Last week's neighborhood tasting for 80. No time to take notes--these tastings are social events and I'm working--but nonetheless some impressions one week later.
2017 Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Old Vine Reserve Stellenbosch
Intense, concentrated, in-your-face flavors. Interesting pairing with a more elegant Delaire Graff. I preferred the latter, but this has a place. Very impressive for $17.
2017 Delaire Graff Chenin Blanc Swartland
Very nice comparison with the same vintage Ken Forrester OV Reserve. Where the other was almost bombastic with intensity and concentration, this one is creamy and elegant. My preference of the two.
2017 Meerlust Rubicon Stellenbosch Red Bordeaux Blend
A Bordeauxish blend with surprisingly good concentration and complex, balanced fruit. It perfectly exemplifies the new world fruit/old world flavor that makes South African reds so unique and, blind, I would defy most geeks I know to ID this as an on-$17 wine. What's more, we accidentally left a half bottle sitting on a counter uncorked for four days along with the pile of throw-aways. When we tasted it, lo and behold it had not only held up but improved, so it actually has the aging potential it tasted like it had in the beginning--was just afraid to believe it because of the low price. Put this away for 2030!
2017 Lievland Estate Pinotage Lievlander Vineyards Bush Vine Stellenbosch
On the plusher side as far as oak is concerned with cherry, raspberry and vanilla notes. I did not personally think it made the case for pinotage but the oak treatment made it popular with newbies in a 10-wine tasting of SA wines.
2018 Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap Western Cape Red Rhone Blend
Lighter bodied as befits, to some degree, it's $10 price tag. Lightly smokey med red fruits with a lot of pepper that strikes me as more mourvedre-ish than syrah, though supposedly it's a lot more of the latter. Lacks depth.
2016 Rust en Vrede Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Vineyards Stellenbosch
Delightfully old-school traditional with a very balanced display of dark red fruits and minerality. Had a lot of South African wines over the years and this style more than any other speaks to the best.
2017 Graceland Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Stellenbosch
To serious red wine as black velvet paintings are to art, or velour running suits to sporting goods, this overtly modern, cabernet plays unabashedly to the beginner palate. Sweet up front and silky going down it delivers black and blue fruit and chocolate with low acid and invisible tannins. Group most favorite, my least.
2015 Klein Constantia Estate Red Blend
Lacked the swack of front-end fruit that beguiled on most of the other reds in the line-up, but the richer savoury and earth character on the mid-palate made it by far the best food match, at least to those of us who care about such things. Very good.
2017 Kanonkop Cape Blend Kadette Stellenbosch Pinotage Blend
About as good as it gets for a $17 red blend. Dense blackberry fruit with cedar and cloves. Killer QPR.
2016 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block Swartland Red Blend
Spicy, peppery syrah that drank beautifully after a six-hour decant. Not goopy as one would fear from the name. Great tone and balance.