The Helderberg Bowl - home to the likes of Vergelegen, Morgenster, Lourensford and, more recently, Hathersage - is not known for producing sparkling wines. Instead, the picturesque slopes, just 10 kilometres from the shores of False Bay, seem better suited to elegant reds (and in Vergelegen's case, stately whites) but I have to admit to a bias; after all, I live within walking distance of the four properties mentioned. All this might, m-i-g-h-t, be changing with the maiden vintage of Vergelegen's method cap classique; the 2006 Brut available only from the tasting room.

It's made from chardonnay and pinot noir, the latter comprising just a third of the blend and coming from Stellenbosch vineyards. The white grapes are from the low-yielding vines grown on the Korhaan 'koppie' at 230 meters above sea. The fruit was whole bunch pressed in a wooden basket press and the juice run into old 225 litre barrels for the primary and malolactic fermentations. This base wine was bottled in anticipation of the secondary fermentation but was allowed to sit for some six months to integrate before receiving its liqueur de tirage, the mix of yeast and sugar that provide the bubbles. Once this fermentation was complete, the sparkling was aged on its lees for some three years before degorgement in July last year.

I acquired a bottle on Saturday afternoon (my wallet significantly lighter after the completion of the transaction!) to investigate further. Sorry there's no picture but my camera is on the blink and I couldn't find one of the web site.

In the glass, the wine had a light straw colour and frenetic tiny bubbles. The nose was apply (typically from chardonnay) with yeasty highlights (from the lees contact) but not overly complex. Similarly, the palate featured apple flavours and brisk acidity but was balanced with a satisfying weight mid-palate (from the pinot noir portion). I didn't find any of the strawberries or strong yeastiness suggested by the tasting notes, but rather a well made and refreshing sparkler which, at 12% alcohol, could be safely sipped from lunchtime through to sundowners. I poured a glass of cava, just to compare, and was struck by how dry the Vergelegen appeared, as well it should at only 3g/l residual sugar. The cava went back in the fridge, and the Vergelegen made an unbearably hot evening quite tolerable.

PS: Actually, this was the second bottle I'd opened. The first did not live up to the standards we've all come to expect from Vergelegen (I suspect random bottle variation the culprit), so I returned to the tasting room where it was swapped at no charge and with a big smile. No wonder this is one of the busiest venues in the winelands and a two-time winner in the Great Wine Capitals Global Network Best of Wine Tourism Awards.