TANZANITE BY MELANIE VAN DER MERWE

Working as Cellar Master for sparkling wines at Distell from 1995 to 2006, Melanie van der Merwe decided to take a leap of faith and start her brand when she left in 2006. This year saw the birth of Tanzanite, a high-quality, extended lees-aged, traditional method sparkling wine from South Africa.

Small volumes of Tanzanite are made across Melanie’s range of three wines – Brut, Brut Rosé and Brut Blanc de Blancs. The wines see a minimum of three years on the lees. Fruit is sourced from the same vineyards year after year from the Mont Blois Farm in Robertson. Winemaking is done traditionally – hand picking and hand sorting, whole bunch pressing and primary fermentation in stainless steel tanks to retain purity and freshness.

Tanzanite stands as one of the top independent Method Cap Classique producers in the country, the wines are delicate, fine and incredibly delicious.