Diemersdal Wine Estate

DIEMERSDAL NEWSLETTER 23rd July 2009

Dear Wine Lover,

I just realized again South African wine can definitely compete with the best of the new and old world.
At Madiba’s 91st birthday bash as well as at Barack Obama’s inauguration South African Cap Classique was the better choice to serve above the king of Champagne, namely France.

We can definitely also share a glass to the 2009 harvest, which was an exceptional vintage in the Durbanville Wine Valley, especially for the white varieties at Diemersdal.

Very exciting news is that we have recently bottled the complete range of Sauvignon Blanc that we produce in our portfolio. They are already available from the farm.
You are more than welcome to come and judge our Sauvignon Blanc in an informal line-up tasting, to discover the difference between a grassy, mineral style versus a more tropical, fruit driven style.

NEWS Recognition/Awards

The Diemersdal Private Collection 2006 (Bordeaux-style red blend) has recently received the ultimate accolade of a 5 Star rating in the August edition of Wine Magazine.
This red blend category is seen as South Africa’s most prestigious and a total number of 123 wines were assessed.
Only 38 wines have achieved this rating to date. This is also a first for a Durbanville wine.
Make sure not to miss out on this vintage of our flagship red wine!

NEW RELEASES

The complete range of Sauvignon Blanc, consisting of 5 different styles, are now available from the farm, namely:

Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Diemersdal Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Diemersdal 8 Rows Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Diemersdal MM Louw Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Diemersdal Sir Lambert Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Please note the MM Louw family range Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is a limited release and unfortunately not available for tasting.

FUN TIMES @ DIEMERSDAL

The first Soup, Sip and Bread event took place recently last month on Father’s Day and have been a great success for all the farms which took part in the Durbanville ward.
At Diemersdal a relaxed family day was spend with a variety of winter soups, breads, and lovely cheese platters.
Wine tastings were done, and the new 2008 vintage of the Red Matys Cape Blend and the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc was also available on the day.

As part of our monthly farm tastings, a chocolate pairing with our range of wines was presented by a well-known belgium chocolatier in June.

This was a once-off tasting that we have done, but was so popular, that we will definitely try to fit in another before the end of this year.

The chocolate truffles were infused with the aromas and flavours that you find in our wines, so this was definitely a match made in heaven!

UPCOMING EVENTS

We are continuing with our ever-popular monthly farm evening tastings, which are held once a month on a thursday evening.
Come and experience a relaxed informative tasting while meeting the winemaker and/or marketer.
This tasting includes 5 wines and a light dinner.

For inquiries about the next tasting and bookings please phone Inge at 021- 976 3361

NEW SERVICE

We will soon be offering a door-to-door wine delivery service in the Western Cape as well as anywhere else in South Africa.
The charge will be R2 per bottle in the Western Cape and R5 per bottle for all the other regions, with a minimum order of 12 bottles.

Please phone the farm for more information or send an email to orders@diemersdal.co.za

REMINDER

With spring around the corner, I look forward in welcoming you soon again with a lovely chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc 2009.

Make a note of the Season of Sauvignon Festival, happening this year on the weekend of 3&4 October 2009!

Diemersdal regards

Inge

FEBRUARY NEWS

Dear Wine Lover,

We would like to thank you for all your wonderful support in 2008 and wish you a blessed & exciting wine-filled 2009!

A great thank you to all our loyal customers!

Exciting news is that our cellar has been renovated recently, and we are getting ready for the new harvest starting as we speak.The last space in our cellar has been filled with eight 36000 L stainless steel tanks, and new 225L French oak barrels arrived recently.

The cellar staff has been kept busy with cleaning tanks and barrels, as well as organizing the cellar, while waiting for the
first grapes to arrive in the first week of February.

Thys Louw and Mari van der Merwe, our winemakers, are spending some time in the vineyards monitoring the ripening stages of the grapes. The last vineyard practices are done to ensure perfect ripening of the different cultivars.

We are planning to start harvest some Chardonnay grapes later this week for a Methode Cap Classique, which will be bottled for the first time at Diemersdal this year. The harvest of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage will follow soon after.

According to Div van Niekerk, our viticulturist, the delayed winter temperature resulted in a two week later harvest. A relatively smaller harvest for the white varieties, with berries smaller in size than normal, but positively this result in more complexed flavours in our wines.

Winemakers of Diemersdal

If the beautiful South African sunshine and warm weather continue, we are confident that 2009 will be an outstanding harvest.

On the staff/personnel side we have made a few new appointments that we are confident will add value to our brand. Melanie Briers, who completed her final winemaking studies recently, will be assisting our winemakers in the celllar. She is supported by Lila Carstens, final year student at the University of Stellenbosch.
Inge Heuer has been appointed as our new Marketer. She is responsible for handling all marketing and tasting related issues, as well as the Restaurant trade.

Our wine is still going from strength to strength, and in this year’s John Platter Wine Guide four of our wines have received 41/2 stars, and four garnering 4 stars.

Come and experience the passion of six generations that contribute to our signature wines.

Until next time.

NOVEMBER NEWS

What's news @ Diemersdal

Diemersdal had a busy and very exciting past few months.

The Season of Sauvignon Festival on the 13/14 September was definitely one the highlights, with almost 1500 people visiting us over the past two days. The following weekend we hosted the local church "carnival" with many activities, handcrafted items and food for sale.

We are proud to announce the exciting new accolades that were received for our wines at local and international competitions:
- Veritas Awards: Gold for Pinotage 2007
- AWC-Vienna International Wine Challenge : 3 Golds for Matys 2007;
Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and Unwooded Chardonnay 2008
- Spar Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc Challenge: Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (4Stars)
- Our Pinotage 2006 was selected for the SAA Buisness Class in 2009

- Michelangelo International Wine Awards:
Runners up Grand Prix Trophy and Double Gold : Eight Rows Sauvignon Blanc 2008.
3 Golds for: MM Louw Sauvignon Blanc 2007; Private Collection 2005 and the Barrel Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

- Winemakers Choice Diamond Awards for the Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and Pinotage 2007

We launched SA's first Sauvignon Rosé , a Sauvignon Blanc base infused with fresh Cabernet Sauvignon that resulted in a delicate, fresh, lively wine with distinctive Sauvignon Blanc aromas of passion fruit and lime, with hints of cherries and blackcurrant, flavours of the Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Tienie Louw

From the vineyard...

With an unexpectedly high rainfall this winter, the soil's water table is well saturated. Budding is 2 weeks later because of the late winter, and in the young Chardonnay block we had spots of hail damage, but despite that it looks very promising for 2009. Soils for next year's plantings of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are getting prepared.

Our sheep and Angus cows are fat after a green winter and see that summer is here because Swallows has just arrived.
- Div van Niekerk

In the cellar...

Out with the old and in with the new! Renovations just in time for the 2009 vintage are currently taking place in the cellar and we are very excited about the new tanks and more cellar space for next year.

On production side, we are getting the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay Reserve, Merlot, Shiraz and Pinotage 2007 ready for the next bottling 1-3 December. Racking and returns on the 2008 reds and blending the Matys 2008, before its last few months in barrel, will keep us busy.
- Thys & Mari



NEW HIGH FOR DIEMERSDAL'S LOUWS		19 / 09 / 2008


	Historic estate's global profile enhanced by wins at 2008 Michelangelo International Wine Awards. Diemersdal Wine Estate has raised its world profile with the news that its Eight Rows Sauvignon Blanc 2008 has been named Grand Prix Runner-up in the prestigious Michelangelo International Wine Awards announced on September 13. The international judging panel also awarded Diemersdal three Gold Medals: the MM Louw Unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc 2007, the Diemersdal Private Collection Red Blend 2005 and the Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel selection 2007 were named. Silver Medals were given to the Diemersdal Winemaker Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and Diemersdal Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Winemaker Thys Louw and colleague Mari van der Merwe share the honours and look forward to the enhanced international reputation the Michelangelo awards will bring to their celebrated range of dryland wines. Thys is the sixth generation of Louws to make wine at Diemersdal. His ancestor Mathys Micheal Louw started the tradition in the 1800s and there has been an unbroken line of family winemakers ever since. "Awards for us at Diemersdal are not individual prizes but a cause for celebration for six generations of our family. When I proudly receive an award for a wine with my ancestor MM Louw's name on the label I do so with a sense of humility, because even more than a 120 years since patriarch MM produced his first vintage at Diemersdal, his influence is as ingrained as ever in all we do," said Thys.



PINK, THE SEASON'S NEW WHITE Diemersdal reveals the new Sauvignon Rosé		20 / 08 / 2008


	The first of its kind in South Africa: a Sauvignon Blanc base infused with a whisper of Cabernet Sauvignon, to create a compelling marriage of fruit flavours. 93% Sauvignon Blanc / 7% Cabernet Sauvignon