Description
Klipkers, also known as the Candlewood tree, is endemic to Paarl Mountain and prominent between rock crevices. Apart from being used as firewood, several other early farming activities involved this tree. The bark was used in tanning and wagon brake-blocks. When the fruits fall among the rocks, they are eagerly consumed by the dassies (hyrax) that live there.
The nose gives great tension and poise, brimming with apricot stone-fruit, peach and mango on the nose. Fresh, vibrant and textured with weighted density that finishes with elegance and freshness on the palate.
Producer Profile
De Kleine Wijn Koöp (the little wine co-op) started out as just a few good okes making awesome wines with cool labels, calling in winemaker friends to make each very limited-batch cuvée. Now in the talented hands of winemaker Wynand Grobler, the range has gained greater focus and direction without losing any of the original irreverence and adventure. Given Wynand’s experience in the valley, Franschhoek is becoming a bit of a calling card but like in the past the “little co-op” spreads its net far and wide seeking out great grapes across the beautiful and varied terroirs of the Cape winelands.
Reviews
JancisRobinson.com 16.5
Full bottle 1,152 g. According to the Museum Wines website, ‘Klipkers, also known as the Candlewood tree, is endemic to Paarl Mountain and prominent between rock crevices. Apart from being used as firewood, several other early farming activities involved this tree. The bark was used in tanning and wagon brake-blocks. When the fruits fall among the rocks, they are eagerly consumed by the dassies (hyrax) that live there.’ Screwcap. If you take two handfuls of sugar snap peas, dunk them in boiling water for maybe four minutes, dunk them in iced water for two minutes, and draw them through a bowl of lemon-zested ricotta with a half teaspoon of honey, a few mint leaves and a zig-zag of black pepper, it would be the flavour equivalent of this wine. And maybe a very pretty accompaniment. It’s all these things. 13% [Tamlyn Currin, 23/10/2024]
Anticipated maturity: 2024-2025
Greg Sherwood 92
The great white blend, or wit versnit in Afrikaans, is one of the South African wine industries great gifts to the world of fine wine. Indeed, so famous are the wines that prices for many have risen to match their incredible popularity. The incredible Klipkers 2022, or another name for the endemic Candlewood tree, is a white blend from Die Kleine Wijn Koop that s a true phenomenon, combining 62% Grenache Blanc, 24% Grenache Gris and 14% Verdelho to create a masterful fine wine at an incredibly appealing price point. The aromatics are incredibly sophisticated and grown-up boasting a dusty vein of smoky granitic minerality, dried green herbs, lemon grass and naartjie peel over intense notes of white citrus, yellow pomelo grapefruit, sea breeze salinity and freshly grated lime peel nuances. Medium bodied and deliciously mouth filling, the wine shows an incredibly round glycerol mouthfeel for a 13% abv. wine that is positively bursting with complex notes of yellow citrus, fresh yellow orchard fruits drizzled in honey, and delicate dried guava roll hints of the long, dry, pithy mineral finish. Few, if any other wine regions in the world can deliver a classy white Mediterranean blend this good. A perfectly versatile, food friendly, white wine you will definitely want on your wine rack! [Greg Sherwood MW, 17/09/2024]
