The Wines of July 2021

 

South African wine has a history dating back to 1659, with the first bottle produced in Cape Town by its founder Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester. There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards.

Other South Africa WIne terms

Steen – Chenin Blanc

Pinotage – cross of Pinot Noir & Cinsault

Cap Classique – Sparkling wine

Now for the Wines of the Month

2015 Via Nova Mencia, Valdeorras, Spain

Red wine fruit of the best grapes from the vineyards with more hours of sunshine in Galicia .

It emphasizes its freshness in which it is perceived the traditional elaboration combined with the use of the last technological advances and the outstanding processes of quality of the warehouse.

I enjoy Mencia – it has red ripe fruits and usually a good acid backbone to go with many foods. This wine is no exception – not a long finish or much tannin, but a nice food wine. Priced around $10, what’s not to like?

2017 Rosewood Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, CA

In this Cabernet Sauvignon you will find, red berry fruit notes and flavors, delicate tannins and subtle oak spice tones that lend to a layered complexity with intriguing finesse.

TASTING PANEL

90 points // Exhibiting ripeness, balanced fruit, tannins, and acidity, this fine specimen from the Maggio family is sweet and opulent. Dark cherry, mocha, and currants go big alongside appetizing notes of boysenberry pie.

A rather understated cabernet with some red fruits but not really doing much after sipping. Average as a food wine, average as a sipping wine. Only $10, but I have had much better for the price.

2019 Annick Bachelet Beaujolais Villages Reserve de Bel Air, France

An open and fruity wine, this has developed well. It brings out ripe red fruits and ripe tannins in a rounded offering of freshness and accessible richness. Drink the wine now. RATING 88

A well made wine from Beaujolais – nice ripe red fruits with some intertwined tannins. Decent acid to make it a good food wine, although it drinks by itself very nicely. I got this for $10, well worth the price.

2020 Starborough Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand

Marlborough, New Zealand- Crisp and refreshing, characterized by ripe tropical fruit accents and some herbal notes. The wine shows flavors of passion fruit, kiwi and guava over a citrus background.

Bright, approachable and refreshing, Starborough Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand is like wind-whipped seagrass on a warm summer day. It’s the perfect pairing for a casual catch-up and a quick bite.

This is a moderate little wine – I got a slap of lemon verbena through the flavors. Not bad with food, a summer sipper for sure. Priced around $8, it is what it is. (Never been a big Sauv. Blanc fan)- Hey, it was HOT outside!

2017 Famiglia Castellani Chianti Pontedera, Italy

Deep ruby in the glass, the wine is at once effusive with notes of crushed berries, Tuscan underbrush, fresh pipe tobacco and freshly roasted mushroom.  I love the harmony of the aromas here.  On the palate, the wine is elegant and refined.  Forward and juicy, with ripe notes of crushed wild berry, cypress needle, tobacco and earth it is complex and generous.  Medium to full bodied with well integrated tannins that only assert themselves on the finish, this drinks incredibly well with and without food.  Although it is drinking very well now, it is so well balanced that 3-5 years cellaring should not be out of the question.

I think the quote above is for reserve wine – this one is a little more simple and rustic. Red berries with some tobacco and earth – not many tannins. Decent acidity to make a food wine. Another $10 bottle that isn’t awful, but not something to seek out.

2019 Bouchard Aine & Fils Pinot Noir Rose, France

This rosé is incredibly light in aromas, with hints of white cranberry and underripe strawberry on the nose and mouth. There's pleasant acidic lift to the palate, and it's otherwise a short and breezy quaff. RATING83

This rose did not have as much fruit on the palate as others I’ve enjoyed. There is some acid to help it pair with foods, but not the best back porch wine I’ve had. About $10.

2020 Mother Rock ‘Force Celeste’ Semillon, Swartland, South Africa

A stunning example of what a little bit of skin contact can bring to a wine. Though not pouring or acting like a heavily 'orange' wine this skin-contact white has amazing notes of citrus, pears and whitecurrants with a touch of rind-like pith and tea white tannins. Incredibly impressive at any price and a steal for what it's being sold for.

Old bush vines of Semillon, farmed organically and fermented naturally with wild yeasts. The fruit source is a single vineyard on Paardeberg Mountain in the Swartland region. During the fermentation with wild yeast 20% is done whole bunch on skins for two weeks. Aged 90% in steel and 10% in neutral oak. Not fined or filtered and nothing is added save a very tiny dose of sulfites at bottling.

I don’t have many Semillons, but this is a really good one.  The flavors are bright – some citrus and melon with a darker undertone. Good acidity making it go well with lighter fare. Well worth trying – priced around $15 – 16.

2019 Craven ‘Karibib’ Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa

It's one of their best cuveés now. A razor sharp, electric Chenin with real energy. It's a wine that twists through the finish and finishes squeaky and dry. It's a first rate Chennin Blanc from this part of the world.

"Scents of lemon soap, faint cashew, some sandalwood notes, a touch of flint. Smells real good. Palate is flinty too, vibrant, alive, energetic and chock full of zingy acidity with good flavour and freshness on show. Tart, citrus-driven flavours and that lick of nuttiness is the deal. Excellent, tightly found finish for those seeking longevity from their white wines too. Super stuff." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

I like Chenin Blan and have for a long time. I noted that this wine had a good sharpness – almost flintlike.  Citrus with hints of floral and other essences with nice acidity and a bright finish. Very enjoyable – Priced around $27.

2020 Blackwater ‘Lazy Lucy’ Rose, Swartland, South Africa

The blend consists of Cinsault, Grenache and Chenin Blanc. The Cinsault grapes are picked from a 25 year old dryland bushvine vineyard in Paarl and the Grenache is from a 10 year old block in Botriver. 50% of the Cinsault and all the Grenache is whole bunch pressed. The remaining Cinsault gets destemmed and pressed. The juice is co-fermented in stainless steel, racked off the lees after 4 weeks and then color adjusted with Grenache to get the desired color. Light fining and cold stabilization is performed prior to bottling.

I call this Rose very ‘user-friendly’ . The fruits pop out – mostly red ones with a brace of minerals and some acidity. OK with lighter foods and very ‘gulpable’ on a hot day.  Around $18.

2018 Blackwater ‘Cuvee Terra Lux’ Pinot Noir, Elgin, South Africa

Rockstar Pinot Noir. Winemaker Francois Haasbroek’s surname may translate in Afrikaans as “rabbit pants”, but his Pinot Noir is no laughing matter. Serious stuff, crafted using grapes sourced from three young sites in the über-trendy Elgin area, fermented roughly one-third whole bunch and spending three weeks on skins. It is aged in seasoned oak, unfiltered and ridiculously rare as he made less than 2,000 bottles. This is such a rockstar Pinot Noir that if you left it on its own in a hotel room, you’d come back to find it in bed with six Chardonnays, the TV out the window, the sprinklers going off and an empty minibar.

Most of the press on the web is about the 2013 vintage. This was a tasty Pinot nor that I consider more Cali style than Burgundy. Fairly bright red fruit flavors, some acid for food. Not tannic, and with a short finish. Tasty – priced around $25.

2018 Waterkloof ‘Circumstance’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, South Africa

They harvest according to taste and spend a lot of time in the vineyards to see how the flavors develop. The grapes are destemmed, sorted by hand and poured into wooden fermenters by gravity. The natural fermentation started spontaneously using the wild yeasts present on the fruit.

Punch downs (twice a day) were used during the fermentation to ensure a gentle and slow color and tannin extraction. The wines remain on the skin for 30 days to help integrate the tannins and stabilize the color. The peels are separated from the juice by gravity flow. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel and was then aged for 21 months in new (9%), second and third year French oak.

This Circumstance is a decidedly cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux!) With prominent notes of red berries, balanced by a hint of cumin. The taste shows great focus with exceptionally refined tannins and great length. This Circumstance Cabernet Sauvignon is a perfect companion for a variety of dishes, such as T-bone steak on the braai (barbecue) or slow-cooked lamb shank.

This is a surprisingly good Cabernet – old world style but nice length on the red and black fruit with tannins and acidity under the flavors. Showing nicely now and priced under $30, a good buy.

Another month gone and just a few wines. Stay well and safe - Keep popping those corks and I'll meet you out behind the grapevines.