WTN: Rubicons and Reynvaans

[Jenise]

2005 Meerlust 'Rubicon', South Africa: This once-icon of the South African Bordeaux blends is showing very well right now though it's very different from the '99, which is the prior vintage I owned. This would seem to be a riper vintage with stronger sweeter huckleberry blue-black mid-palate fruit. Additionally, heavy dust on the nose and palate along with tobacco, cedar and sweet basil notes. It probably hasn't peaked yet, but I don't believe it has the structure for long-term aging.

2009 Reynvaan 'The Unnamed' and 'The Contender', Washington: A guest brought both wines over on Saturday night. The Unnamed had been opened and sampled before he got here--I'm not sure for how long, and therefore I'm not sure how much difference it made in what I tasted. But wow, these wines are great. My concerns about the higher alcohols in the 09's vs. the 08's were not validated in what I tasted, the alcohol was not apparent. Instead, what we got was more proof that Reynvaan is the new kid on the Washington Syrah block that everybody's going to have to contend with: very old-world traditional in an Ogier version of Northern Rhone kind of way. These wines will not be as ageable, but they're tarry and sophisticated and at just three years old are already displaying some of those 'ass-in-a-glass' characteristics that are have been nearly impossible for new world syrahs to capture. Move over, Cayuse.

I'm sure you know this, but Christophe Baron (owner/winemaker at Cayuse) is the 'consultant' at Reynvaan, and I'm sure his involvement and the use of some of the same vineyards he uses (e.g., In the Rocks) leads to that great gamy notes often found in the Reynvaan wines.

Interesting to read your note on the 2005 Meerlust. I think the replanting of many of the SA vineyards (disease such as leaf roll was fairly rampant) and the rush to the riper style a la California and Bordeaux has led to a different style for recent SA wines. But the terroir there definitely still leads to a lovely Old/New World cross.

[Jenise]

I'm sure you know this, but Christophe Baron (owner/winemaker at Cayuse) is the 'consultant' at Reynvaan, and I'm sure his involvement and the use of some of the same vineyards he uses (e.g., In the Rocks) leads to that great gamy notes often found in the Reynvaan wines.

Interesting to read your note on the 2005 Meerlust. I think the replanting of many of the SA vineyards (disease such as leaf roll was fairly rampant) and the rush to the riper style a la California and Bordeaux has led to a different style for recent SA wines. But the terroir there definitely still leads to a lovely Old/New World cross.

Re the Reynvaans, yes I did know that. I liked these so much I picked up two more bottles yesterday where originally the jump in alcohol over the 08s had dissuaded me from purchasing. Me buying domestic syrah? Quite the change!

I did not know that about the replantings in South Africa. Up here I don't have the exposure to/availability of these wines that I used to--they're sadly still quite unknown and underappreciated in the American marketplace, at least here on the left coast. But that Old World/New World thing is what I so love about them. And they're usually such fine values. You brought a Meerlust, I'm suddenly remembering, to one of Bill's lunches once, didn't you? A '99?

Yes I did bring a Meerlust a few years ago - you have a good memory!