“BRIGHT GOLD colour with brioche, buttered toast and apple pie nose. The fine bubbles are creamy on the rounded, full palate. Intense with a silky-smooth long finish. A joy!” These are the tasting notes of the judges at the 2018 International Wine & Spirit Competition who considered Villiera Monro Brut 2012 the best of over 200 sparkling wine entries from around the world that were made according to the traditional method for which Champagne is famous.

Monro is the name that the Griers of Villiera use for their No. 1 Cap Classique, and man has it made for much drinking pleasure over the years! The IWSC Bottle Fermented Sparkling Wine Trophy was just one of the latest accolades for this prestige cuvée from the bubbly specialists in Koelenhof, Stellenbosch. It was followed shortly afterwards by a Wine of the Year award presented at the November 2018 launch of Platter’s 2019 South African Wine Guide – the 2012 Monro considered the critics’ favourite among the hundred-plus Cap Classiques reviewed for the book.

One of the Top 10 in its class and one of the Top 100 overall in the SA Wine Classification, from a producer who has been doing a good job since back in the day already and who currently has the best track record in the business as regards bottle-fermented bubbly in Top Wine SA.

VILLIERA MONRO BRUT 2012
WO Stellenbosch. Méthode Cap Classique. 61% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 9% Pinot Meunier. Whole-bunch pressing. Half of the Chardonnay fermented in used oak barrels. After fermentation in bottle, wine left on the lees (spent yeast) for six years.
Alc 12 | RS 7.8 | TA 7.0 | pH 3.2
From Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Rich, creamy, yeasty nose, with a refreshing flavour on the middle palate developing complexity on the aftertaste. Powerful and rich to drink on release but will continue to improve for up to three years after release, eight to 10 years after vintage.
R220 pb at the cellar door.