Great Places to Drink Wine | Lion Sands Ivory Lodge

The African bushveld has a magic to it, which is difficult to explain. It certainly is a release mechanism from the day to day stresses, and one quickly moves to the rhythm of the surrounds. Waking up at dawn. Sleeping when its too hot. Watching each and every sunset. Going to bed with the sound of a hyena’s call momentarily sending a primordial shiver down the spine!

Similar passions exist for wine, and Under the Influence had the wonderful opportunity to combine the bushveld and great South African wine in our latest wine safari at Lion Sands Ivory Lodge. This was an exploration under the stars and lit by firelight, a complete sensory overload!

For this occasion a cellar raid was necessary and the team at Lion Sands had to restrain me from hauling out ALL their vintage wine. I was like a kid after three packets of nik naks unleashed on a sweet store!

Well, my powers of persuasion won the day and here is the lineup and some comments on the wines.

Veenwouden Merlot 2001

Paarl. This small property focuses on Merlot, and does an incredibly tidy job of it! A soft an elegant Merlot, which still shows off lovely red fruit. I might have bought some home in my hand luggage.

Klein Constantia Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Constantia. Aged Cabernet Sauvignon takes on a beautiful cassis; smoke and pencil lead character as the tannins smooth. This wine showed off those characteristics and packed quite a lot of tannin.

Klein Constantia Shiraz 2001

Constantia. This wine showed off the unique tertiary flavours often found in aged Shiraz, with earthy, gamey aromas and some liquorice and dark fruit flavours.

Meerlust Rubicon 1999

Stellenbosch. Made by the legendary Giorgio Dalla Cia. An iron foot in a velvet veldskoen, the Cabernet Sauvignon shows it’s strength in this traditional Bordeaux style blend.

Rust en Vrede Estate 2000

Stellenbosch. From the Northern slopes of the Helderberg mountain, this region is famous for its full bodied and powerful red wines. Even after eleven years in the bottle, the wine shows remarkable full flavours and complexity of fruit, oak and tertiary flavours. Delicious!

Now, here is the moral of the story. If you are at a lodge, restaurant or hotel and you are having a squiz through their wine list without much inspiration ask to see the cellar if they have one. You are more likely than not to find a cheeky aged Rust en Vrede, or a Vin de Constance or even an aged Chateau Libertas! Drinking older wines is very rewarding. It’s the difference between having a conversation with a young spotty teenager or an interesting well travelled older individual. Leagues apart.

So whether it’s Lion Sands Ivory Lodge or your local steak house, have a browse and you might be surprised as I was! Remember, the BEST wines should always be drunk with the top company you can find. Who better than yourself!

Click here to see what our future tastings hold. Come and join us!