Sporting Wine Club

In 2020, during the dark days of the pandemic, ex-international rugby players Kenny Logan, Simon Halliday and Schalk Burger Snr. decided to create a wine to help in the fight against MND, in the name of MyName5Doddie Foundation. The Doddie5 was born and this amazing red blend (5 grape varieties) has been enjoyed throughout the UK, raising significant funds for the Foundation.

Then came the sad news of Rob Burrow’s MND diagnosis, and the 7&5 Gin was created reflecting his and Doddie’s rugby shirt numbers. This raised more funds and awareness of their commitment to research to combat this disease. Now Sporting Wine Club brings you the third project, the Doddie’5 Cap Classique Brut Blanc de Blancs.

Welbedacht Wine Estate may be more renowned for their bold, premium reds but it’s a slightly better kept secret that they actually produce some excellent Cap Classique or Method Champenoise-styled bottle fermented sparkling wines from the Cape. Normally produced under the Mon Rene Blanc de Blancs Brut label, Welbedacht have offered their sparkling wine expertise to produce the latest creation in the Doddie’5 charitable range. A project worthy of every sportsman’s support!

Doddie’5 Cap Classique Brut by Welbedacht Wines, Schalk Burger & Sons, WO Western Cape, 12% Abv.

An alluring pale gold colour with a vibrant energetic mousse, the aromatics are seductively complex boasting layers of dusty white citrus, green Granny Smith apples, warm buttered brioche and honey glazed pastries. Produced as a pure varietal Chardonnay, this Brut Cap Classique has all the sourdough, lemon biscuit and leesy savoury white toast nuances that make traditional bottle fermented sparkling wines so tantalisingly appealing, suitable not only for celebrations but also food and wine pairing. The palate is sophisticated and elegant with a beautifully creamy mouse, a fresh mouth watering acidity that adds extra structure to the mouthfeel, finishing with hints of chalky minerality, lemon peel and white peach bon bons. A classical expression that will seduce a lot of fizz drinkers. Drink now and over the next 2 to 3+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines are available from Sporting Wine Club in the UK at £24.95 per bottle inc.

https://sportingwineclub.com/product/cap-classique/

Doddie Weir OBE is one of the most recognisable faces of the game of rugby earning 61 caps playing for Scotland. But in June 2017, Doddie revealed he was suffering with the onset of Motor Neuron Disease, an illness that as yet has no known cure. In November 2017, Doddie Weir and his trustees launched a registered charity called My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to raise funds to aid the research into Motor Neuron Disease.

In the past, the foundation has already collaborated with a premium gin producer to create a limited release Doddie Weir Gin and more recently, ex-Scotland rugby international and foundation supporter, Kenny Logan, launched a new wine initiative with the Sporting Wine Club headed by ex-England rugby International and head of European rugby, Simon Halliday. The new wine, in collaboration with ex-Springbok great Schalk Burger Snr. and his Welbedacht Estate in South Africa, was suppose to tie into the upcoming Lions tour to South Africa as Doddie had himself also earned his Lions cap for the 1997 winning tour against the Springboks.

Tasting in London with Welbedacht Estate owner and ex-Springbok rugby great Schalk Burger Snr., producer of Doddie’s Blend.

The Lions tour might now be in disarray and currently undergoing a mid-pandemic rethink with a move back to the UK, but the Doddie’s Red blend from the beautiful Welbedacht Estate in Wellington is very much a reality with the soft launch being planned in the UK in the coming weeks. As an extra gesture of support to the wider rugby fraternity, the limited release bottling includes a very special label painted by accomplished artist, Henry Fraser.

Henry Fraser played rugby for the Saracens Academy before suffering a freak injury at the age of 17 that resulted in him being paralysed from the shoulders down. Teaching himself to paint, Henry is now a most talented ‘mouth painter’ and was specially commissioned to design the labels for Doddie’s Blend.

If ever there was an initiative close to every rugby players’ heart, this is it. A genuinely exciting new wine release in support of an important cause. I hope rugby clubs and players across the country will give this initiative their full backing.

Welbedacht Estate Number 5 Doddie’s Red Blend 2019, WO Wellington, 14% Abv.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, this is a genuinely impressive red Cape Bordeaux blend assemblage made in a true style where the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its individual parts revealing very pretty, seductive aromatics of fine dried herbal spice, ripe black plums, earthy black currants, sappy cedar spice and a delicate brûléed kiss of oak. The palate is equally alluring showing a harmonious creamy opulence and a super silky texture together with a real accessibility, finessed tannins and a weightless brambly black berry fruit concentration on the finish. Youthfully exuberant and utterly delicious already, this is a fine wine with character and class… just like the man in who’s honour it was created to celebrate. Drink now and over 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)