| Country: | South Africa |
| Region: | Franschhoek |
| Winery: | Colmant |
| Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
| Vintage: | NV |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Lovely salmon pink color. A very delicate nose of strawberry and redcurrant fruit with floral undertones. There is a silky richness on the palate full of red berries balanced with a subtle bready texture. Very accessible. Will also develop nicely over time.
Colmant Brut Rose NV is made from 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay
This wine spends a minimum of 24 months on the lees at a consistent temperature of 14C before degorgement.15% of the base wine has been barrel fermented.
Pinot Noir 75%, Chardonnay 25% (Franschhoek, Robertson and Elgin).
15% of the blend is made of reserve wine from the previous vintages and 15% of the base wine is barrel fermented.
This wine spends a minimum of 24 months on the lees at a consistent temperature of 14°C before degorgement.
Perfect as a summer sundowner. A delicious complement to white meat, strawberry dessert and decadent dark chocolate.
Review:
"The Brut Rosé (disgorged March 2018) is a blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay with 15% base wine and 15% reserve wine, with the Pinot Noir macerated on its skins for color, matured on the lees for 24 months. Deep salmon in color, it has a fine mousse and attractive strawberry and cherry scents on the nose - no shy and retiring rosé here. The palate is well balanced with Braeburn apples, hints of strawberry and a touch of tart cherries fanning out toward the creamy-textured, satisfying finish. A sparkling rosé that’s proud to be pink!- Neal Martin"
- Vinous (August 28th 2018), 91 pts
Gosset Grande Reserve Brut is made from 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier.
The color is bright and golden, the nose open and expressive, and the palate is dominated by a refreshing mineral tension.
Gosset Grande Reserve is a truly faithful expression of the Gosset style. To achieve a cuvee of this quality, the cellar-master has blended the best of the various champagne crus at the grape- harvest with wines specially chosen from our reserve stocks for their richness and maturity.
This champagne is the perfect accompaniment to mild and subtly spiced dishes with cooked fruit, sweet/savory dishes or tajines. A blend of three vintages, the Grande Réserve Brut is adaptable by nature — from apéritif to dessert.
Review:
The nose opens with the fresh ripeness of yellow apple and highlights of Granny Smith. It has beautifully subtle autolysis on the palate, deepening into notes of creamy apple crumble, Golden Delicious and Mirabelle plum, while remaining utterly strait-laced. Elegance, length and absolute freshness are inherent and quietly convincing.
-Decanter 94 Points
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay
Appellation 100% Virginia
Winemaking Notes The grapes are handpicked in small baskets late August and are gently pressed as whole clusters. After a settling of 24 hours, the juice is inoculated with selected Champagne yeast and ferments in stainless steel tanks at low temperature. Once the fermentation is over, the wine ages on the fine lees until the spring of the following year. The blend is then put together and cold-stabilized prior to bottling. The bottling occurs in the spring when the cellar temperature is conducive to a second fermentation in the bottle. The now sparkling wine will age on the yeast for over 24 months. At disgorging, a small amount of dosage liquor is added in order to balance the natural acidity.
Clean, crisp and refreshing! With scents of white flowers, apples and pears. This sparkling wine is elegant and complex with vibrant aromas, and fine active streamers. The depth of complexity is elegant and the intricate nuances of the terroir fill the nose and stimulate the palate. It’s full of youthful, bright and alert acidity.
Convento Oreja Memorias Reserva is made from 100 percent 100% Tempranillo.
The wine comes from a special vineyard at 950 meters altitude. The cuvee is called MEMORIA to pay tribute to good friends and great time spent together.
Deep cherry color. On the nose, the wine is elegant and well balanced with black fruits, reminiscent of vanilla and leather. Hints of spices, minerals and coffee. On the palate the wine is also well balanced and pleasant. Round and elegant with a long and pleasing aftertaste.
Pairs well with pastas, creams and soups. Likewise, these wines are ideal for more subtle and elaborate first courses, like a rice with lobster.
Ideal for grilled red meats and stews and game stews and for the typical roast lamb.
Review:
"Deep garnet to the eye, this wine has a nose of black cherry, cocoa powder and aniseed. A sense of fruit brightness permeates the palate alongside blackberry preserve, orange zest, clove, violet and milk chocolate flavors. Lingering brightness and velvety tannins make for a gorgeous, long-lasting finish. - Mike DeSimone"
- Wine Enthusiast (June/July 2023), 94 pts
Convento Oreja Ribera del Duero Crianza is made from 100 percent Tempranillo.
Bright cherry color. On the nose you will find plenty of fruit aromas, well balanced as well as some reminiscences of spices that are appreciable. The oak presence gives elegant hints of black chocolate and vanilla. On the palate, the wine is very smooth and well balanced with the right amount of acidity. Fresh, long lasting and elegant.
The wine went through malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged 12 Months in French Oak barrels. Before bottling, the wine was slightly filtered.
Convento Oreja Ribera del Duero Crianza is made from 100 percent Tempranillo.
Bright cherry color. On the nose you will find plenty of fruit aromas, well balanced as well as some reminiscences of spices that are appreciable. The oak presence gives elegant hints of black chocolate and vanilla. On the palate, the wine is very smooth and well balanced with the right amount of acidity. Fresh, long lasting and elegant.
The wine went through malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged 12 Months in French Oak barrels. Before bottling, the wine was slightly filtered.
Review:
A bouquet of Luxardo cherry, blackberry preserves and lavender wafts from the glass. Surprisingly juicy on entry, this wine has flavors of pomegranate, ripe cherry, orange zest, dried thyme, dark chocolate and violet. Opulent tannins build in volume and then recede into a finish that is filled with bright fruit notes. — Mike DeSimone
- Wine Enthusiast (June/July 2023), 94 pts
Colmant Absolu Zero is made from 100% Chardonnay.
On the eye: Bright golden hue with vibrant green tinges and a persistent, finely beaded bubble.
On the nose: Rich spice-dusted brioche and yeast aromas which vie with layers of ripe yellow fruits.
On the palate: Vivid entry with fresh lime notes and acidity contrasted by toasted bread, warm brioche and typical yeast intensity. The balance extends to the interplay of peachy florality and classic elegance of the leesy length and layers. Complex and nuanced.
Extended lees maturation of 85 months. A portion of the base wine (15%) is fermented in French oak barrels while a further 15% of reserve wine from previous vintages is also blended in.
65% of the grapes are from Franschhoek and 35% from Robertson.
Review:
"Recruiting top MCC expert Paul Gerber was quite a coup for Jean-Philippe Colmant and seems to be paying dividends in the bottle. Very lightly wooded, this bracingly dry all-Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs uses fruit from Franschhoek, Robertson and Elgin, with 16% reserve wine dating back to 2006. Structured, bready and bracingly taut, with aniseed and citrus flavours, subtle autolysis and a lingering finish. Sublime stuff. 2022-30"
- Tim Atkin MW (South Africa 2021 Special Report), 96 pts
The Colmant Estate
Together with our 5 children, we made the "big move" in 2002 from French-speaking Belgium to Franschhoek. Having owned and run a stone manufacturing business for twelve years in Belgium we felt the time had come to change direction , to attempt something new, to create something that we could enjoy doing now and that would benefit our children in years to come.
Whilst travelling in South Africa we happened upon the beautiful Franschhoek Valley. Here we purchased a 5ha smallholding which was part of the original La Motte farm granted to one of the French Huguenots back in 1694. What better place to establish a property dedicated to the production of fine bubbles? We set about planting new vineyards and constructing a cellar dedicated to the age old method of Champagne production.
Our cellar was erected from scratch in 2005. According to our philosophy of hands-on quality, we designed a cellar that was both modern, small and efficient, which allows us to control the whole production cycle. The cellar has been built in a "Cape Vernacular" style which matches the existing homestead and has wrap-around views of the valley and nestles under the majestic Middagkrans peak.
The tanks room is equipped with 14 stainless steel tanks with capacities from 1000 L to 14000 L, allowing greater flexibility in the handling of the different grape parcels. Our cold room allows us to cool over 8 tons of grapes freshly picked down to 0°C overnight before pressing, giving amazing results in the quality of the juice. The barrels room, built in a rustic brick wall style, is maintained permanently at a cool temperature of 13°C and a perfect level of humidity.
...And probably the most important is the bottle maturation room, with a storage capacity of over 100.000 bottles and where your Cap Classique will quietly and gently mature in the bottle for 2 years or more, in the dark and at a steady temperature of 13 to 14°C.
Our tasting room is casual but classy, with a cosy fire place for winter days and a lovely pergola covered stoep looking up at the Middagkrans Mountain.
The Grapes
We use exclusively Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in our production process, more or less in equal proportions. Each variety has its own personality :
Pinot Noir imparts structure and power to the blend and adds depth, complexity, backbone, strength and fullness. It often produces a light, earthy, red fruits aroma.
Chardonnay brings finesse, life, freshness, elegance. Chardonnay is detected at first in Methode Traditionnelle with its intensity and perfume., with floral and sometimes mineral aromas. Its slow development gives an ideal ageing potential.
The most crucial part of making a refined bubbly being the blending, it is of the utmost importance for us to select the perfect blending components, each one bringing an extra dimension to the final product. For that reason, we select our grapes from different valleys, according to the specificity of each terroir, ensuring that we have enough components to work with to make a base wine with maximum complexity.
Our Chardonnay is sourced mainly from the Franschhoek Valley renowned for it’s Chardonnays which offer a perfect balance between full structure and a level of acidity that brings freshness and vivacity... 70% of the Chardonnay is produced on our farm, 3 hectares of vineyards maintained by ourselves under the supervision of viticulturist Paul Wallace. The rest of the Chardonnay is sourced from the limy soils of Robertson.
Our Pinot Noir is carefully selected from 5 different farms located in Robertson, Elgin, and Stellenbosch, all areas recognized to be the most suitable places to produce Pinot Noir combining body and finesse.
Force Majeure Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
The estate Cabernet Sauvignon is grown primarily along the southwest ridge of the vineyard. The vines produce small berries with bountiful flavor, concentration and intensity, but also a good degree of finesse, excellent structure and layers of complexity that will continue to develop during extended bottle aging for those who want to cellar and age their wines. The wine is powerful, elegant, full-bodied.
Bottled unfined and unfiltered.100% free run
Pumpovers and punch-downs, up to 45 day macerations
Native yeast, 5 day cold soaks
22 months in 75% new French oak barrels
Fermented in concrete and stainless closed top tanks.
Review:
Another gem is the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain Estate, a deep, concentrated, powerful Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that I suspect will be up there with the legendary wines from this terroir. Beautiful cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and damp earth notes give way to a full-bodied effort that has a liqueur of rocks-like minerality, flawless balance, building yet polished tannins, and a great finish. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it will evolve for 25-30 years if properly stored. Best After 2026.
-Jeb Dunnuck 98+ Points
Gosset Grande Reserve Brut is made from 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier.
The color is bright and golden, the nose open and expressive, and the palate is dominated by a refreshing mineral tension.
Gosset Grande Reserve is a truly faithful expression of the Gosset style. To achieve a cuvee of this quality, the cellar-master has blended the best of the various champagne crus at the grape- harvest with wines specially chosen from our reserve stocks for their richness and maturity.
This champagne is the perfect accompaniment to mild and subtly spiced dishes with cooked fruit, sweet/savory dishes or tajines. A blend of three vintages, the Grande Réserve Brut is adaptable by nature — from apéritif to dessert.
Review:
The nose opens with the fresh ripeness of yellow apple and highlights of Granny Smith. It has beautifully subtle autolysis on the palate, deepening into notes of creamy apple crumble, Golden Delicious and Mirabelle plum, while remaining utterly strait-laced. Elegance, length and absolute freshness are inherent and quietly convincing.
-Decanter 94 Points