Delheim, the established wine farm outside Stellenbosch, owes its existence and success to the dedicated Sperling family and in particular, Spatz Sperling.

Spatz started his journey with Delheim 57 years ago and through his dedication and hard work he built up one of the most popular wine brands on the market today.

Spatz is a stickler for perfection and although he is now in semi-retirement still commands the respect from his family and co workers as if he was in charge of a well orchestrated army!

Spatz, now nearing eighty years of age always has time to tell you wonderful stories from the past including his trek to the top of Kilimanjaro and to the "deepest' wine tasting he did 857 metres below ground in a gold mine. Today two of his four children, Victor and Nora, have taken over the reins of Delheim who will see the brand go from strength to strength in the future.

Wine that's worth the wait

I first had the pleasure of meeting Spatz in 1983 at the launch of the first vintage of the Grand Reserve (Delheims icon wine) at my restaurant, The Upper Crust. Kevin Arnold was Delheims winemaker during that period and after the ceremony I was presented with the first Grand Reserve vintage, the 1981, in a beautiful presentation box. As this had been the first wine launch I had catered for in my restaurant, I decided to keep the wine in its box to remember the special occasion!

On Saturday the 25th July I was invited to join the Sperlings at Delheim to celebrate the 25th year of Grand Reserve and it was at this occasion I returned the original 1981 (still in excellent condition in its box) to Spatz — the original icon wine had returned home.

The dinner was held in the maturation cellar and we were able to taste all the past vintages of this iconic wine. We were able to discuss the wines with the relevant winemakers who had been invited back especially for the evening.

I was impressed at how well all the wines tasted and especially the 1981, the 1985 and the 1988. They had developed a lovely perfume of dark berries with soft, yet rich sweet berry flavours, and gentle tannins on the finish. The 2001 also impressed and will be sold at this year's Nederburg Auction in September.

The 2005 vintage of the Delheim Grand Reserve is currently available and I have a few in my cellar to look forward to drinking in the future. For those of you who can't wait that long, it is drinking magnificently now and especially with a hearty meat dish (We enjoyed it with slow cooked lamb... hmmm).

The 2005 is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with a splash of Merlot (8%). The wine has hints of fruitcake and ripe plum aromas gently leading you onto a well-rounded, full-flavoured palate of ripe fruit flavours supported by fine oak and firm tannins.

Expect to pay: R182.

To order this, contact Wine Concepts.