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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.3 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 56 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Alexroy on 4/12/2023 & rated 93 points: Red fruit on nose. Spice, red fruit, cloves, sweet and sour. Long. (297 views) | | | Tasted by Stemvers on 12/2/2022 & rated 91 points: Still going strong. Medium+ body, lovely dark fruit. 5 years after the last one, but hasn't lost it touch. I feel it has some years to go, but I wouldn't expect it to evolve further. (314 views) | | | Tasted by Alexroy on 5/1/2021 & rated 92 points: Intense black current on nose. Spicy, dark fruit, powerful. Medium length. (853 views) | | | Tasted by AussieRoddy on 4/15/2021 & rated 93 points: Needs an hour at least on opening. Lush dark red. Coffee cream dominant on the nose, bouquet is still stellar. Full velvety dark fruit on the palate, coffee still sneaking through with a touch of vanilla. Subdued acidity, nice tannin balance. Alcohol is there but is not intrusive. Really v good still. (804 views) | | | Tasted by WilD on 8/23/2019 & rated 93 points: Much better than my previous one. Nice fruit, black and blueberries. Some leather notes. Still fresh. (1500 views) | | | Tasted by michigan66 on 3/27/2019 & rated 93 points: After 3 hours of decanting, it was an explosion of fruit, tannins and well balanced berries.
Too bad there is just one more bottle left... (1328 views) | | | Tasted by Strikermax on 1/19/2019 & rated 92 points: Still going strong. (1435 views) | | | Tasted by Schorschi on 12/21/2018 & rated 89 points: Der Wein hat seinen Zenith überschritten und sollte schnell getrunken werden. War er in jungen Jahren geschmacklich noch an einem ausgewogenen Bordeaux angelehnt, zeigt sich im Alter eine gewisse Geschmacksverwässerung hin zur Banalität. (1251 views) | | | Tasted by WilD on 12/7/2018 & rated 91 points: Agree with DrZett. Already developed notes. Some cauliflower notes. Nice wine but not a rebuy for me. Drink it within 2 years. (1173 views) | | | Tasted by DrZett on 5/1/2018 & rated 90 points: Wow - already lots of interesting aging notes and at the same time a huge body with powerful dark red fruit notes on the palate. A little too much alcohol imo but very interesting overall. Drink up within the next 2-3 years. (1396 views) | | | Tasted by Stemvers on 5/9/2017 & rated 91 points: Oog: Helder bordeauxrood, medium diepte. Zeer stevig tranend. Schitterend!
Score: 10
Neus: Prachtige, zuivere en zwoele neus vol rijp bosfruit, bessen, bramen, jammie jammie jammie!! Fijne kruidigheid erdoor en wat hout, medium(+) intens. Tikje alcoholisch.
Score: 27
Mond: Krachtige aanzet. Full body. Zuiver, medium(+) zuren en tannines. Mond volgt neus: fruitig, kruidig, rijp in een prachtige balans, klein zoetje. Mooie, lange afdronk.
Score: 36
Overall: Heerlijke Bordeaux-style wijn, kan nog jaren mee. Wordt niet veel beter denk ik. Conditie van zuren en tannines is top. Wordt mogelijk nog toegankelijker. Drinken tm 2025.
Score: 18 (99 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 5/1/2017 & rated 91 points: Weekly tasting group RWP #255: Every taster brought a flight. No rules. (@ My place): In the bouquet smoke, dark berries, red berries and sweet spices. On the palate red and dark berries, chocolate , beautiful oak and good acidity. Tar, spices, and mint. A clean, beautiful and intense wine. (2274 views) | | | Tasted by aquacongas on 2/13/2017 & rated 92 points: A great vertical tasting at Wine professionals in Amsterdam
from 2001-2013. All wines between 90-93. the top 3 was 12, 01 and 09.
some mocha, a little bit chocolate, more tannic than the most, more Bdx style the primary fruit is in the background, 92, good aging potential (2035 views) | | | Tasted by michigan66 on 1/17/2017 & rated 92 points: strong and fruity.
dark color.
in its best years now.
this is a great wine! (1862 views) | | | Tasted by mikita77 on 1/17/2017 & rated 91 points: Dark ruby, intense nose of blackberry, cedar, tobacco, milk chocolate and just a tad green pepper, warm and ripe smell, alcoholic. On the palate the fruit continues, remnants of the malo, tannins are still quite dominant, yet become sweet after a while. Certain nice greenness shining through from the Cab Franc and the Petit Verdot. Nice length, but the tannins do put me off a bit. Think this would have benefittet from a few more years of cellaring. Overall a very good whine but although it is well made it doesn't make me want to finish the bottle. There is some freshness missing. Once the food is gone, continuing to drink is less fun. (1888 views) | | | Tasted by michigan66 on 10/23/2016 & rated 93 points: dark burgundy, almost black color.
opened up after more than 1 hour.
then it presented itself with lots of volume, berries, tannin and showed, that it is long away from the best time, which I believe is to come in the next 3 - 5 years.
too bad, I have only 5 more bottles left, because I bought this at a discount from my wine shop with 30% off at less than $50! (1838 views) | | | Tasted by dollevoet on 9/22/2015 & rated 92 points: Classic Bordeaux blend, completed with Malbec which gives the wine more "bite". The best SA Bordeaux blend I have tasted so far. (1983 views) | | | Tasted by justinp on 8/18/2015 & rated 75 points: Dark purple, in the nose lot of dark fruit, black currants, vanilla and pepper. High acids and tannins, liquorice and alcohol with a long aftertaste. Wait 4-5 years (2002 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 9/22/2014 & rated 90 points: Weekly tasting group #135; A mixed set of wines. (@ The factory by MN): Pnp the bouquet showed overripe almost boiled fruits, but with some air that disappeared and the dark forest fruits and oak were more than ok. On the palate ripe dark forest fruits and some red berry fruits as well, a lot of sweetness, but nicely balanced by the acidity. Mild and round tannin. The alcohol shows a bit. I am not as enthusiastic as some, but the wine is more than ok. Would like to try again around 2019 to see what the ageing potential is. (3151 views) | | | Tasted by St. Joseph on 9/7/2014 & rated 95 points: One of the best red blends of South Africa. Fullbodied, lots of red fruit (2744 views) | | | Tasted by The Fickle Palate on 5/17/2014: Tightly wound dark fruits to begin, but after three hour decant, scented coffee, tobacco, leather, sweet smoke, liquorice and cedar on the nose. More approachable than I was expecting, real meaty texture, layers of chewy blackcurrant, zesty cherry acidity and smooth peppery tannin. Very port-like in density at the moment, needs time, but a lot of potential here ****1/2 (2851 views) | | | Tasted by Tenuta Stefan on 5/2/2014 & rated 92 points: Perfect bottle.
Young, dark, purple/black, dense.
On the nose lots of cassis and quite green (green stalk), actually very green. Even some black olives and plum.
Very "South Africa" in the mouth, i e rubber, burnt rubber and asphalt. This wine is "Fast and the furious 10". Quite good acidity though. The alcohol is high. Says 15 % on the label, but the alcohol feels integrated with the fruit. Yet warm and sweet fruit. This wine is not fully balanced, but it is not as extracted as I feared. There is a minerality that lift this wine, and together with the acidity this wine stands up pretty well.
Chewy tannins and lots of oak in this medium plus to full bodied wine.
I must say I prefered the style this wine was made in back in 2004 and 2005. Lower alcohol, less oaky and more focus on the fruit. But those wines didn't age well. I think this wine is better for storage ... if not more than 10 - 15 years more.
The wines from early 2000 went over the famous Hill after 5 - 7 years. I still got some magnums left of 2004 and 2005, and try them once a year, but I've been disappointed since 2011. I do not think they will come to life again.
But young I must admit I just loved these wines. The fruit was fabulous and they didn't have the same amount of burnt rubber back then ... even if you could tell it was a wine from RSA.
88 - 89 points
But two days later, the 10 cl I left in the decanter shows a much better wine with complex notes. Much better 2 days later, and that is a good sign.
Meat, leather, tobacco, coffee, plum, cassis, earthy, some chocolate but still lots of rubber. But it tastes so much better two days later.
92 points (2312 views) | | | Tasted by Biggsy on 9/16/2013 & rated 90 points: The nose feels tighter than the Z with light notes of toasty wood and blackcurrant. Very sweet black fruits on the entry. Feels tightly wound on the midpalate with notes of lovely baked black fruits wrapped up in the big grippy tannins. (3175 views) | | | Tasted by rossi.wine on 9/12/2013 & rated 89 points: Lovely fruit on the nose, sweet, round, fresh, very sweet tannins, well integrated, nice balance, maybe a bit hot, quite long. Should improve over the next couple of years. (2242 views) | | | Tasted by Weston3220 on 9/10/2013: Fruit mixed with Ripe Vegetal Notes, has that Softness [ph?] but great acidity and balance, of furit and vegetal
Conc: I like this, hints of South Africa and can see why a bordeaux drinker would love this (2140 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/5/2014)
(De Toren, Fusion V Stellenbosch Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2013, IWC Issue #168
(De Toren Fusion V Stellenbosch) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (3/24/2013)
(De Toren Fusion V) Nearly opaque purple red violet color with ruby meniscus; coffee, mocha, roasted black fruit, black currant nose; rich, roasted black fruit, mocha, roasted fig, tart black currant palate; needs 2-3 years to integrate and resolve; medium-plus finish 90+ points (57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 13% Malbec, 11% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot) 90 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| De Toren Producer websiteRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.South Africa Wines of South AfricaStellenbosch Stellenbosch Wine RoutesStellenboschThe historical town of Stellenbosch boasts a winemaking tradition which stretches back to the end of the 17th-century.
Stellenbosch is the educational and research centre of the winelands. Stellenbosch University is the only one in South Africa with a viticultural and oenological department, and many of the country's most successful winemakers studied there. The Nietvoorbij Institute of Viticulture and Oenology is also in Stellenbosch and this organisation has one of the most modern experimental wineries in the world and, at its experimental farms (situated in several wine growing districts), important research into new varietals, clones and rootstocks is undertaken.
The mountainous terrain, good rainfall, deep well-drained soils and diversity of terroirs make this a sought-after viticultural area. The rapidly increasing number of wine estates includes some of the most famous names in Cape wine. The district, with its mix of historic estates and contemporary wineries, produces excellent examples of almost all the noble grape varieties.
The intensively farmed Stellenbosch district has been divided up into several smaller viticultural pockets including Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, Bottelary, Devon Valley and Banghoek. |
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