13.5% abv. Remains pretty opaque but not impenetrable. Some ageing on the rim. This bottle a notable step up from the bottle 10 days ago. A touch green on opening again, but more aromatic & classic with a light but silky palate. Some loganberry a then gorgeous high-toned cigar box notes. A somewhat short and diffuse finish perhaps the obvious let down. Definitely some charm and a crowd-pleaser. Went superbly with roast beef.
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Alc: 13,5%; Deep garnet to rim. Deep, ripe fruit-driven aromas with cassis, blackcurrant jam, damson coulis, smoke and dried earth with a menthol almost mint note. A fleshy entry is tempered with lively fresh acidity; the wine has good richness and plenty of concentrated fruit. there is a thickness to the mid-palate that leads to powdery tannins, with the mint element adding a freshness to the finish. There is some development with lovely tertiary notes; the medium alcohol makes the wine perhaps more streamlined and lifted. The back palate reflects more cough syrup, mineral/graphite elements, and blackcurrant paste-medium to long finish.
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Enjoyed with slow braised beef cheeks in local Croatian (Istrian red). Definitely needs that kind of food to be enjoyed. Slightly green with dominant paprika and pepper. Nothing else left. I remember Thelema 2004 from few years back and it was overall much better wine. Black fruit disappeared totally. Suggestion, drink Thelema Cab within 4-6 years and don't wait any longer. It is written on the bottle... "drink it now but has the structure to improve over the next 5 years"… and obviously with good reason.
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Not as spicy and slightly green as it was the last time approx. 12 months ago. Still more tart and cold as the 2005 or 2003, maybe a bit more balanced and joy-provideing
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Rather cold character, nicely balanced, good earthy components, slighly green (mostly paprika and maybe some stems), some mint and eucalyptus, muted fruit and good finish. Pretty austere for an average Stellenbosch Cab. I enjoyed it. So far I had this a couple of times, no big change compared to the last bottle approx 15 months ago. Definitely a couple of years left.
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Popped and poured at 16C. Warm, open bouquet showing cassis and sous-bois. Slowly evolves to a pleasant mid-palate of dark fruits, against an acidic tinged lattice of fine dusty tannins. Long pleasant final. This gave alot of enjoyment - both with food and without - although if one wanted to nitpick I think its fair to say there's arguably a bit of a lack of focus here.
Still - very enjoyable drink and a shame it was my only bottle having come to me from a very good friend.
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South African 'Picnic' offline (DML, London): Clean but warm cabernet nose. Not the mint I expected. The palate seemed a little dilute compared to the 1996. Dusty tannins still very present. Not a great showing but it seems pretty young.
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A so so that should have been better. I was quite looking forward to this. decanted for 1 hour. Dark appearance, notes of pepper and dark fruits. Some rubber on the nose - that typical south african smell. Good complexity on the nose. Promising. in the mouth the wine was okay as in it was of good quality - there was complexity here and the wine had fine tannins but ... but..... but ...... this wine was just not really there. The nose and the taste seem to be going through the motions a bit - the wine lacked some focus and precision. In the mouth it was a kind of wooly unfoccused taste. Fuzzy. A shame. Overall okay, but at £22 I expect a touch more for my money.
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Dark blueish red in the carafe, but a hint of brown in the rim of the glass. Nose of smoke, cedar, caramel and toasty oak. Fruity straightforward black currant, plums and pears cooked with lingonberries. Obvious vanilla is present over all. Finally we find a bit of fresh green grass and green pepper, which works fine in the context, if you're not disturbed by greenness. The palate is tasty, juicy, refreshing and balanced (13,5%, very good for a south african cab). Solid mid and ok length. Still a bit young, so try short term cellaring for greater harmony. Goes extremely well with swedish meatballs from elk meat, spiced with lots of white pepper, and cream sauce with tawny, juniper and lingonberry vinegar. Tonight surely the food helped the wine to gain an extra point.
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Straightforward nose: a hint of barnyard, saddle leather, smoke, toasty oak, dense young blackcurrant fruit, laurels, juniper, peppermint and eucalyptus. Nothing to complain about, south african cab by the book. The taste is young, good, fruity and dark chocolatey with fresh acidity, fair concentration on the midpalate. Not too sweet - more than drinkable. Better again, so the last bottle must have been flawed.
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This bottle is not at all what we hoped it to be. The fruit is not as tasty and good on the mid as we remember, instead slightly mawkish and all too gentle, like some cooked blackcurrant juice. Even if there are acids, it lacks tannin structure and it's too sweet for our palates. It's young, but we won't dare to save it. We're panicking a bit tonight, and almost decide to return the case. Later on, we realised that this bottle must have been cooked. What if this had been the first bottle? We'd never have bought the case...
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Here is a good south african wine to accompany the high flavours of grilled prime rib meat. Dark, dense blueish ruby red hue. Sweet virginia tobacco, moderate smoke, dark currant fruit and cassis. The palate is and fruity, rounded and generous. Fills the mouth nicely! Gentle acids and soft tannins, balanced alcohol (13,5%) and an aftertaste of freshly ground espresso and dark chocolate. Fine and typical stellenbosch cab, which we tend to like when it's this good. Waterford, Rust en Vrede, Kanonkop - this one plays in the same league. Drinkable this summer by the charcoal grill - we'll lay down a few for the near future.
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12/17/2023 - king-bing wrote:
13.5% abv. Remains pretty opaque but not impenetrable. Some ageing on the rim. This bottle a notable step up from the bottle 10 days ago. A touch green on opening again, but more aromatic & classic with a light but silky palate. Some loganberry a then gorgeous high-toned cigar box notes. A somewhat short and diffuse finish perhaps the obvious let down. Definitely some charm and a crowd-pleaser. Went superbly with roast beef.
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12/9/2023 - king-bing wrote:
Decent Bordeaux style. Touch of green on opening but this fades. Better after 30 mins or so. Never shouty but a complete and satisfying wine.
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2/13/2019 - Geraintvdrede Likes this wine: 93 Points
Thiis bottle was much better. In great shape actually for a 15-year old wine. Elegant Cabernet
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12/22/2018 - Geraintvdrede Likes this wine: 89 Points
Minty Cabernet. Perhaps a bit past its peak, still good though
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2/4/2018 - Spargel wrote:
Over peak, used for cooking.
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1/21/2018 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Smoky, mature red fruits, forest floor, tobacco. Excellent wine. Peak maturity.
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4/7/2017 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 89 Points
Alc: 13,5%; Deep garnet to rim.
Deep, ripe fruit-driven aromas with cassis, blackcurrant jam, damson coulis, smoke and dried earth with a menthol almost mint note.
A fleshy entry is tempered with lively fresh acidity; the wine has good richness and plenty of concentrated fruit. there is a thickness to the mid-palate that leads to powdery tannins, with the mint element adding a freshness to the finish. There is some development with lovely tertiary notes; the medium alcohol makes the wine perhaps more streamlined and lifted. The back palate reflects more cough syrup, mineral/graphite elements, and blackcurrant paste-medium to long finish.
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5/17/2014 - Kronos(er) Likes this wine: 88 Points
Enjoyed with slow braised beef cheeks in local Croatian (Istrian red).
Definitely needs that kind of food to be enjoyed.
Slightly green with dominant paprika and pepper. Nothing else left.
I remember Thelema 2004 from few years back and it was overall much better wine. Black fruit disappeared totally. Suggestion, drink Thelema Cab within 4-6 years and don't wait any longer. It is written on the bottle... "drink it now but has the structure to improve over the next 5 years"… and obviously with good reason.
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11/9/2013 - natoamaral wrote: 88 Points
Frutas vermelhas maduras, pimentão, corpo intenso, notas de tabaco, chocolate e madeira.
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10/28/2013 - natoamaral wrote: 87 Points
Saída com frutas blackberries intensas, cogumelos, tostado, madeira e um toque de chocolate. Drank in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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10/21/2013 - Oh Dae-su wrote: 89 Points
Not as spicy and slightly green as it was the last time approx. 12 months ago. Still more tart and cold as the 2005 or 2003, maybe a bit more balanced and joy-provideing
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10/24/2012 - Oh Dae-su wrote: 88 Points
Rather cold character, nicely balanced, good earthy components, slighly green (mostly paprika and maybe some stems), some mint and eucalyptus, muted fruit and good finish. Pretty austere for an average Stellenbosch Cab. I enjoyed it. So far I had this a couple of times, no big change compared to the last bottle approx 15 months ago. Definitely a couple of years left.
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10/10/2012 - David Meddings Likes this wine: 90 Points
Popped and poured at 16C. Warm, open bouquet showing cassis and sous-bois. Slowly evolves to a pleasant mid-palate of dark fruits, against an acidic tinged lattice of fine dusty tannins. Long pleasant final. This gave alot of enjoyment - both with food and without - although if one wanted to nitpick I think its fair to say there's arguably a bit of a lack of focus here.
Still - very enjoyable drink and a shame it was my only bottle having come to me from a very good friend.
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3/27/2012 - Marcyrillo wrote: 91 Points
Confraria - Napa vs Bordeaux: Maduro, boa acidez, eucalipto, retrogosto um pouco maduro demais e leva adocicado. Bom vinho mas nao eh o meu preferido.
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4/15/2009 - king-bing wrote:
South African 'Picnic' offline (DML, London): Clean but warm cabernet nose. Not the mint I expected. The palate seemed a little dilute compared to the 1996. Dusty tannins still very present. Not a great showing but it seems pretty young.
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12/20/2008 - pjaines wrote:
A so so that should have been better. I was quite looking forward to this. decanted for 1 hour. Dark appearance, notes of pepper and dark fruits. Some rubber on the nose - that typical south african smell. Good complexity on the nose. Promising. in the mouth the wine was okay as in it was of good quality - there was complexity here and the wine had fine tannins but ... but..... but ...... this wine was just not really there. The nose and the taste seem to be going through the motions a bit - the wine lacked some focus and precision. In the mouth it was a kind of wooly unfoccused taste. Fuzzy. A shame. Overall okay, but at £22 I expect a touch more for my money.
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7/28/2007 - Finare Vinare wrote: 89 Points
Dark blueish red in the carafe, but a hint of brown in the rim of the glass. Nose of smoke, cedar, caramel and toasty oak. Fruity straightforward black currant, plums and pears cooked with lingonberries. Obvious vanilla is present over all. Finally we find a bit of fresh green grass and green pepper, which works fine in the context, if you're not disturbed by greenness. The palate is tasty, juicy, refreshing and balanced (13,5%, very good for a south african cab). Solid mid and ok length. Still a bit young, so try short term cellaring for greater harmony. Goes extremely well with swedish meatballs from elk meat, spiced with lots of white pepper, and cream sauce with tawny, juniper and lingonberry vinegar. Tonight surely the food helped the wine to gain an extra point.
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6/22/2007 - Paul D wrote:
At the Wine Library, nr Tower Hill. No formal note. Full bodied, ripe blackcurrant fruit, vanilla oak, lovely fresh balancing acidity, very drinkable.
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6/12/2007 - Finare Vinare wrote: 88 Points
Straightforward nose: a hint of barnyard, saddle leather, smoke, toasty oak, dense young blackcurrant fruit, laurels, juniper, peppermint and eucalyptus. Nothing to complain about, south african cab by the book. The taste is young, good, fruity and dark chocolatey with fresh acidity, fair concentration on the midpalate. Not too sweet - more than drinkable. Better again, so the last bottle must have been flawed.
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6/9/2007 - Finare Vinare wrote: flawed
This bottle is not at all what we hoped it to be. The fruit is not as tasty and good on the mid as we remember, instead slightly mawkish and all too gentle, like some cooked blackcurrant juice. Even if there are acids, it lacks tannin structure and it's too sweet for our palates. It's young, but we won't dare to save it. We're panicking a bit tonight, and almost decide to return the case. Later on, we realised that this bottle must have been cooked. What if this had been the first bottle? We'd never have bought the case...
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5/6/2007 - Finare Vinare wrote: 88 Points
Here is a good south african wine to accompany the high flavours of grilled prime rib meat. Dark, dense blueish ruby red hue. Sweet virginia tobacco, moderate smoke, dark currant fruit and cassis. The palate is and fruity, rounded and generous. Fills the mouth nicely! Gentle acids and soft tannins, balanced alcohol (13,5%) and an aftertaste of freshly ground espresso and dark chocolate. Fine and typical stellenbosch cab, which we tend to like when it's this good. Waterford, Rust en Vrede, Kanonkop - this one plays in the same league. Drinkable this summer by the charcoal grill - we'll lay down a few for the near future.
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