It was a cold and wet evening in March 2007 when Joey and Angie Diamond, owners of Klein Genot Country and Wine Estate, launched their range of Klein Genot red wines.

The function was held under a large Bedouin tent and the warm hospitality of our hosts soon cheered us up from the cold outside.

The wines on the evening were matched with superb food from the Guest House kitchen and although at that stage the wines were in their youth they were well received.

So with this in mind I thought it prudent to revisit the wines (I had bought a few bottles for my cellar) and see how they had matured. The wines, which were from the 2005 vintage, had proved that something good can be a lot better after a little more time in the bottle!

So it was exciting to be given the 2006 vintage of the range to taste and to see how the second vintage faired against the first!

As wine retailers we are often told by wineries that the latest vintage is much better than the previous one, and in this case, tasting the 2006 vintage they may be right!

The four wines tasted were complex with good fruit and firm tannins. As for the 2005 vintage I would recommend a few bottles in the cellar for future enjoyment.

However, the Shiraz 2006 was a blockbuster, and very accessible to drink now, especially with food.

This wine has a gorgeous velvety garnet colour and aromas of leathery spice with hints of blackcurrants. This comes to life on the palate where you will experience the complexity of the wine with its rich sweetish blackcurrant flavour, firm tannins and just a hint of gentle smokiness on the finish.

We enjoyed the wine with fillet of beef which I had prepared on the Weber and served with my decadent mushroom sauce! Enjoy the wine now but I suggest a further five years maturation in the cellar!

Klein Genot is well worth a visit when you are next in Franschhoek whether to taste wines, visit their soon to be opened state of the art cellar, eat in the Genot Restaurant or treat yourselves to a weekend in their beautifully appointed Guest House.

Expect to pay: R80.

To order this wine contact Wine Concepts.