Now, I don’t often get to do this when I am talking about wine… but it is fun to find a wine that few people know about… or have even tried.
However, there is a wine from Clairvaux that has an interesting history in the area of Robertson, South Africa.
My daughter Karen enjoyed her time working on her internship in Cape Town… and I casually asked her to keep an eye out for some interesting wines. Little did she know that her entire trip would be spent investigating certain aspects of my chosen avocation.
I tried not to abuse her good nature…too much. Poor, Karen.
Karen looked into some of the smaller… what we might call ’boutique’ wineries as well as the main stays… but in her travels and friendships, she found something very interesting… something very special.
It is always amusing how someone will pass up a 1955 Château La Tour to study in depth a new winery that they have never laid eyes on.
Clairvaux is just one of those occasions. While one of my ‘friends’ began studiously studying my latest acquisition… I nicely took it from his hands and said… oh, I think there is something more interesting for you to see over here. Of course, I now had him hooked. I shrugged and said that I didn’t think it was easily available in this country (partly true)… so I suggested he look at something else…. a common Margaux , perhaps.
There began the saga… the legend of Clairvaux.
Clairvaux can be found in the Robertson Area of South Africa… and if you get in the area… it is one place on my list to visit.
I’ve talked enough… you can’t get it easily anyway… Buah-ha-ha! ( I so wanted to say that)
Roger Freberg
