South African 'Picnic' offline

These wines showed well across the board and demonstrated that South African wines can age well and need to age (especially Cabernet Sauvignon).

• 2008 Mullineux Old Vines White

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  A blend of 84% Chenin Blanc with some Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. Nose very southern Rhoney but without the flabbiness. Lovely palate - clean, fresh with a citrussy note. A touch of creaminess from old oak barrels. Lovely. Great value if it comes out at £12.

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• 2003 Mulderbosch Chardonnay Barrel Fermented

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Very full-on fat-ish Chardonnay nose. Quite oaky nose, but not excessive. Had me a little worried, but actually the palate is clean with a strong lemony note that supports the good acidity. No heaviness or butteriness. It's pretty full on but it works if you like that style. Very well done and rather good.

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• 2006 Mulderbosch Chardonnay Barrel Fermented

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Definitely cut from the same cloth as the 2003. Similar, but slightly narrower, more muted nose with a hint of dustiness. Similar clean palate to the 03, but more muted again, and without the seamlessness that the 03 has. More time, I suspect, will do this good. No hurry to drink at all. Delicious again in a relatively full-on style.

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• 2006 Vergelegen Vergelegen White

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  80/20 Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc. Smells like class - as in classy, not school. Gentle grassy notes on the nose. Wondefrful silky, supple palate but also so delicate. Balanced. This seemed a little quiet compared to the earlier wines, and suspect this will reall sing in a few years' time. Top notch and very enjoyable.

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• 2007 Bouchard Finlayson Pinot Noir Tête de Cuvée Galpin Peak

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  It's Pinot, but not as we know it. Rich, warm nose. Very soft and sumputous palate with a roasted quality that's actually rather nice. Long finish. Lovely, but it's not Burgundy and it't not NZ Pinot either - it doesn't have that spicy and slightly alcoholic quality that I find a lot in NZ Pinots. Drinking well now. Will it last was the question posed around the table.

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• 2001 Ashbourne

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  Classic expensive and rich cigar box nose, á la Bordeaux left bank. Touch of camembert someone suggests, and I can see why. Lovely full, savoury palate, that's a nod perhaps to right-bank Bordeaux. There's a sort of Pinotageyness, but you'd only get it if you knew. Some criticism from the table for it's short and slightly abrupt length of finish. Still, another excellent wine.

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• 2001 Kaapzicht Estate Steytler Vision

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  About 50/50 Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon. Classy nose from nicely integrated oak. Some notes of mahogany/polish too. Perhaps a hint of SA greenness as well, but not at all obtrusively. The palate is quite Cabernet-ey with a hint of spice. Some heat on the finish. Not the refinement of the Ashbourne. A good wine but not great.

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• 2004 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Clean but warm cabernet nose. Not the mint I expected. The palate seemed a little dilute compared to the 1996. Dusty tannins still very present. Not a great showing but it seems pretty young.

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• 1996 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Pretty mature colour. secondary notes in the nose indicate the 96's age. There's a touch of furniture polich on the nose with a lovely herbaceousness that's not green. Lovely soft, supple palate that sems to have more fruit than then 2004! Perhaps just the sweetness of age? Excellent for what is supposed to be a weak vintage in SA.

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• 1998 Grangehurst Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Teriyaki together with some herbacious notes combine with the fruit notes on the nose. Later, a nice sweaty leatheriness too. Another lovely soft caressing palate, but with a peculiar sort of spicy tang in the finish. Someone suggests this wine seems rather Cab Franc like and this gets murmurs of approval.

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• 2000 Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon Franschhoek

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Franschhoek Valley

  An obvious step up in depth of fruit in the nose of this. Classy, but not oaky at all. The palate is quite savoury and keeps changing upon each revisit. Nice powdery tang in the mid-palate. Excellent wine.

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• 1997 Neil Ellis Cabernet Sauvignon Jonkershoek Valley

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek Valley

  Lovely mature nose, that reveals distinct black tea notes after a while. Lighter than the Boekenhoutskloof (12.5% abv it says). This also continues to evolve in the glass over the 30-40 mins it's in my glass, perhaps gaining the sweetness of maturity. Certainly a little tannic bite to beging still lingering. Another excellent wine and a nice foil to the other straight Cabernet. Who says SA wines don't age? Still plently in this and some opinion around the table that this seemed quite young.

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• 2005 De Toren Fusion V

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  A Bordeaux blend. Much darker colour than the previous two wines. Slightly muted on the nose, but hints at richness. The slight note of black pepper make it smell like a classy Cab Shiraz. The palate echoes the nose. Very solid fruit, some spiciness and very crunchy tannins after the previous two. Needs lots of time, I think. Jury seemed a little out on this one and I can understand why. Too young to tell really.

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• 1998 KWV Shiraz Abraham Perold Op Die Berg

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl

  KWV's attempt at making SA's answer to Penfold's Grange. Clear note of sweet coconut milk on the nose and some pepperiness. Some iron. Very rich, super-ripe nose too. Sipping it - yikes. This is something else. Very rich, though not exactly sweet. Someone suggests Zinfandel has been mixed in and I can see why. Sort of late harvesty & port like. Monolithic and young still, despite having been double decanted 12 hours earlier. Most didn't like it. I thought it manageble but you couldn't drink much of it. Not really enjoyable.

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• 2001 Luddite Wines Shiraz

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Bot River

  Another quite rich nose, and seemed a little blurred. Some sweatiness. The palate has a good fruit sweetness. Good but still pretty primary. This needs a lot more time.

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• 2004 Kleinood Syrah Tamboerskloof

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Again, a rich fruity nose. Very young. It's not tannic but seems almost too much. Quite clumsy. Perhaps needed to be cooler or needs more time for the element to integrate. Hard to see where this might go.

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• 2000 Sylvan Vale Pinotage Vine Dried

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Made from vine-dried grapes in a sort of Amarone style. Lovely nose that jumps out of the glass. Distinct medicinal note really adds to the nose or lanolin and a lovely lilfted quality. A touch of sweatiness too. Terrific crisp, fresh and rich palate. Really great stuff and a real delight.

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• 2008 Mullineux Chenin Blanc Straw Wine

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  Bright mid-gold colour. Wow! Wonderful lifted nose that sears out of the glass. Very complex. Distinct toasted granary wholemeal bread nose. Later, nuts and honey, then marmalade and dried apricots. The palate was beautifully light, clean and sumptuous with orangeyness. Good acidity too. Nicely different from the usual sauternes style.

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