A celebrity bringing a new spirit or wine to market is not exactly big news these days, so it was with intrigue that I watched the hype unfold on social media around the launch of House of BNG – a new luxury range of MCC by Bonang Matheba (media personality, actress, producer, businesswoman and Instagram celebrity with a casual following of 2.6 million).
Bonang’s love of bubbles was the catalyst to this new venture of hers and unlike the singer, PINK, who makes her own wine – my team and I naturally asked ourselves, “who is responsible for the actual production of Queen B’s MCC?”. A quick squiz at the back of the bottle revealed that the winemaking crew at Villiera make both the Brut and Brut Rosé which sell for R399 a bottle at Woolworths, exclusively). To put it into perspective, the only other more expensive MCC at Woolies is the Steenberg Lady R Brut which was given 93 Points by Tim Atkin.
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“We have some of the world’s best grapes here in South Africa and so I decided to make a Méthode Cap Classique wine – which is made in exactly the same way as champagne but using Cape grapes. This is my love letter to Africa and I’m excited to introduce it to the world” said Bonang in a media statement.
The House of BNG’s bottle is full of boldness and bling – much like Bonang herself and although the opaque packaging might look unusual and vastly different to many other sparkling wine bottles in SA… I’ve seen a growing number of spirit bottles taking this opaque direction in their packaging, making me think there’s a new trend in keeping the liquid ‘under wraps’.
The Brut Rosé taste experience
The wine’s nose has a heady biscuit-y aroma from the yeast – giving it a fundamental MCC character with wafts of ripe berries following through. The first sip is strikingly crisp with a nice balance of fruit and acid (we found this Rosé surprisingly dry – but enjoyable) with a gloriously zippy stream of fine beads. The aftertaste is filled with faint raspberry notes and some lingering lemon zest.
Would I drink again? Hell yeah – just don’t make me pay for it.
Best for: This is a statement drink so grab a bottle if you’re not watching your bubbly budget and if you simply feel like celebrating the good things in life – just like Bonang would want!