Tasting notes:

Started when a group of Stellenbosch growers formed a co operative in 1941, Koelenhof prospered under the direction of Pieter Hugo de Vries, a talented grower and winemaker. The 1679 wine range is named after the year when the town of Stellenbosch was established and some of the first Chenin Blanc grapes were planted in the Cape growing area by Dutch settlers. This wine, pale gold in colour, shows concentrated pineapple, galia melon and tangerine fruit, accented by creamy oak and a touch of wet wool. The ripe flavours on the palate are beautifully integrated and balanced by bracing acidity. Complex and lingering, the wine is a good pairing for a summer salad of artichoke hearts, pink grapefruit slices and black olives served on watercress, with parsley and thyme. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)