Young Guns and New Wave Producers
Timed Online Auction, 17 - 27 November 2023
Young Gun and New Wave Producers
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About this Item
André Bruyns launched City on a Hill in 2015 following stints at wineries in France, Tulbagh and in the Swartland. For André, southern France’s climatic conditions and plantings remind him of the Swartland. "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden”, declares a passage from the bible that inspired the name for André Bruyns’ small set up South of Malmesbury. It reflects his spirituality, but also his aspirations in showing what Swartland soils and vineyards are capable of.
He sources fruit from across the region and applies minimum intervention in the winery. The wines are fermented naturally in concrete and old oak barrels and bottled with only a coarse filtration.
André wants his wines to be specific to their site and soil type with his white grapes coming from 35 year old dryland vineyards in the Paardeberg Mountain, planted mainly with Chenin Blanc. Farmed sustainably with some organic and biodynamic practices used, the granitic soils enhance the ‘liquid minerality ’ of the grapes leading to a more focused, taut, linear style of wines.
Provenance
Restaurant Mosaic
Critics Ratings
‘Exhilarating 2017 from shy-yielding dryland vines, harmonious compendium of complex textures & flavours. Limpid & assured, with a whisper of scrub & enduring elegant conclusion, balanced 12.5% alcohol. ‘Natural’ winemaking of the highest order.’ - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2019, 5* (96/100)
‘This is a fascinating expression of Chenin Blanc created by André Bruyns. It’s the liquid equivalent of an enigma wrapped in a mystery that’s wrapped in a conundrum. The aromatics show crystalline white peach and yellow citrus, early season crunchy yellow orchard fruits but also pronounced salty, briney oxidative saline sea breeze notes. Underneath it all is this profound sense of liquid granitic minerality that pervades the wine. On the palate the tug of war continues, being taut but rich, salty but peachy, stony and thoroughly citric. Delicious oxidative notes of brine and dry roasted nuts rub shoulders with crisp bright acids, yet more overt minerality and an ample fleshy Chenin palate that retains a tight, crisp tension-laden finish. Intellectually, this wine is exhausting; hedonistically, it possesses the palate excitement of an eight year old child’s birthday and Christmas rolled into one! Still super youthful so drink a few bottles now but be sure to cellar at least a few for revisiting over 8-15+ years. A deliciously intriguing white!’ – Greg Sherwood MW, 95/100 (May 2020)
‘André Bruyns has a day job with David and Nadia Sadie, but makes some very tasty wines under his own label. This fresh, stony, focused Chenin comes from granite and iron soils and has yeasty complexity and green apple zip. 2019-25’ - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2018, 93/100
‘Very pure and precise with marked acidity. You'd never guess this was grown in a warm region. Honey and green undergrowth on the nose. A saline streak on the palate. So pure it almost hurts!’ – Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (Sep 2019)
‘Grapes from three Paardeberg vineyards. A hint of reduction before pear, white peach and citrus plus notes of hay and earth in the background. Lovely fruit definition and snappy acidity before a salty finish. Pure and direct.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 93/100 (Aug 2018)
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