Important Update From the Founder
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South African Wines - VERY LONG
the Modern
Tasted October 5, 2005 - October 6, 2005 by Mlermontov with 1,355 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)
White
2004 Indaba Chenin Blanc
80 points
stainless steel - very light - not much varietal - bit hot (13.5%)
White
2004 Indaba Sauvignon Blanc
85 points
stainless steel - tropical nose, bit of sweat, clean but rather boring. great qpr though.
White
2005 Indaba Chardonnay
87 points
this is nice - at the price ($9-10?) its great. clean with some butter but not at all heavy. some sweetness on the finish. all you can ask for at this level. Screwtop!
Red
2004 Indaba Shiraz
86 points
Aussy with acidity. Pruny and sweet nose, very ripe but with mean streak of acidity going through and making it refreshing. good for its price.
Red
2004 Indaba Merlot
84 points
80% french 20% american oak. light and fruity, but the alcohol shows. not a BUY
Flight 2 (15 notes)
White
2005 Eden Crest Sauvignon Blanc
88 points
amazing qpr (should be around $10 - grassy nose, very crisp witha slight touch of RS on the finish. balanced and vibrant wine. YUM.
Red
2005 Eden Crest Shiraz
86 points
very strong sweet nose, but rustic (bretty?) but nice black fruit. great qpr
White
2004 Excelsior Chardonnay
87 points
50% oak. Butter but with some citrus and nice acidity. - old world style. Nice wine at a great price.
Red
2004 Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon
86 points
fruit forward but with good backbone. nice tannins. good at its price range.
Red
2004 Excelsior Shiraz Paddock
84 points
this is 5 year old vines - and they need lost more time. Beautifull nose - 90+ for the nose. flowers and all rhone...but body is ...clean but not enough there. Will be a great wine in the future vintages.
White
2004 Delaire Graff Sauvignon Blanc
86 points
clean but with some fruit and creamy qualitees (on lees) nice wine.
Red
2003 Delaire Graff Cabernet-Merlot
86 points
good body - cali style meritage- well balanced if a bit rich.
White
2004 Raats Chenin Blanc Original
87 points
this has varietal characteristics, some sweetness onthe finish. nice.
White
2004 Raats Chenin Blanc
88 points
very loir like - true chenin flavors. this is something to look for.
White
2004 Rudera Chenin Blanc
89 points
if you wanted to confuse a wine geek - bring this to dinner. made in an oxydized style this wine tastes like an older riesling without the petrol. Green apples and peach dominate. very interesting!
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Rudera Chenin Blanc Noble Late Harvest
91 points
Very impressive. unctious without being too heavy or too sweet. Likea young auslese** . lovely dessert wine.
Flight 3 (9 notes)
White
2005 Brampton Viognier
84 points
15.5% alcohol!!! very good nose! but the pallate is too light/acidic/hollow.
Red
2004 Brampton Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
88 points
here we go - excellent fruit. great body. a BUY at that price range.
White
2003 Rustenberg Chardonnay
88 points
nice wine indeed - cmplex nose, great fruit and body. long finish. a BUY
White
2003 Rustenberg Chardonnay Five Soldiers
92 points
this is not a "cheepie" - probably retails for $32+ but this is a serious wine. Very very complex - with layers of minerality. long finish. excellent acidity. A++
Red
2002 Rustenberg John X Merriman
88 points
'02 was a tough year - thus its not the best example. 46% Merlot 52% Cab. light but withh good fruit and balance, in a good year this may be a delicious wine. Old World in style.
Red
2003 Rustenberg Cabernet Sauvignon Peter Barlow
90 points
great new world cab - powerfull but needs more time to develop. good fruit and extract - hard to sell at $40+ though.
Flight 4 (9 notes)
White
2005 Clouds Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
86 points
everyday type of wine - tropical nose, less "gripping" acidity. light wine. Easy to sell i am sure - nothing to dislike here.
White
2004 Thelema Riesling
86 points
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.
White
2005 Thelema Sauvignon Blanc
89 points
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!
White
2004 Thelema Sauvignon Blanc Sutherland
91 points
good minerality, rich mouthcoating wine. this can last a few years. Yum!
White
2004 Thelema Chardonnay
91 points
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.
Red
2003 Thelema Merlot Stellenbosch
89 points
bit of prunes on the nose, but with good minerality. A bit rustic - almoust like an italian wine?! nice but not great.
Red
Red
2003 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon
93 points
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.
Red
2003 Rudi Schultz Syrah
94 points
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!@
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!@
Flight 5 (15 notes)
White
2004 Kanu Chenin Blanc
86 points
sharp acidity after a rather sweet, tropical nose. nice light wine.
White
2004 Kanu Sauvignon Blanc
86 points
tropical nose, a bit sweet/flabby, this is actually a blend with a large part of chenin.
White
2004 Kanu Chenin Blanc Barrel Fermented
88 points
Nutty Loir nose, much better that the regular ( but almoust double in price). Palatte is still a bit flabby - but this can be mistaken for a lower end vouvray.
White
2004 Kanu Chardonnay
87 points
very ripe - buttery, refreshing on the pallate with a good finish. Slight heat though.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2003 Kanu Kia-Ora Noble Late Harvest Limited Release
92 points
84% chenin, nose of ripe apricot, not too sweet though with good balance. long finish. good qpr sticky.
White
2004 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc
85 points
grassy nose, some citrus notes on the palatte. at its price this is not a must have. Many others here are MUCH better.
White
2003 Mulderbosch Chardonnay
84 points
50 % new oak. notes of butter, vanilla, rather flabby. not exciting.
White
2001 Mulderbosch Chardonnay Barrel Fermented
86 points
11 month in new french oak. better texture and balance, but the finish is short. not very complex.
Rosé
2005 Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé
88 points
light, floral, with some strawberry notes. happy wine - perfect for parties.
Red
Red
2005 Mulderbosch Shiraz
89 points
ripe black fruit but with good acidity. think Aussy with a streak of steel. very nice but price hurts it. ($56-60)
Red
2002 Mulderbosch Beta Centauri
88 points
44 cab sav, 44 cab franc + pet Ver. Plums and black fruit. minty, bit rustic. NICE wine. but priced too high - around $70!
Red
2002 Sanctum Shiraz
91 points
this is the Mulderbosch winemaker's personal label. sweaty Rhone nose. a little bretty but not distracting. Lots of power. sweet fruit/tannins and long finish. Good solid wine.
Flight 6 (7 notes)
White
2004 Miles Mossop Wines Saskia
89 points
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.
White
2005 Tokara Sauvignon Blanc Zondernaam
90 points
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
White
2005 Tokara Chardonnay Zondernaam
88 points
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.
White
2005 Tokara Chardonnay
91 points
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
Red
2003 Tokara Shiraz Zondernaam
90 points
25% new oak. Heavy sweet fruit and spicy. Almoust like a Zin. Rich black fruit and vanilla. Yum! good price as well.
Red
2002 Tokara Cabernet Sauvignon Zondernaam
88 points
this was a poor year for them. Dusty notes, minty, light red fruit and herbs. not much body but well made wine anyway.
Red
2003 Tokara Red
91 points
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.
Flight 7 (8 notes)
Red
2002 De Toren Diversity Gamma
88 points
good balance, ripe but not flabby. Californian + Acid. 90% french oak.
Red
2003 De Toren Fusion V
93 points
great nose of an old world wine. Ripe but not heavy fruit. medium body. Yummy wine. A+++ (and not too $$$ - about $30)
Red
2003 Kanonkop Kadette
89 points
bright fruit, a bit of barnyard onthe nose. Complex wine - but light and happy. great qpr.
Red
2003 Kanonkop Pinotage
90 points
if you want to try a serious pinotage - this is it. Rustic but juicy and delicious. YUM
Red
2002 Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon
88 points
well made wine from a not so good year. ripe flavors and good medium bodied wine.
Red
2002 Kanonkop Paul Sauer
89 points
well made wine from a tough year. ripe but just not enough stuffing.
Red
2002 The Foundry Syrah
92 points
very powerfull wine. World class stuff. ripe and yet not too heavy. Delicious fruit.
White
2005 The Foundry Viognier
87 points
wonderfull nose - but the acidity is VERY fresh. oak for 5 months. nice wine if you like acidity.
Flight 8 (7 notes)
White
2005 Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc Beyond
88 points
grassy nose, crystal clear, lovely wine and a great buy at that price.
White
White
2005 Buitenverwachting Riesling Rhine Riesling
84 points
i am tough on rieslings. this had a tropical nose light body and a bit sour finish.
White
2004 Buitenverwachting Chardonnay
87 points
made in a rich style - lots of butter but well balanced and not flabby.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2000 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance
95 points
i have to buy this no matter the price. WOWOW ...unlike anything else. Light not overpowering sweetness. just plain amazing and soooo complex..i wonder what this does with more age. YUMMY! wht a finish to the afternoon!
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