South African Wines - VERY LONG

the Modern
Tasted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 - Thursday, October 6, 2005 by Mlermontov with 1,349 views

Introduction

Thanks to David Cope of Cape Classics for the invitation - i was able to educate myself about South Africanwines. and to make the most of this opportunity i decided to take notes on all the wines - for my own personall future use. I was very surprized to find so many great values and - whats more interesting - how "old world" many of these wines tasted. The most prominant feature was the acidity - which was always high but the better winemakers used it to their advantage while others either suffered from it or tried to overpower it and that left the wines flabby. The scores were for my personal use - >87 drinkable , 87-88 - party/everyday stuff. 89-91 good wines i would put at any table. 91-94 - offline caliber stuff. 95+ must have wines.

Flight 1 (6 Notes)

Flight 2 (15 Notes)

Flight 3 (9 Notes)

Flight 4 (9 Notes)

  • 2005 Clouds Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 86 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    everyday type of wine - tropical nose, less "gripping" acidity. light wine. Easy to sell i am sure - nothing to dislike here.

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  • 2004 Thelema Riesling 86 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    i am very tough on grading rieslings - i love Riesling and drink lots of it. THis was a nice mosel-like on the nose. white peach, light - lighter than qba even. clean acidity but just not anything exciting or unique.

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  • 2005 Thelema Sauvignon Blanc 89 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    WOW great nose on this wine! citrus/grapefruit notes and just a touch of tropical fruit on the nose. But just taste this - this is not "new world" wine. Its bright, crisp acidity makes one think of Spanish Verdejo. With time this became even more delicious but thats because it started off a bit too cold. Rudi said this is not an ager - his suggestion is to drink it within 9-12 month of release but it could go a year or 2. Good Qpr as well. NO HEAT - this wine is at 14% alc and no heat what so ever!

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  • 2004 Thelema Sauvignon Blanc Sutherland 91 Points

    South Africa, Cape South Coast, Elgin

    (10/5/2005)

    good minerality, rich mouthcoating wine. this can last a few years. Yum!

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  • 2004 Thelema Chardonnay 91 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    everybody already knows... i dont like chardonay. BUT there are some days when a wine goes above and beyond my expectations. This was one of them. It was a bit cold and the nose showed some oak and butter...so i was not impressed...BUT Rudi said give it time. He has had some bottles that are 10+ years old and a drinking well now but he suggests waiting 3 years after release for maturity. So i waited...and WOW. There was a lot of power under the hood here. More toward white burg then cali. Very compact with great backbone - nothing flabby or "sweet" about this wine! this is a Serious wine@ much impressed.

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  • 2003 Thelema Merlot Stellenbosch 89 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    bit of prunes on the nose, but with good minerality. A bit rustic - almoust like an italian wine?! nice but not great.

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  • 2003 Thelema Shiraz 89 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    nice wine, with plums dominating. this is a cooler climate wine.

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  • 2003 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/6/2005)

    Minty, lactic, lots of fresh fruit and berries. This is very old world - with medium body and great backnone. this obviously needs more time but is already delicious. Was my favorite when this and the syrah were just poured - but the syrah developed faster - this may develop more as well.

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  • 2003 Rudi Schultz Syrah 94 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/6/2005)

    This is Rudi's "baby" and WOW what a wine it was. It continued to change throughout the night and by the end was pure heaven. the 8 of us polished off 2 bottles of this!!!
    Started off a touch sweet on the nose but that blew off to reveal Spice and tobacco and red/black berries. Very mouthcoating - glycerin and well balanced. With time less "rich" but more rhone-like. Great acidity and backbone. Medium bodied wine even withall the richness of fruit - nothing heavy here. No alc showing. YUM!@

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Flight 5 (15 Notes)

Flight 6 (7 Notes)

  • 2004 Miles Mossop Wines Saskia 89 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region

    (10/6/2005)

    This is a blend of Viogneer and Chenin. Started of with a great nose of flowers that aquired some honey as it went along. Very rich mouthfeel - with great fruit and acidity. Chenin is hiding now - but it comes out in the finish. Some oak - but very well integrated. This is delicious.

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  • 2005 Tokara Sauvignon Blanc Zondernaam 90 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    YUMMY! and should be around $15! This is a new world Sav. Tropical nose bu not at all flabby. Minerality and good fruit, flowers as well. this spent time in its lees and thus has a round and creamy texture. a BUY

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  • 2005 Tokara Chardonnay Zondernaam 88 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    butter/oak but not flabby. nice "comfy" wine for a non wine-geek dinner. 20% new oak for 10 months. Some complexity but not outstanding.

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  • 2005 Tokara Chardonnay 91 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    this is their higher end chard. Very complex nose - lemon, butter, oak, - like a white burg. 40% new oak for 11 months. Clean mouthfeel - great integration and balance. Powerfull acidity. YUM

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  • 2003 Tokara Shiraz Zondernaam 90 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    25% new oak. Heavy sweet fruit and spicy. Almoust like a Zin. Rich black fruit and vanilla. Yum! good price as well.

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  • 2002 Tokara Cabernet Sauvignon Zondernaam 88 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    this was a poor year for them. Dusty notes, minty, light red fruit and herbs. not much body but well made wine anyway.

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  • 2003 Tokara Red 91 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (10/5/2005)

    This is a serious wine - with bordeaux-like flavors but high acidity. in fact i mentioned acid 4 times while writing about this wine. if the acidity fades it will be a GREAT wine. The acidity is not at the point where its very distracting for me - but one must love that style - this has very rich fruit and excellent balance. Again - medium bodied.

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Flight 7 (8 Notes)

Flight 8 (7 Notes)

Closing

thanks again to David, Rudi and Miles for a wonderfull afternoon. I hope to have the chance to see you again next year.this was indeed eye-opening

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