De Krans Tritonia Verdelho 2020
HANSCORE: 21/25
📣 And this really is a downright tragedy, because the wine in the bottle is a treasure.
The dry wines (both red and white) coming from this producer are enormously exciting, and I spend most of my days trying to figure out how to get more of them into people’s hands (and glasses)… I’m open to ideas here.
🍷 De Krans is a wine estate most noted for its Port-style fortified wines, and is one of the oldest producers in the Calitzdorp Port Massive (situated in the Klein Karoo Region). But don’t be distracted by all that. Because the real headline is their incredible dry whites and dry reds.
Elsewhere I have talked at length about their highly impressive Touriga Nacional, and this flagship wooded Trintonia Verdelho follows suit. A must-try for wine lovers looking to explore alternative wooded whites to mix up their staid Chenin and Chardonnay routine.
👃🏼 The nose screams Viognier, with a wave of extroverted sweet honeysuckle blossom and ripe peach fruit. Adding to the intrigue, there are some delightfully fresh melon and green pear notes.
👄 The palate presents as soft and quite ripe upfront, but this is quickly rescued from any sense of flabbiness by some tart apricot elements, interspersed by salted almonds. Texture is pleasantly chewy, with a return to sweeter caramelised pear and honeysuckle. on the tail. A touch of white pepper keeps things lively on the back end as the fruit closes out.
🔬 Calitzdorp fruit. The vines are only six years old, and this 2020 vintage is a maiden voyage. Which makes me excited for the future. In the cellar, grapes are crushed, immediately pressed off skins, before being cool fermented. The wine is then racked and kept on fine lees in old oak barrels for 12 months.
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