: 13.40%
Acid: 6.80 G/L
Ph: 3.32
Residual sugar: 1.90 G/L
Barrel fermentation: 68% 228 litre, 26% 300 litre French oak barrels
Foudre: 6%
Barrel ageing: 9 Months
1st fill: 26% 2nd Fill: 32% 3rd Fill: 31% 4th Fill: 11%
French coopers: 100% Francois Freres
Yield: 2.35 tons/ha, 15.65 hl/ha

* A foudre is a large wooden vat, popular in France’s Rhône Valley, significantly larger than typical oak barrels, often with the capacity to hold more than a 1000 litres of wine. Using a larger vat or barrel than a typical barrique means there is less wine to wood exposure and less obvious wood or oak flavours.

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A toast to our bartenders

Shopping for Lobito

Our new relationship with Fable Mountain

Compelling wines of great distinction

Meerlust, iconic South African wines

Rovos Rail and two beautiful Thelema wines

Rovos Rail goes greener with Fortis X

Rovos Rail and the Hamilton Russell Chardonnay

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