Creation Wines tastery organized by Ton Overmars' liquor store

We are quite lucky to have Ton Overmars as local liquor store; the store is well-stocked with wine and other alcoholic beverages, and the employees are knowledgeable and friendly. They organized a wine tasting of South African wines, centered around Creation Wines, a vineyard near Cape Town. JC Martin, the owner of Creation Wines, gave a talk about his vineyard and wines, during which we had three flights of wines (white, red syrah blends and red pinot noirs). There were additional wines to be tasted before or after the talk (which I've grouped in a fourth 'flight').

In the first flight, we tasted Creation's whites. The Chardonnay was by far the most interesting for us, although the oaked taste apparently isn't for everyone.

• 2012 Creation Wines Sauvignon Blanc Whalepod 85 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  Almost see-through, very light yellow/green color. Nose of melons, elderflower and a little bit of hay. Tasted again of melon and elderflower, slightly sweet but fresh. Very pleasant, easily drinkable.

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• 2012 Creation Wines Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon 85 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  With a very light orange color and a nose of melon, citrus, elderflower and just a tad of gasoline. The elderflower and melon return in the taste, the gasoline unfortunately does not.

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• 2011 Creation Wines Chardonnay 92 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  This light-yellow wine has a rather strong gunpowder smell that, according to the maker, derives from the oaken barrels it has been in. Apart from gunpowder, white peach can also be smelled. The taste starts with citrus and peach, and quickly the gunpowder and charcoal come in as well. Finish is shorter than would be ideal, but what a taste!

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• 2011 Creation Wines Viognier 85 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  A light orange wine, richly smelling of yellow fruit. Taste was the same, quite straightforward with a medium finish.

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This flight consisted of the syrah-based wines. To both of our inexperienced palates, the budget option seemed the winner here.

• 2011 Creation Wines Whale Pod 88 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

  Creation's budget red was eminently drinkable. It has a dark red, purplish color and smells of black fruits and just a hint of tobacco. The taste starts of with those same black fruits, quickly followed by woody tannins that give way to a slightly smokey aftertaste. Medium finish.

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• 2010 Creation Wines Syrah Grenache 87 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  A dark purple, almost black wine with an almost overwhelming, jammy smell of black fruits. The fruits return in the taste, together with some rather gritty tannins and a tad of smoke.

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• 2010 Creation Wines Syrah 86 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  A dark red, almost black color and a smell of black fruits and hints of tobacco and minerals. The fruits come back in the taste, the strong tannins almost overwhelm the minerality and fully overwhelm the tobacco. Short finish.

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The last flight during the talk had the prestige wines. If the reserve pinot noir loses its strong tannins over time, it could become very nice. As it stands now, the 2011 pinot is a very nice choice.

• 2011 Creation Wines Pinot Noir 91 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  This wine was a dark red/brick color. The black fruits, tobacco and oceanic smells all came back in the taste, with the tannins helping them forward just a little bit more. Medium long, very nice finish.

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• 2010 Creation Wines Pinot Noir Reserve 87 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

  As explained by the producer, this wine will definitely benefit from aging. The color is purplish-brown and the nose is full of black fruits and tobacco. They return in the rather rich taste, with a wonderfully long finish. The tannins are too brutal just now, but if they mellow with age, this wine could be a 92 or 93.

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• 2010 Creation Wines Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot 86 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  Nose of blackberries, with a taste of blackberries and smoke. Medium long finish.

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These are wines we tasted before and after the talk - the Haute-Cabrieres were a bit boring but the Beaumonts were very nice.

• 2010 Beaumont Family Wines Hope Marguerite 88 Points

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

  A light yellow wine with peach and smoke in the nose. Elegant taste with flavors clearly present but not as forward as some of the other wines we tasted. Quite some tannins for a white, smoke and peach, taste has a long finish.

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• 2010 Beaumont Family Wines Pinotage 87 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay

  Blackberries and leather in the nose and in the mouth. Very pleasant tannins and again, this Beaumont is a bit more subtle than the more taste-forward Creation wines. Long finish.

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• 2011 Haute-Cabriere Tranquille Blush Rosé Chardonnay Pinot Noir 84 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Franschhoek Valley

  True to its name, the color of this wine is a rose-orangy hue. It smells of citrus and raspberries, of which only the citrus returns in the taste. Not very interesting apart from the color.

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• 2011 Haute-Cabriere Pinot Noir Unwooded 84 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Franschhoek Valley

  Yes, unwooded and I don't think that's a very good idea. Although there is a slight smell and taste of vanille, there's basically not enough going on here. The smell and taste of blackberries and the light tannins make this a pleasant wine, but that's all there is to it. Slightly boring.

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This was a brilliant event - my wife and I learned a lot of new things about wine (granted, we're absolute beginners so there still is a lot to learn), we were both very enthusiastic about one and the same wine and basically had a blast.