I recently tried the Vriesenhof Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre and have to say that I was well impressed for a wine that retails at an affordable price tag and nods to the French winemaking tradition of blending several different grape varieties, allowing the winemaker the opportunity to make a wine that brings the best elements of each together in one bottle.

The ‘GSM’ blend, made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre (GSM), is a classic from the Côtes du Rhône, where these grapes – said to hold the secret to this French region’s wines – are grown.

Typically the largest portion of a southern Côtes du Rhône wine, Grenache is also the lightest of the three and adds candied fruit, raspberry, cinnamon spice and grapefruit flavours. Shiraz adds the darker fruit flavours of blueberry, plum and even black olive, while Mourvèdre adds tannin structure and floral aromas.

The Vriesenhof Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2017, grown and vinified in Stellenbosch on the Estate, was released earlier this year and has nuances of dark cherries, chocolate with beautiful savouriness and white pepper and a lingering finish of raspberries and leather.

Winemaker Nicky Claasens describes the Vriesenhof GSM 2017 as “a beast of a different colour – the embodiment of numerous complexities that the drought wrought on the vineyards”.

The 2017 vintage is 46% Grenache, 35% Shiraz and 19% Mourvèdre, and spent nine months ageing in third and fourth fill French oak barrels.

Retailing for R 100 this easy drinking wine is the perfect accompaniment to pizza, pasta and Mediterranean-style dishes, and can also be cellared for up to five years.

Purchase Vriesenhof at Norman Goodfellows, Ultra Liquors, Makro, Wine Concepts or online here…