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Short flight of 2013 vintage from Thorne & Daughters and Alheit

Somerset West

Tasted December 5, 2013 by rikipedia with 53 views

Introduction

A short couple of flights from John Seccombe and Chris Alheit.

Flight 1 - 2013 Thorne & Daughters (2 notes)

White
2013 Thorne & Daughters Rocking Horse South Africa, Western Cape
91 points
White blend with Chardonnay, Roussanne, Semillon and some Semillon Gris.
Mid yellow in colour, the lifted aromas show white flowers, nectarine, bayleaf, curry leaf, mango and some oak nuances.
A tangy acid on entry with a hint of reduction, the wine starts with a resinous, chalky note. As it opens it reveals orange skin, nougat, lemon, more prominent wood along with plenty of white fruit. A little short on the finish there’s a phenolic note that gives it shape although the alcohol pokes through a bit. The Semillon appears to give some red fruit, liquorice whilst the medium finish is quite peppery with a lemon edge.
pepperiness comes through with a touch of Bayleaf.
White
2013 Thorne & Daughters Sémillon Tin Soldier South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland
90 points
100% Semillon gris; the destemmed Semillon gris receives 10 week skin contact during fermentation to enable extraction of texture, colour and flavour out of the skins. Matured in old French oak for 9 months.
Bronze colour with touch of pink. Intriguing aromas of white pepper, savoury notes, raspberry and a touch swimming pool to start with that morphs to lanolin. Certainly very peppery, the entry is medium bodied with a crisp acidity and grippy phenolic texture running to a chalky cherry stone bitter notes on the back palate. The mid-palate is flush with white and pink peppercorns with a resinous thread throughout. There is something akin to a Pinot d'Auneis where the savouriness opens up to give a floral character and orange notes (tangerine) creep in. A really intriguing wine!

Flight 2 - 2013 Alheit Vineyards (2 notes)

White
2013 Alheit Vineyards Cartology Bushvines South Africa, Western Cape
93 points
A blend of 88% Chenin Blanc and 12% Semillon, the colour is a Pale lemon green with intense floral aromas of apricot, Galia Melon, whitecurrants, licorice and bayleaf. The lifted entry has a crisp acidity has a sinewy, phenolic grip that supports lovley broad flavours of pepper and salted lemons leaf and green plum, even a touch of cherry. Lovely grippy, chalky texture, a wonderful depth of flavour and finishes quite tight with a long, pithy-edged, saline twist that seems to endure forever!
White
2013 Alheit Vineyards Chenin Blanc Magnetic North Mountain Makstok Skurfberg South Africa, Olifants River
91 points
(Tasted blind): A mid lemon to green edge wine, youthful. Delightful floral aromas with pressed yellow flowers, liquorice, lanolin and plenty of aniseed. The aniseed persists on entry as a gorgeous pepperiness starts to climb with some nuts. The wine exhibits a lovely breadth, is medium-bodied with a vibrant acidity yet feels weighed down in the mid-palate by a nutty edgy, almost evolved note and flattens the mid-palate so lacks some depth, almost to the point of coming across as dilute. The finish is again nutty almost salty (sherry-like) along with some white pepper, bay leaf and gun smoke. There is again some pleasant pithy texture with a chalky edge but doesn’t shine like the previous wine.
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