Dover Park Hospice charity dinner + extras

Elsa and I had some lovely company over dinner with John and Elaine, Allen and Shin Hui and Alex and Fiona. Jade and Marcus left about halfway in. I wish more could be said about food and wine though! The former was not very impressive and the later was downright disappointing. The group of us scooted down to Wine Company to hang out after that, and popped a couple of better bottles that saved the night.

• NV Contri Spumanti Prosecco Corte Viola Dedicato 88 Points

  Italy, Veneto / Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Prosecco

  Much better than the last time I tried it - probably because it was paired with some food that showed it off well. Also likely because it was put beside some utter rubbish wines, which really flattered this little bubbly. Very fresh, with lemon and green apple flavours. Sweet, but with a background of savoury yeast. Fine and very persistent bead and a finely dry, mineral finish. Thank goodness there was something drinkable amidst the sea of plonk. Looking at my notes for the last bottle I tried, I can only conclude that there must have been some kind of flaw the last time to cause it to go flat.

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• 2007 Anakena Chardonnay 84 Points

  Chile, Central Valley

  Typical artificial tasting new world plonk served in these kind of events. Not disgustingly bad, sweet tropical fruit nose, with pinepple and honeydew and a chemically undertone. Lots of grassy weed and a touch of flint on the palate, which was a bit thin, but held together alright. Loads of tropical fruit flavours at mid-palate, pineapple and distinct honeydew flavours, and a bit of smoke at the finish. Some flashes of heat here and there, but not overwhelmingly alcoholic.

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• 2007 Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon 75 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley

  Wow. This was bad. I thought the Chardonnay was plonk, but this took the cake. My handwritten notes say "Grassy, hay, herbacious, savoury. Thin, weedy, bitter". Really insipid stuff, a microcosm of everything that I dislike about low-end stuff coming out of Chile - a couple of sips and I stopped drinking. This should be packed away and used as biofuel.

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• 2005 Vergelegen Chardonnay Reserve 90 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Far better than the plonk we had earlier, this light golden yellow wine showed a really buttery nose at first, with almond and musky floral accents, a twist of spice and melon notes floating below the oak-induced scents. The palate was really clean, with the acidity bringing the flavours in clear focus - I found honeyed almonds, bitter, stoney minerals, green apple with a touch of muskiness. Rather rich, yet very clean and seamless. There was a touch of heat, but that was well under control. It finished with another swirl of bitter minerality. The minerally bitterness that streaked through the wine was actually distracting and rather too obvious for most of the glass or two I had, but it did eventually tone down got a little better with air. I think this wine has good upside potential. At the end of the day, Alex and I found this to be rather a good imitation of Meursault 1er Cru from a warm year. I would have probably have said Genevrieres 2003 if served blind!

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• 2004 Vergelegen V 92 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  90% Cabernet, 7% Merlot, 4% Cab Franc. 14.5% alcohol. Dark purple colour, really modern nose on the first pour - vanillin laced oak, piney, woody scents, milk chocolate, mocha and a touch of glycerin. The fruit under all that took awhile to coax out, but when it did, it showed plummy dark fruit and a rather Bordelais brambliness. The palate attacked with a kick of bitter roots, but was nicely rich and concentrated with lots of black plum and cassis fruit lurking underneath a chocolate, bramble and dried herb overtones. A bit disjointed, with the herbacious bitterness dominating at first, but came together with time into a rather plush, round wine. Alcohol was nicely under control, with no heat showing up at all - surprisingly given the glycerin on the nose. Velvety tannins that coated the teeth and good round acidity gave the wine a really nice structure throughout. Towards the end of the glass, a touch of savoury showed up. It finished smooth and decently long with a another twist of herbs. This wine has quite a bit of stuffing, but seems to be going through an awkward adolescent phase at the moment. It should improve in the next few years. Impressive, but not blown away - like some of the other top up-and-coming new world efforts, this seemed to lack a little soul.

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All in all, a lovely evening, with an interesting chance to compare a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon from two new world wine-makers from up-and-coming wine regions in the Southern Hemisphere. One a small historic South African winery that produces one of Africa's top wines. The other, a thoroughly modern Chilean outfit complete with flash laden website and all. To be fair, we tried the lowest end from Anakena and the very highest end from Vergelegen, with the later probably costing up to five times more, but the difference in quality was stunning.