Summer holidays are so good! While the winter at Morgenster is good for the vines and orchards, I much prefer the summer sun, so while they enjoy the cold, I visit my family and friends and some favourite places in the sun. One of the places I have visited is Monte Marcello, my home in Liguria which is just outside the village of the same name. It is high on the coast in a national park, built around a 12th century Saracen watchtower.

I named my delicate olive oil Monte Marcello after this lovely place because our Ligurian olive cultivars produce a wonderful late harvest olive oil as they do in this part of northern Italy.

I was so happy to read Stephen Tanzer's new article "South Africa's Ongoing Wine Revolution." He gave 92+ points to our Morgenster Reserve 2010 and 90 points to our Morgenster Lourens River Valley 2010. His reviews are below. But then, what was best for me because of my belief in building my wines to age, he also re-scored 93 points for our Morgenster Reserve 2003. Stephen said:
  
"I was also able to retaste the 2003 version and it was a stunner: Deep red-ruby. Sexy, sweet aromas of red berries, mocha, coffee bean and lead pencil had me thinking of Bordeaux's Right Bank. Plush and generous, with sweet red berry and milk chocolate flavors complicated by insidious coffee and herb nuances. Finishes very smooth and long, with resolved tannins. This actually tastes drier than its 2.5 g/l r.s. There's no rush to drink this highly complex, still-unfolding wine, which may well go on for another decade. I scored it 93 points."
  
When I return at the end of the month it will be a busy time for me as our new restaurant development has made good progress while I've been away. 95@morgenster will open soon and I will tell you more in my next newsletter.