No. 31/800 - Bon Courage Estate, Robertson

Wine farm 31 of 800 is the bubbly Bon-Courage Estate in the Robertson wine valley!

I have rated this wine farm experience 4 star.

OVERALL RATING	WINE	SERVICE	FOOD	LOCATION
77%	75%	85%	78%	68%

ACTIVITIES and OTHER AMENITIES: Besides from the great MCC there is a fabulous café that does pink burgers!

• Wine tasting - FREE!
• Café

BOOKINGS: Bookings are not necessary but you can contact the farm prior.Bon Courage Wine Estate: Tel: +27 23 626 4178 | wine@boncourage.co.za | www.boncourage.co.zaCafé Maude Restaurant: Tel: +27 23 626 6806 | cafemaude@boncourage.co.zaWHEN TO GO: Summer or winter but Summer is the best.

CHILD FRIENDLY?  yes, there is a great area with jungle gym for the kids, all within eyesight.LOCATION: Situated in Robertson about a 2 hour drive from Cape Town. Google Map

OTHER RATINGS:  Check out what others say about Bon-Courage on Trip Advisor by CLICKING HERE. 

Click HERE to view the ranking of this farm against others I have already reviewed.FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit Robertson Wine Valley for more information on Wine farms in Robertson. http://www.robertsonwinevalley.com

Here is my experience:

Bon Courage Estate is very close to Van Loveren wines in Robertson.The wine tasting room is a typical old Dutch Reformed house and it really takes you back in time!Way back! The tasting room is full of old memorabilia.The man in the photo above is Willie Bruwer, a farmer from the De Hoop area in the foothills of the Langeberg just north of Robertson. The farm at that stage in 1927 was mainly geared for bulk wine production. André, the youngest son of Willie, took over the farm in 1965 and immediately initiated a program of expansion and modernization with drip irrigation. He is still running the farm today and you might be lucky enough to meet him and his sons. Read more about the history here. Some more photos of the tasting room:  I started off the day with breakfast at Café Maude. You could sit inside or outside - it was actually quite a big café and very popular I believe.Some more photos for eye candy: For breakfast, I really enjoyed this fresh Eggs Benedict with herbs from the garden outside.And you can enjoy all of this next to some exquisite taxidermy of incredibly beautiful insects. They sell for around R2000 a pop! All the bread is cooked fresh every morning - check out these before and after shots of the "pot brood" (Bread cooked in a tin/pot). You cannot beat the smell of freshly baked bread.No what really attracts the locals to this farm is the pink bread burgers as well as the MCC!Onto the MCC then!We met up with Philip Viljoen (Assistant Wine Maker) for a private MCC tasting.We tasted the Blanc de Blancs MCC, Brut Rosé MCC and the Brut Reserve MCC (my fav)! 

Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blanc

If you like a Brut MCC or a Chardonnay, then this one is for you! It is great as an aperitif, but can you imagine this with oysters! YUMMY! It has spent up to 48 months on the lees (that's 4 years). It then goes through the traditional “disgorgement” (removal of the yeast lees) and “dosage” (adding the final secret ingredient base wine &  sugar) to get to the final product. This bottle was opened an hour before taking this photo and you can still see the constant stream of bubbles. Refreshing, cold, dry and yeasty - with a slight tint of lemon.Alcohol: 12.39%Sugar: 5.3 g/l

Jacques Bruére Cuveé Rosé Brut

Pink bubbles is what every girl loves and what an incredible pink hue this is. 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. Again, this MCC has spent 4 years on the lees during second fermentation (10% of the Chardonnay was barrel fermented to give the MCC some round bodied, depth.)Enjoy a raspberry sensation in both scent and taste, well rounded by the Chardonnay for a full mouth feel that is not too acidic on the palate.

Jacques Bruére Brut Reserve

Now this one, I really liked! 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, 4 years on the lees. The colour is not pink at all as it has had little to no contact with the Pinot Noir grape skin. Think peaches and citrus with a creamy full mouth feel of a good MCC.The outside was quite lovely.There wasn't much of a view because you looked out onto the parking lot but when you have cars parked there like this, it is actually quite interesting :) And look at the pretty mountains.Upon our departure, I was given a bottle of the newly re-branded "like father like son" wines. I will be reviewing it in the coming weeks once the weather plays along. Keep a look out on my wine review page here. So what farm will be next? ;)x