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00:00 – INTRO TO MEGAN VAN DER MERWE AND BEAU CONSTANTIA

01:31 – WHAT DOES THE PAS DE NOM WHITE BLEND TASTE LIKE

03:02 – HOW WAS THE WINE MADE?

07:17 – SIX FACTS ABOUT FERNAO PIRES

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Beau Constantia Estate is a fascinating little property situated up at about 350m above Sea Level, right against Table Mountain, with the ocean immediately behind it. But while its topography is fascinating, its winemaker is even more so! Megan van der Merwe is an unstoppably curious soul who loves to test theories in the cellar, try novel approaches, and explore unusual cultivars. The Pas de Nom Creative Batch range of wines are, in some senses, the physical manifestations of answers to the questions that bounce around Megan’s brain.

The Pas de Nom Creative Batch is a blend of some fascinating cultivars sourced from all over the Western Cape Winelands, including – somewhat bizarrely – the table grape of Fernao Pires. In this video we break down the enormously complex wine component by component, and finish off by taking a closer look at the cultivar of Fernao Pires, and what it brings to the mix.

We also touch briefly on oxidative winemaking, but if this is something you want to learn more about, then why not watch this video that we made on the topic.

If you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs:

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👃🏼 An opening bid of smoked meat, coriander, and cardamom might be concern for some, and trigger exhiliration in others. Either way, this wine makes a heck of an entrance. Beneath all the mood, there is ripe peach fruit, apricots, yellow and white citrus, and well as a hint of nuts and flowers. Pretty much everything. 

👄 The palate is concentrated and textured, but also quite wild. There is nothing classic about this, but for wine adventurers, the combination of smoky roasted apricot, slightly overripe peach, and boatloads of phenolic texture it is a wine that will keep one pondering (and sipping) all night.

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Wine of Origin Western Cape. Made from fruit sourced from all over the place, the blend consists of 66% old vine skin-contact chenin blanc from Darling and Overhex. The next biggest component is 15% Fernao Pires, with the res of the wine being formed by some early harvest Verdelho and Roussanne, garnished with some supremely late haravested Viognier. What a trip!