A few of us gathered recently at an old speakeasy in the western ‘burbs to eat some fine dinner and taste through a range of South African wines with the owner of a local wine store that probably carries the largest selection of such wines in the area. He shared with us a lot of background information about each estate and each wine, which added a lot to the fun of discovery and the thrill of exploration. Having spent half a week in Stellenbosch myself last year, I was familiar with the majority of the producers--but there were a bunch I did not know and several of those turned out to be very nice finds.
Starter whites:
2007 Francois Pinon Vouvray Cuvee Tradition. Pmac started us off with this lovely little treat while the group was arriving and assembling. The nose features notes of crisp green apple, chalk, crunchy minerals, bergamot, peach pit, candy cigarette and a little lemon twist. As it warms, it expands and takes on some softer tropical fruit tones, as well. It has a waxy mouthfeel on the palate and sort of sticks to the teeth a bit. It is rather mouth-filling through the mid-palate, narrowing its focus on the airy but lengthy finish—leaving a very pretty inner mouth perfume. Initially, it shows just slight hints of residual sugar, but as it sits in the glass the sweetness level rises a bit and finds a fine plateau that works really well as a balancing element to the vein of acidity running through it. I like that it has a crisp, driven core surrounded by soft, round flavors of sweet peach, pear and citrus. A fun and tasty treat that I could see being a very versatile house wine.
2006 Bouchard Finlayson Chardonnay Missionvale Walker Bay. The first South African wine of the night was this Chardonnay, which I believe Bob said was this producer’s more heavily-oaked Chardonnay. Bob also mentioned that it might no longer be coming into the US. In any event, it presents an interesting nose of hazelnuts, poached apples, lemon crystals, clay and moss riding atop some sweet oak accents that grow a bit heavy with time in the glass. In the mouth, it tastes of lemon zest, stones, peach and a sweet oak component that needs some more time to better integrate. There are some other difficult-to-describe earthen touches in there, too. On the whole, it features a ton of fruit and volume and a different sort of take on Chardonnay flavors that makes me interested to see where a wine like this ends up in a few years’ time.
Reds:
2004 Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir Walker Bay. CORKED.
2008 Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap Western Cape. This is a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Viognier and smells of smoke, cassis, white pepper, light boysenberry and red flowers. But there is also a blast of some funky rubber right in the middle that sticks out like a sore thumb to me. In the mouth, it is pretty and rather sweet-fruited in a very forward package that is immediate and giving with its simple, lighter pleasures. There is a bit of grainy oak toward the finish, but at 10 bucks a bottle it is hard to quibble too much.
2009 Graham Beck Pinotage Western Cape. According to Bob, this bottle arrived off the boat and in his store just the day before the tasting, so we were all a bit concerned about how it might show. Indeed, even without the power of suggestion, it does seem a bit jumbled and raw to me. I let it sit for a good while and when I came back to it I find pretty nice notes of plums, blueberries, animal fur and red clay in a bit of a compact package. In the mouth, the components do feel mixed up and jumbled and the wine has a hard time showing much focus. There is nothing harsh or over the top, but it does show some alcohol and too much wood poking out. Still, it feels like it is aiming for a fairly moderate and refined style of Pinotage, with warm red fruit and some leafy flavors leading the charge in a medium-bodied package. Hard to judge right now, but I think this could turn out to be a decent QPR.
2008 De Morgenzon Shiraz DMZ Western Cape. This one is considerably darker-fruited and earthier than either of the two previous wines. It is a bit brooding, frankly, with a rich dense feeling to the aromas of black plum, black currant, dark chocolate, menthol and jalapeno. It opens up in the mouth with a good deal of rich mixed fruits and chocolate flavors, with a bit of nice layering beginning to show. I do find it rather grippy and perhaps even a bit excessively chewy-textured, though, and there is some disjointed heat on the finish that needs to be resolved. Like the previous wine, it is young and needs to pull itself together, but there are some decent working parts here.
2006 Glen Carlou Cabernet Sauvignon Paarl. I liked this wine better than some of the other folks around me, starting with the nice bouquet of red currants, black raspberries, grilled pepper, smoky ash, and dark earth that later on pulls in accompanying notes of cedar chest and dried mint. It is alive and medium-weighted on the palate but also glycerin-laden with flavors of red currant, mixed berries, grainy oak and green leafy bits. It is really solid through the middle, but turns a touch austere and even a bit clipped on the finish—making it feel not quite a complete wine. I’d be curious to see how that all sorts itself out over the next 2 to 4 years.
2006 de Toren Z Private Cellar Stellenbosch. When I visited South Africa, I came away feeling like the sweet spot for my palate was their efforts with Bordeaux blends. This particular offering is a blend of 33% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 12% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. It smells a bit Old World to me, with lots of earthy tomato plant, smoke, forest greens, white pepper and sliced jalapeno aromas combining with dark fruit to give it a cool and grounded feel. In the mouth, it is chalky-textured and a bit raw in its direct delivery of flavors, but it possesses a ton of black currant and other dark fruit stuffing to go along with tangy mixed berry and dark chocolate flavors that work well in conjunction with one another. It feels lively and can come across as a bit intense through the entry and mid-palate, but manages to find a more controlled profiling on the lengthy and persistent finish.
2007 Raats Cabernet Franc Stellenbosch. This wine is definely showing its varietal character to my mind—reeking of tobacco leaf, ash, white pepper and a sort of hay note. There is some smoky cherry and rhubarb fruit and a bit of chocolate chip notes in there, too, but it is the tobacco that is way out in the foreground. It is rather expansive on the palate, reaching out to fill all the corners of the mouth in a medium- to full-bodied package. Lots of chalky, leather-clad tannins are in play all the way through and the wine feels rather classically structured and extremely dry-tasting despite the volume of cool purple fruit and earth flavors riding atop it all. I just can’t say enough how utterly dry this wine is, especially on the youthful finish. I would be tempted to cellar this for a while and see if it finds more charm down the road.
2007 Kanonkop Estate Pinotage Simonsberg-Stellenbosch. This one is a bit funky, with scents of animal fur, cherry, raspberry, topsoil and undergrowth in an interesting melange. In the mouth, it has a nice presence to it and features a sappy texture to its cherry fruit, chocolate and earthen flavors. The tannins are a bit chewy but seem to recede the longer one stays with the wine. It comes across as more substantial than the earlier Pinotage and there is a fair amount going on, but it is dry and perhaps a bit too serious at this stage.
2001 Warwick Estate Reserve Simonsberg-Stellenbosch. You can tell from the label, but Bob also directly confirmed that this bottling later became this estate’s Trilogy offering. It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc. On the nose, the wine shows a lot of tomato plant and leafy character, along with ash, tobacco, cherry syrup and some darker-toned fruits that creep in over time. On the palate, I find it to be quite generous and giving, yet finely-strucuted. It is rather appealing in its smooth easy balance, with a gentle tangy acidity allied to finely-layered red fruit and leafy earth flavors. It has distinctively smooth character and a finely-speced finish, and my take is that it can go a while longer, too. This was my runner-up wine of the night.
2002 Sadie Family Columella Swartland. I believe this is primarily Syrah, with some Mourvedre blended in, but I am not absolutely certain. Regardless, this is the most full-blown and sexy bouquet of any wine on the table by a long stretch. It offers up creamy and plush aromas of cherry and red berries galore, cocoa and exotic spices that are rich, layered and complex. In the mouth, it is smooth and fully red-fruited but also light on its feet and elegantly-structured. It also has some nice earthy edges to it and finishes with easy balance, great length and a distinctive seamlessness. There are just a few tannins left, but they are downy and supportive. This is really luscious and tasty stuff in a well-constructed package that avoids any heavy-handed treatment. My easy WOTN.
Sweet wines:
1992 Overgaauw Cape Vintage Liqueur Wine. I had a great visit to this estate during my trip to South Africa last year and I ended up purchasing this bottle after tasting and very much enjoying the wine. I carried it back to the US, kept it in the cellar and looked forward to sharing it with the group on this occasion. Even Bob got excited to try it as he read the very positive Platter review. And of course, it is CORKED. Such a shame.
2004 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine Constantia. The pretty aromas here really jump out of the glass and coat the nasal cavity with luscious scents of apricots, rose petals, honey, pineapple, orange blossom and blue slate. It is similar in the mouth, where it presents itself as very pretty and layered, with yellow citrus and tropical fruits dominating the flavor profile. It is smooth and luxuriant but floral and airily pretty at the same time. It has a really fine inner mouth perfume of orange blossoms and lychee that I like a lot, too. It is medium-weighted and only moderately sweet—with a bit of brown spices in the mix. It finishes a bit heavier and with more concentrated sweetness, but with a little kick of acid to keep it carrying along just fine. This is a really nice package.
2003 Chamarré Jurançon Tradition. Just as Pmac started us off in France before we tasted through the South African line-up, so too did he bring us back there to finish the night. For me, this smells of brown sugar, crème brulee topping, copper wires and butterscotch. In the mouth, it strikes me as a bit one-dimensional, never really expanding much in the mouth or showing different facets to its sweetness levels. Dried tropical fruits, light honey and yellow tree fruits have nice flavor and a moderate level of attractive sweetness, but the wine seems a bit too restrained or simple when all is said and done.
-Michael
