Nick and Ann Christodoulou had no intention of becoming great wine producers when they moved to the seaside village of Hout Bay, but the small 1,5ha vineyard in front of the house sparked a new enthusiasm and the next step was to excavate under the house to build a cellar. This bubbly has grown in popularity since their first bottling in 1998. The first Saturday of November every year marks ‘sale day’ at Ambeloui when enthusiasts literally line the street leading to the house and cellar in order to buy their allocated stock for the year. Each new vintage is named after an offspring and I guess the names will have to be repeated as they run out of options. At Wine Concepts, we have ensured a sufficient stock to last well into the year, so if you missed the sale date, you know where to go.

The Rosé, a blend of approximately 50/50 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, shows delicate red fruit flavours with a rich texture and pleasing dry mousse. Other Ambeloui MCC still available is 2009 Nicholas, 2010 Miranda and 2011 Max. All disgorged in 2013, so one can choose how rich or light one prefers to go, depending on time spend on the secondary lees in the bottle.