Organic wines from Stellar Organics and Mas des Quernes
Macis restaurant, Leipzig
Tasted Saturday, October 8, 2011 by honest bob with 592 views
Introduction
Odd tasting this - profoundly mediocre wines in a lovely setting, with excellent accompanying food.
Flight 1 - Stellar Organics (10 Notes)
These wines come with heavy "feel-good" marketing. Fair trade, smiling pictures and lots of organic wildlife (happy ducks eating the snails, that sort of thing). Unfortunately, the quality was poor to mediocre across the board. The thought that this dross is transported across the world (to countries like Germany where there is plenty of good cheap wine literally flooding the market) - and promoted as something somehow good and noble (it's organic! it's fairtrade!) is - at least from an ecological point of view - deeply depressing.
Flight 2 - Mas des Quernes (5 Notes)
After all that it was quite a relief to taste some proper wine, made in a nearby country.
NV Stellar Organics Extra Dry 80 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
This "aerated sparkling wine" (i.e. carbonized in the vat) is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It smells initially neutral with a hint of pollen - as it warms up to room temperature an odd synthetic wine-gum/rubber tire aroma develops. Sweetish, musty, green apple entry, sugary mid-palate, squished sulphorous finish. The attractive, gentle fizz went flat after only 15 minutes in the glass. €9,05 retail. 80P
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2011 Stellar Organics Chenin Blanc Moonlight 71 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Chenin Blanc-Sauvignon Blanc blend(!) Smells like a mixture of organic waste-bin with a healthy touch of methane. Entry reminiscent of a dentist's anaesthetic mouthwash; fermented melon mid-palate, numbed-mouth finish. Deeply unpleasant wine at any price. €4,99 retail. 71P
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2010 Stellar Organics Sauvignon Blanc South Africa 74 Points
South Africa
Some varietal characteristic on the nose, but a weird fishy note on the (slender) entry; unpleasantly rough, impure finish. €5,90 retail. 74P
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2009 Stellar Organics Chardonnay Reserve 82 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Decent varietal characteristic on nose, with some oak (planks, apparently, placed in the stainless steel fermentation tanks). Good clean entry, sweet melon midpalate, soft finish. Not bad for €7,20 retail. 82P
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2011 Stellar Organics Pinotage 75 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Made without addition of sulphur. Beetroot red colour. Smells of smoke, bicycle inner tube and burning rubber car tyres marinated in the juice running out of an organic waste bin on a hot afternoon. Ripe tannic entry promises something quite butch, but drives straight into a brick wall, stops dead, as flat as a pancake. No midpalate, "finish" consists of a very furry tongue. Even the importer warned us not to leave this one in the cellar, as the lack of SO2 means it has a short shelf-life. Perhaps useful for marinating mutton? €5,90 retail. 75P
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2011 Stellar Organics Merlot 78 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Made without additional sulphur. Overextracted woody smell, with less dustbin-juice in evidence than the Pinotage. Pleasant, pure, dusty, restrained taste. €5,90 retail. 78P
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2011 Stellar Organics Shiraz Moonlight 74 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Light red-black cherry colour. Medicinal smell of sticking plaster/Band-Aid. Decent light, slightly unripe stalky red-fruit entry. Very dry tannic finish. €4,99 retail. 74P
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2011 Stellar Organics Shiraz 75 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Organic-wastebin juice on a hot summer day, smoke and rubber on the nose; more rubber on the palate; moderately attractive plummy aftertaste. €5,90 retail. 75P
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2009 Stellar Organics Cabernet Sauvignon Running Duck 73 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
Colour fading prematurely to rim - looks like an 8 year old Bordeaux Ordinaire. Organic waste, smoke and rubber on the nose; soft, flabby, sweet entry. 14% alc (too much for comfort and balance). €7,20 retail. 73P
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NV Stellar Organics Muscat of Alexandria Heaven on Earth 69 Points
South Africa, Western Cape
It isn't "Heaven on Earth". It is a weird concoction of Muscat grapes dried on rooibos(!) which smells mouldy, tastes of cough syrup and has a very rough finish. €7,70/37,5 cl retail. 69P
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