Brookdale Estate is situated on the Hawequa Bos Pad in Paarl, just down the road from one of South Africa’s historic wine farms, Nederburg.
There, the young Kiara Scott, a Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé, previous assistant winemaker to Duncan Savage, and now Brookdale winemaker, is reimagining what Paarl wine truly means. Or at least, their little slice of it. She talks about the Paarl Mistral, a cold South-Easter that blows over the DuToitskloof Pass that flanks the property and cools down the vines, previously seen as too hot to produce anything of elegance or finesse. Though THEY were wrong. Since Englishman Tim Rudd bought the property in 2015, together with consultant Duncan Savage (also Tim Atkin MW’s Winemaker of the Year in 2022), they undertook a substantial replanting schedule, rethinking just what might be suited to this beautiful valley on the Hawequa Road. And they found blends, esoteric yet completely suited to the area. Their Sixteen Field blend, as the name infers, is a blend of sixteen varieties. Kiara always misses out one or two when reciting the components, is interplanted and made in a Rhône-style, though really, a Hawequa-style, to reflect the nuance of the terroir, and showcase its true potential as attested to by the critics. This year they also released the Bradbourne four-variety blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Picpoul, and Rousanne, named for a village in England, and inexorably drawing closer to just what will make Paarl wine great again.
As such, you’re some of the first to KNOW, and together with the old vine Chenin Blanc, we’d very much recommend you stock your cellars before the ‘public’ find out about this Hawequa-Paarl gem.
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95+ Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“A pale crystalline lemon yellow colour, the aromatics are wonderfully cool, mineral and restrained showing top notes of the estate’s classical dusty granitic minerality before hints of dried hay, green baking herbs, dried fennel, jasmine, white peach and melted honey on warm white toast. Like the 2021, the wine displays a silky fresh textural palate with a fine harmonious weight of peach stone, apple pastille, nectarine and yellow orchard fruits underpinned by a spicy, liquid minerality and phenolic herbal spice on the long, sleek, alluring finish. Once again, a brilliantly conceived creation that speaks of the estate’s vineyards, vision and terroir over any specific varietal or winemaking characteristic. If you missed the impressive sell-out 2021 maiden release, then this delicious white is right up there again. Drink now and over 10 to 12+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.
95 Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“Made up of a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Piquepoul Blanc, and Marsanne, this stylishly crafted new classical white from the Brookdale Estate in Paarl is wonderfully perfumed and expressive with exotic notes of honeysuckle, white blossom, peach stone, waxy apple peel, crushed grey slate, and granitic mineral undertones. The palate boasts a broad fleshy texture with succulent soft yellow pineapple pastille, hints of marzipan, pear purée, peach bellini, and yet more liquid mineral nuances. Very Rhone-like in appearance but also beautifully pithy and complex, showing off the very finest characteristics of Roussanne and Marsanne without compromising freshness. This is another very classy white addition to the Brookdale Estate portfolio that’s sure to be a big gastronomic food matching hit. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.
