In 1993, a group of enthusiasts purchased a farmstead  near the town of Franshoek, that had been founded in 1776.  The group painstakingly replanted the vineyards and restored the property, and built a new winery.  The farmstead was called Boekenhoutskloof*.

Boekenhoutskloof is commited to innovation in pursuit of quality, and to this end they have a much more modern regime than many of their neighbors.  Led by Mark Carter, one of the original investors, the winemaking team uses the most modern equipment to get the best out of their phenomenal sites.  Since the first release of Shiraz in 1997, the winery has gone from one success to another, and one of the best wines has always been The Chocolate Block.

A blend of Syrah (55%), Grenache (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (16%), Cinsault (5%) and Viognier. They source the Syrah fruit from a dry-land Malmesbury vineyard in the Swartland. The Grenache noir grapes come from the Oudam farm in Citrusdal, being the oldest Grenache vineyard in South Africa planted in 1966. The Cinsault comes from 42 year old vines in Wellington and the Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier fruit comes from the Boekenhoutskloof vineyards.

This is a big, rich, easy drinking wine, that almost hides the structure and breed that lie just under the surface of the chocolatey (yes!) fruit.  Try it with braised shortribs, bison or buffalo, blue cheese, mushrooms with sweet or rich sauce, and all manner of full flavored foods.  Drink now – 2018

*I love Afrikanz names, they sound so round.  I am always surprised when the just mean something normal.  Here is the winery’s explanation of this name:

The direct translation of Boekenhoutskloof is ‘ravine of the boekenhout.’  Great, but what is a boekenhout, and how does one pronounce it? Last things first, boekenhout is pronounced ‘book-n-howed’.  A boekenhout is an indigenous Cape birch tree that was greatly prized for furniture making.”

The romance, I’m a afraid, is dead, but we can still repeat the name over and over to ourselves and imagine what it could mean.