Wines of South Africa: Go Cars Go

Bush vines, Groot Drakenstein Mountains @AnthonijRupert Wyne @WOSACanada #lormarins #franschhoek #southafrica #winesofsouthafrica #mesmerizing

The emprise out of Stellenbosch over to Franschhoek is quick and painless, bumping and gliding over gently undulating arteries into a defined path once traipsed by the great African mammal, treading through Oliphants Hoek. A dreamy way to begin a South African day.

Franschhoek Motor Museum, Anthonij Rupert Wyne Estate

How could I have known? Where inside the deep recesses of my non-mechanical brain could I have hinged the switch of awakening? What frame of reference would trigger a childlike awe in the presence of cars?

BMW, Franschhoek Motor Museum

We were brought to the Franschhoek Motor Museum situated on the property of the Anthonij Rupert Wyne Estate. Old cars. Famous cars. Really cool cars. Bill McLaren, Jules Salomon, Gioachhino Colombo, Sam Tingle, Austin-Healey, Alfa Romeo, Nelson MANDELA cars. Blow your mind cars.

Nelson Mandels’s BMW 7 Series Security Edition, Franschhoek Motor Museum

My own human linguistic capability, or at least the one I hang my perpetual innocence on would have me impose a self-professed “immateriality of the mind” when it comes to particulars or, discreet objects in the material world. Like cars. I would have believed that only universals, that is, characteristics of particular things would have the power to excite my NMB but this place changed everything. Much of the revelation was nurtured by the stories and librarian-like encyclopedic recounting by the museum’s David Magqwanti. Thank you for talking to me, kind sir. The commorancy of coupes and convertibles injected life into the mechanical. I saw universals rising like novella filled balloons from the humanity of cab antiquity housed in these buildings. But enough about that.

Godello behind the wheel of an Austin-Healey 100 M, Franschhoek Motor Museum

We toured the facilities and were chauffeured across the property in Champions, Hudsons and Studebakers. We sat down with Gareth Robertson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Anthonij Rupert Wines. Verticals were poured; Cape of Good Hope, Leopard’s Leap and Optima L’Ormarins. Then the varietals of Anthonij Rupert and a most unanticipated Eau de Vie.

Alpha Romeo, 1900 SS 1956, Franschhoek Motor Museum

Anthonij Rupert Estate

Mining vertical gold in #franschhoek @AnthonijRupert Wyne #capeofgoodhope Altima

Cape of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Franschhoek Mountains, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

A sunlight deprived Sauvignon Blanc from steep topography in Elandskloof, an isolated valley north of Villiersdorp. The valley depth and high altitude equals cool climate, pushing harvest back an average six seeks later than that of Stellenbosch. The long, slow, cool growing season, 24-hour skin contact and six months spent on lees add up to a receding depth of richness, like a Monet sunrise. The ’15 gives off a sense of just ripening, tangy tropical fruits like green mango and fig but it just smells like soft French cream. Bright, lit acidity makes it a very direct Sauvignon Blanc, like the lights are turned on. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015 @AnthonijRupert

Cape of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Franschhoek Mountains, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

So very different to the hyper freshness of 2015. In brim, vim and savour the ’14 yet pops in lemon and lime and also diverges away from cream into texture. Very flavourful of a juice distilled and settled kind, resolved of itself, more taut in flesh and zest. The closed eyes idea is like grapefruit segments rolled in fresh-cut grass, never sweet, always on the positive side of bitter and then, suddenly awake, open wide. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015

Torture, er tasting room @AnthonijRupert Estate @WOSACanada #toolsofthetrade #franschhoek #mostphenomenaltour

Cape of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Franschhoek Mountains, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Of a warmer vintage, now into developed concepts occupied by petrol, base elements and tonics. Strikes as having been a once reductive preparation now into the early stages of graceful decline. Still vibrant though and more like Chenin in its mineral and barrel-aged clothing. Opens the window to discussion for Villiersdorp as a Sauvignon Blanc depot for this type of stylistic aging in veins otherwise occupied by the likes of Chenin, Riesling and Sémillon. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted September 2015

Leopard’s Leap Culinara Chenin Blanc

Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards Chenin Blanc Culinara Collection 2014, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Chenin Blanc with 10 per cent Grenache Blanc out of a warmer Franschhoek climate and 25-30 year-old predominately bush vines. Half aged in barrel for nine months on the lees. Gives off a faux sugary Chenin nose, tangy, foolish and unsettled. The aromatics push texture and the acidity is awkward in up front, in your face demand. Citrus and white flowers foil the tension. This is all about layers of perfumatory sweetness. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015 @LeopardLeapWine

Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards Chenin Blanc Culinara Collection 2013, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Grenache Blanc adds a modicum of creamy simplicity rot Chenin Blanc no stranger to the barrel with less yeast carpeting than the follow-up 2014. Leads to an increase in savour, redolence and verdancy. Here Chenin trades fruit for mineral, in expression and for longevity. The trace elements speak a neat chemistry vernacular, bracing the palate for the crushed rocks and stones, the alloy tang and a directness that can be described as lean. Even in the fave of wood this acts like Silex or a wine of slate. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015

Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards Chenin Blanc Culinara Collection 2012, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Like 2014 but accentuated fine times fold, this Chenin (major) and Grenache Blanc (minor) blend unfolds as a stark, lean bony white it always must have been. Possessive of fuel in hyperbole as compared to the younger wines, like oldish hunter Valley Sémillon or stark, raving arid Loire Chenin. A very tense and terse white, like a certain kind of dad. Drink 2015-2016. Tasted September 2015

La Motte Pierneef Collection Syrah-Viognier

La Motte Syrah-Viognier Pierneef Collection 2013, Franschhoek Valley, Western Cape, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Co-fermented Syrah (90 per cent) and Viognier confessed of enough cure to open a delicatessen. The smoked meat is joined by cherries and Franschhoek earth. Acts natural with a late frenzy of spice. Ripe to be sure, but balanced and not sweet. At 13.2 or 3 per cent alcohol its litheness is lauded and with thanks tom slightly cooler area fruit, but in the end warmth renders its tongue as speaking more southern than northern Rhone. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015

La Motte Syrah-Viognier Pierneef Collection 2009, Franschhoek Valley, Western Cape, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Back then this co-fermented Syrah (90 per cent) and Viognier was wilder, of sauvage and animale. Like thick-cut bacon, fat beginning its rendering, and a verdant lardoon of smoothness in texture. Tends to the northern Rhone with age playing a bigger role in what is ostensible a cooler, savoury, leaner expression. Sitting still, direct and layered without veneer. Quite brilliant in the prime of life. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015

Anthonij Rupert Estate Optima L’Ormarins

Anthonij Rupert Wines Optima L’Ormarins 2011, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Élevage for the Optima is begat from the most grown-up, mature, wise and judiciously enriching maneuvers. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc is cold-soaked, with fermentation lasting 20 days. The juice sees 225L new French oak and the absolute awesomeness of 10,000L wooden tanks. The separate wines are aged for 18 months in 225L French oak barrels. Blending leads to six months in barrel and tank and a further bottle-maturation for 24 months before release. What’s it all mean? It means Cabernet Franc stars on the right side of the mountain. The added warmth and ripeness stirs into Rooibos, currants and rich earth. Such a soil-driven Bordeaux blend with wood spice, liquid chalk and variegated, relegated integration. Still, very young, heart-beating, life-affirming stuff. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted September 2015

Anthonij Rupert Wines Optima L’Ormarins 2006, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Though the 2006 is relatively subdued when compared to the 2005 tasted alongside, to call it anything but a full-bodied and mature red wine would miss the mark by a mountain or two. Warm fruit has come to its crossroads, to this very developed stage. Like stepping into time, with a plum to raisin aromatic compote, though the mise en place is fresh, not yet any sort of drying fruit expression. More oak apparent than even the fresher 2011, doling out a tempered chocolate ganache and the nibs of earth. Some tannin persists though the fruit wane suggests the time to drink up is now. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted September 2015

Anthonij Rupert Wines Optima L’Ormarins 2005, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Very much like the closest younger sibling 2006 but even more of a brooding wine, muscular, masculine and a syrupy, liqueur feel. Possessive of more polish and elevated acidity, the chocolate finer and the overall energy yet circulating and buzzing. Makes you realize that the acidity in 2005 has not only left the building but was low-level to begin with. This strikes as a better vintage, at least in terms of more modern tastes and like subsequent vintages going forward were directed to follow. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015

Cape of Good Hope Chenin Blanc Van Lill & Visser Chenin Blanc

Cape of Good Hope Chenin Blanc Van Lill & Visser 2014, Citrusdal Mountain, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

From 1964 vines in red sand and clay on the Skurfberg mountain, surrounded by fynbos, tended by growers Basie van Lill of Arbeidsend and Jozua Visser of Oudam. These Chenin Blanc vines are the pioneers and 50 years have laid the foundation for an exceptional varietal home. One of the broadest extensions appeals with style, refreshment, elegance and a bar-rasing level of refinement and poise. Underlying mineral joins unstirred Rooibos tea and a wealth of acidity. Imminently drinkable without agitation so it’s so interesting in that within this calm context it has developed its own mid-palate. It seeks no need for residual sugar, lees texture or chalk to find balance. Not sure I’ve ever come across a Chenin Blanc so at ease and this comfortable in its own skin. Drink 2015-2021. Tasted September 2015

Cape of Good Hope Chardonnay Serruria 2014, Elandskloof, Overberg Highlands, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

The Serruria Chardonnay is truly cool-climate inspired and substantiated, equal and opposing to those from the Hemel-En-Aarde Valley. Elandskloof is the new darling of Overberg, where these vines grow at high altitude (700-900m) on the slopes of the Stettyn mountains outside Villiersdorp. Unique drives initial thoughts. Understated, elongated and mineral-injected, in constancy and ironically so. Chardonnay of altitude is so proper, felicitous, of economy and amenable to the proverbial catalyst of soil (or lack thereof). Cool-climate Chardonnay of site, site, site is a perfect thing imagined, a mirror of its geology, especially when the raising follows suit. First, 2nd and 3rd fill barrels for nine months. We are told that further restraint is exercised in 2014. How much more does it need to be? Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015

Was not ill but I am cured. 2009 Syrah & Cab Franc @AnthonijRupert @WOSA_ZA #lormarins #franschhoek #southafrica

Anthonij Rupert Wines Syrah 2009, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

From the L’Ormarins farm, from carefully selected sites and the lowest of yields, Rhône échalas style densely planted (6 250 to 8 333 vines per ha) on slopes too steep for mechanical production. Syrah of ancient, natural cure out of very special earth, the granite soils of the Groot Drakenstein Mountains, on warmer, northerly facing slopes with better drainage at different altitudes. An absolutely (14 per cent alcohol) bloody hematoma of layers and hues, with nary a moment of vinyl or veneer. The bloodstream pulsates with extroverted energy and pitch-perfect fruit. Remarkable Syrah meaty and of conceit. Incredibly valuable Syrah. Mind-blowing, must get to know Syrah. Drink 2017-2024. Tasted September 2015

Anthonij Rupert Wines Cabernet Franc 2009, Franschhoek, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

From low yielding vineyards in granite with clay on the Helderberg (80 per cent) and Rooderust (20) farms. Oh the cured humanity of what Cabernet Franc can be, where fruit grown at the foot of the Helderberg Mountain mimics the moniker: “Clear.” Not too similar to the Syrah in terms of hematic intensity but the coursing paints a slower flowing halcyon picture and the wood is not handled with the same brightness and elastic breadth. The CF is aged for 18 to 24 months in 225 L new French oak barrels, bottled unfiltered and bottle aged for a year. Varietal chocolate and general girth make for male libido red wine fixations. Still the poise and the ability. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted September 2015

L’Ormarins Eau de Vivre

Anthonij Rupert Wines L’Ormarins Eau de Vie 2013, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Litchis are sourced from Malelane, a farm up near the Mozambique border. The pulp is brought down the Anthonij Rupert Cellar in Franschhoek, de-pipped and shelled in frozen form. The frozen litchi juice is left to thaw once it arrives on the farm. Once thawed the pulp is inoculated with yeast and fermented into wine and treated with an Armagnac methodology. So very floral, intensely aromatic, from lychee to laurel. The palate is remarkable in that it swims beneath the surface, with flavours of orange peel and lemongrass. Drink for eternity. Tasted September 2015

Anthonij Rupert Wyne Estate

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Wines of South Africa: It’s the fling itself

Dec14

High five Sunday, at #winecarboot with @PIWOSA @WOSA_ZA @WOSACanada #journeysendvineyards #schapenberghills #sirlowryspass

A few weeks ago there was this South African fling in Toronto. Anyone who fancies themselves as anything showed, because everybody was there. Joshua Corea and Archive Wine Bar graciously played host. Cape wine swelled like water and the mass of sommelier humanity flowed like wine.

After we had first returned to Canada from Cape Wine 2015, Will Predhomme and Wines of South Africa Canada’s Laurel Keenan had asked Rémy Charest, Scott Zebarth, Nicholas Pearce and I a question in requiem of some deep Jack Handey thought. Of the bottles we tasted in South Africa, what would we most like to see at a paradigmatic tasting back home? We offered up our lists and many of them were presented at Archive, along with a tumultuous quantity more. The likes of such an amassment had never been seen this side of the great pond. Cape Town loomed in de Chirico casted shadow in the backwater distance, watching, wondering, judging. So I tossed a pondered abstraction out to the winds that drift in the South African wine diaspora. “What page is loomed in the giver?”

My mind travels back to the Western Cape. The retrospection remembers wines yet brought to North American light, to intrepid voyages still to disgorge and to stories ultimately untold. Looking back it occurs to me, from a northern point of view, having witnessed and experienced an immersion and exposure into the culture and wines of South African life, that it is not the thing you fling. It’s the fling itself.

It began with the trebuchet. At Journey’s End the Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa (PIWOSA) threw a car boot and catapulted some rather heavy objects at targets far away.

The prepossession laid out with tastes of The Drift Farm, The Winery of Good Hope, Glenelly Cellars and Mullineux & Leeu. Later the night begged and belonged to vignerons gathered at Longridge Estate, the following morning a tour of the Franschhoek Motor Museum and a tasting at Anthonij Rupert Estate.

Each of the three days at Cape Wine begat evenings in Cape Town of world’s away preoccupation. Velvet dissident South African Braai at Publik, her majesty’s secret service at Ellerman House and born in the USA-DGB in the Winelands. Events de facto, recondite and unshackled.

Publik, Cape Town

Then the Canadian boys played cricket with the Swartland cowboys and while our swings looked more like hockey snap shots and our bowls like little league change-ups, in the end we held serve and thankfully no one got hurt. True Swartland smoking at the hands of Callie Louw linked Groot Frankenstein to Barque Smokehouse BBQ.

Cricket adversaries #swartlandswingers

A #braai in the hand is worth two in the bush #callielouw #porseleinberg @SwartlandRev #swartlandindependents #swartlandswingers #swartland

An epic 12 hours followed the matches, first with Ken Forrester and a speed tasting across a portfolio shot through the heart with some striking, older bottles. Then the group got down to trials at the Winery of Good Hope with Alex Dale and Jacques de Klerk. Remy Charest, Scott Zebarth, Kler-Yann Bouteiller and Godello helped mix, match, add and subtract percentages of fermented juice to decide upon the blend for the Pearce-Predhomme Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc. Nicholas and Will are now taking orders for delivery in the new year. Then in order, wagyu beef and Radford Dale wines at Ken’s 96 Winery Road Restaurant, World Cup Rugby and Burgundy.

The view from the Winery of Good Hope

On the final day we paid a visit to the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley along the Hermanus wine route, with a tasting at Bouchard Finlayson and lunch at La Vierge winery.

I tasted hundreds of wines during the eight-day journey around the Western Cape. In due course I will put up tasting notes for as many as possible but for now here are a couple of dozen, specific to and in conjunction with the people and places that hosted us.

The PIWOSA Wine-Car Boot, Journey’s End Winery

The Drift Farm

The Drift Wines Year of the Rooster Rosé 2014, Overberg Highlands, South Africa (Winery)

Winemaker Bruce Jack’s 100 per cent shaken, not stirred Touriga Franca was inspired by a trip to the Douro. Rhubarb and salinity rub the ripe fruit in the right way. If 007 were to drink Rosé, this would fit the metrosexual bill. From four barrels. Drink 2015-2016. Tasted September 2015 @TheDriftFarm

Drift Farm The Moveable Feast

The Drift Wines The Moveable Feast 2013, Overberg Highlands, South Africa (Winery)

A blend (that drifts and changes every year) of Malbec and Shiraz with Tannat, Touriga Nacional and Pinot Noir. Though the notes are played without excess, the specs ruminate for infinite possibilities, with aspects as from mine run-off, ocean salinity, high body acidity, muted sunshine, rusticity and veneer. Rides a sonic highway, to “crossroads with nothing to lose.” The feast and the famine, a fighter, “put back together by a troubled groove.” From minimalist Hemingway to Foo from Grohl. Get the drift? Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015

The Drift Wines Mary le Bow 2011, Robertson, South Africa (Winery)

A farm-designate red blend (Wildepaardekloof, Langeberg Mountain) built upon Cabernet Sauvignon (38 per cent), Shiraz (31), Petit Verdot (23) and Merlot (8). In ode to the Cockney saint, big Bow Bell and crusader’s crypts. Extended barrel age and the deepest, darkest maturity makes for a brooding red reflective of a Kloof’s tale from a crypt. Not for the faint of red blends. Indeed it trembles with power. Drink 2017-2021. Tasted September 2015

Journey’s End Sauvignon Blanc The Weather Station 2014, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, Winery, WineAlign)

A product of the first Sauvignon Blanc clones planted in South Africa (next to a weather station). The wine had been bottled less than a week ago so while the pyrazine factor is set to high the equal and mitigating fruit freshness trumps the green. Free spirited, of spice, in bite and quickly settling, into balance. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015 @JourneysEndWine @vonterrabev @colyntruter

Journey’s End Destination Chardonnay 2014, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, Winery, WineAlign)

A nicely, effectively minor reductive Chardonnay that knows the barrel well. Divides by mitosis the cells of mineral and spice into furrows, chiseling a secondary cytokinesis flavour profile in cut by brilliant gemstone flexure. From fruit fracture to cellular overlap, out of (approximately 10 months) wood and into impressionistic stone. Tasting accessed through four stages imagines time to be exigent; through reduction (prophase), oak (metaphase), stone (anaphase) and texture (telophase), until the ultimate descent toward’s the journey’s end. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted September 2015

Journey’s End

Journey’s End Trebuchet 2014, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, Winery, WineAlign)

Two Cabernets and a Malbec conjoin to catapult funk-less, heavy laden red fruit into an atmosphere of veneer. The flavours are inclusive of pomegranate and anise, with some rust and circumstantial metallurgical magnification. The tang is a factor to be reckoned with in this primeval red blend. Crushes unsuspecting objects upon landing. Let it settle for 12 months. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted September 2015

Journey’s End Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, Winery, WineAlign)

A 100 per cent varietal wine from a wind that blew through and away. The child of a markedly perfect vintage blessed with chalk, grit and terroir. Views from within the new barrel have diminished along with once terrible teeth gnashing tannin. At six years-old it sits cross-legged, big-boned, fruit fleshy, structured and sure. The evolution is far from complete with berries seemingly so presently ripe, the late spice and coffee kick making cause for yet jittery times. Two or three more years will offer further guarantees of pay dirt and peace. Drink 2017-2024. Tasted September 2015

Godello, Leon Esterhuizen and Colyn Truter from Journey’s End

Glenelly Estate Shiraz “Glass Collection” 2011, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

Screw cap Shiraz reason number one here, fresh from Stellenbosch, single-vineyard, whole bunch fermented for aromatics and 10 months in one-third new oak, for maximum flavour. “These wines are to be drunk young,” notes export manager Nicolas Bureau, “within five to six years of the vintage.” And so, why put a cork in them? From the hands of winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain and Secateurs minimal intervention wine consultant Adi Badenhorst. Sparkle, vigour and dew. Drink 2015-2021. Tasted September 2015 @GlenellyWines @VinexxWine

Glenelly Wines

Grand Vin De Glenelly Red 2009, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (360339, $19.95, WineAlign)

There are components of the Shiraz and the Cabernet in the Grand Vin though its composure comes neither from sparkle nor funk. Nor does it pay direct homage any more to the Rhône than it does to Bordeaux. With time, the Grand Vin will go it alone, from Stellenbosch to the world. Time spent in oak was lengthy (18 months in one-third new) for a blend composed of Syrah (42 per cent), Cabernet Sauvignon (40), Merlot (14) and Petit Verdot (4). The estate clearly considers blends as more than the sum of parts. The Grand Vin is the thing. The Glenelly king. It’s hard to get under its skin, to comprehend its nuance, to know it as a child. The wood, the terroir and the structure yet relent to understanding. A matriarchal wine to be sure, a generation may need to pass for the Grand Vin to carry the torch. The Pichon Longueville connection is not lost or left to chance but this prodigy will need to find its own voice. Red wine of such eternal maturity exists towards a future that begins now. Or on in two to three years. Drink 2017-2024. Tasted September 2015

With Nicolas Bureau, Glenelly Estate

Mullineux & Leeu Syrah 2011, Wo Swartland, South Africa (Winery, Agent, SAQ 12490545, $36.00, WineAlign)

Grasps the subterranean funk of the Swartland terroir and runs with in, through fields of atmosphere, in a wholly singular way. A culling combination if shale, schist and granite, brushed by (15 per cent new) oak for 11 months. Pure, natural, fresh and rising, by citrus zest and inflating acidity. The oscillating flavours prick, pierce, push and pull with elemental and mineral inflections. Like a light show in the sky, Chris and Andrea Mullineux’s Syrah is a quiet spectacle. Drink 2016-2026. Tasted September 2015 @MullineuxWines @MullineuxChris @Nicholaspearce_

Mullineux & Leeu Cinsault Rosé 2013, Wo Swartland, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Tangy tangerine, rhubarb and liquid chalk are the emotive emissions from this skin contact blush as much orange as it is pink. Wild in sauvage, perfectly musty, a Rosé of its own accord and spacing within the parameters of its very won world. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted September 2015

Mullineux & Leeu White 2013, Wo Swartland, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

An old bush vines blend of Chenin Blanc (80 per cent), Clairette Blanc (13) and Viognier, 10 per cent of which was fermented in old oak. A wild and carpeted ride for Chenin Blanc, melding into gentle acidity with layers of smithy portent and even a bit of Greekdom. “The son. And the heir. Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar.” There is so much spice and complexity, from the skins of many citrus fruits. Strips, stripes and skirts the mouth with layers of mineral life. How soon is now for wines like these in South Africa and to be shared with the world? Drink 2015-2023. Tasted September 2015

Mullineux & Leeu Syrah Iron 2013, Wo Swartland, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

If such cure, grip, ferric grab and intense tannin has ever infiltrated South African Syrah it has not yet found its way over to me. In a side by side comparative tasting with the Schist Syrah this one wrestles to win. The Schist is all perfume and soft elegance. The Iron draws power to strength from strength. It is an unrelenting conduit of energy, from soil clearly designed to outlive humanity. The Syrah is a product of geological wonder and winemaking that steps aside to let the terroir speak its mind. Demanding and filled with tension now, time will soften the stranglehold and loosen the wires. Lots of time. Drink 2019-2028. Tasted September 2015

Radford Dale Nudity 2014, Voor-Paardeberg, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

From the Winery of Good Hope, vignerons Alex Dale and Jacques de Klerk. Ancient granite soil from a single-vineyard on Paardeberg mountain. Organic, dry-farmed, total consciousness, flowing robes, grace, striking. Low alcohol, high natural acidity, fresh, spirited, energetic Syrah. Impossible South African Syrah. Drink 2015-2022. Tasted September 2015 @Radforddale @WineryGoodHope @deklerkjacques @Noble_Estates

With the gang from Radford Dale

Radford Dale Black Rock 2013, Perdeberg-Swartland, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

From old bushvine vineyards scattered amongst the granite outcroppings of the Swartland, the blend combines Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, Mourvedre and Viognier for full Rhône homage, if not necessarily effect or intent. The percentages change with each vintage, left to seek harmony in the hands of master blender de Klerk, a man who plays and has the mandate to do so. Natural fermentations persist, as they should and they rightfully accomplish goals of freshness, natural acidity and that elusive you’re born with cure that extends health and longevity. Modern South Africa of ancient longing here on display is just the tip of the bare essentials, in ferments and blends, yet to come. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015

Working on South Africa with a sundown over Stellenbosch @WOSACanada

The Stellenbosch Experience, Longridge Estate

Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Chenin Blanc 2014

Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Chenin Blanc 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

A markedly different and intriguing Chenin Blanc that saw seven to eight months in second and third fill barrels. Well-groomed, direct, crisp, clean and pure within the wooden framework and not even close to flirting with oxidative leanings or an overly creamy texture. A pleaser avec plaisir in excelsior, expression and exemplary restraint. Very tidy winemaking. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015 @FleurduCapWines

Venison and salted chocolate, Longridge Estate

Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Pinotage 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

If it was not for this early sip of Fleur de Cap’s Pinotage on the first night of the South Africa trip I’m not sure the doors to new perception would have ever been opened. Fresh, red fruit juicy, base, natural and nearly naked. A step into giving new meaning for the great hybrid history and varietal future. Though other examples over the course of a week would blow my mind, this unfiltered beauty set the altering stage for what was to come. Unexpected excellent match to Venison with salted chocolate. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015

Chenin gem @LongridgeWines & munificent hospitality @StellWineRoute @WOSA_ZA @WOSACanada #stellenblog

Longridge Estate Chenin Blanc 2013, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Covers the essentials for Chenin Blanc in a Vouvray style; mineral, lemon, bitters and salinity. Emphasizes mastered qualities with proper stability and a strength of character. Will not usher in any sort of revolution but it takes beautifully bitter pear-like fruit from wizened vines and hits the target. And though it spent 11 months in second and third fill barrels you would never know it. A flinty fleeting moment, a slow ride and a shelter from residual sugar that might try to alter its corse. Instead it will munch on that sweetness to live on. Silky smooth, momentarily pungent and refreshing as can be. Stellar Chenin. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @LongridgeWines

Ken Forrester Vineyards Renegade 2011

Ken Forrester Renegade 2011, Stellenbosch, South Africa (SAQ 10703084 $24.25, Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

Mainly Grenache and inculcated with varietal layers thereof, though in the end it is the Rhône blend accrual that bounds over hills and dales. I’m not sure any number of Stellenbosch investigations will unearth more expatriate quality for the coin than is found in the Renegade. A true marker of its maker, The specs are spot on to produce heft, strength and confidence from tireless work. Healthy pH, minimal sweetness, virile acidity and generous alcohol. Like a blood transfusion even though you weren’t sick. Like drinking snake’s blood in grain alcohol on the side of a Hanoi road. Like an hour of intense yoga. Ken Forrester, all in, fully, completely engaged. This red blend speaks in his voice. “Renegade! Never been afraid to say. What’s on my mind at, any given time of day.” It’s no jay but it covers the Stellenbosch bases, from A to Z. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015

Ellerman House

Godello at the edge of the world #capetown #ellermanhouse #banghoekuncorked #southafrica

Tokara Sauvignon Blanc Reserve Collection 2014, Elgin, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

From the atmospheric growing conditions of Elgin, the new South African geographical epiphany for the cool-climate varietal future. From the winery’s Highlands farm, transported to Stellenbosch and fermented with tact, cold, stainless, with acidity intact. Tokara’s Sauvignon Blanc is bone dry (near and dear to 2.0 g/L of RS) and a straight piercing heart of an SB as ever there was. Takes the likes of Marlborough and teaches it a thing or two about the coastal ways of the Western Cape. Tasted with viticulturist Aidan Morton. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted September 2015 @TOKARA_ZA

Brandy sculpture @Ellermanhouse @WOSA_ZA #banghoekUncorked #capetown #southafrica

Oldenberg Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2014, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

From vines planted in 2006 on alluvial soils. A tight, lean and bracing Chenin Blanc with seamless attribution. Simplicity of fruit meets oak (30 per cent ferment for 10 months in 300L French barrels, 50 per cent new) but somehow freshness wins outright. This in kind to sharp, feisty, sour-edged acidity that is lemon bracing and a linger for a good length of time. Also in spite of generous alcohol (14.11 per cent) and relatively low pH (3.21). Jasmine and honey? “Fields of flowers deep in his dreams (Ha ha, honey), lead them out to sea by the east (Ha ha, honey).” The reminder of Stellenbosch and Chenin Blanc. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015 @Oldenburgwines @HHDImports_Wine

Thelema Mountain Blanc de Blancs Méthode Cap Classique 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

Sparkling generously donated to with agreeable richness from eight year-old vines out of Tukulu soil. Generous of yield (16 t/hL) at low red/yellow saturated slopes near the basin floor. The dosage keeps it comfortably Brut, the acidity cozily numb. Classic bubble methodology, including three years lees aging, in line for such fine elegance. Runs for a straight purpose, of citrus incarnate with a penchant for piercing. In its youth it knows nothing of oxidative and yet that dimension will lengthen its future. For 15 years it will reside in the refreshing valley in between. Though he is a multi-varietal maestro and with no disrespect to the rest of his Thelma and Sutherland portfolios, if Sparkling is not winemaker Rudi Schultz’s true calling then I’ll have to spend three more hours at dinner with proprietor Thomas Webb to find out what is. Drink 2015-2030. Tasted September 2015 @ThelemaWines @tomwebbsa @EpicW_S

We’ve been expecting you, Mr. Bond #ellermanhouse #banghoekuncorked #007 #capetown

Thelema Sutherland Viognier-Roussanne 2012, Elgin, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

In the realm of two-thirds to one-third ratio from Seven year-old (at the time) vines grown on Tukulu and Glenrosa soils. The ramp up of Roussanne percentage elevates acidity to balance the richer, broader and wide-ranging Viognier breadth. There is great grape tannin in this Elgin white with healthy yet balanced alcohol, negligent sweetness and that bouncy, bountiful acidity. Lays about happily in a pool of bleed from rock and stone. Possessive of the je ne sais quoi all impressionistic whites must have, vry of the land and tonic attention. In the end bitter grapefruit draws a cheek full of wince and sends goose bumps down the spine. Gotta love that. Drink 2015-2021. Tasted September 2015

Panels of terroir @Ellermanhouse Face in the crowd #terroirwall #angustaylor #rammedearth #paulharris #winegallery #cape town

DGB in the Capelands

Others would kill for her Pinot fruit and Lizelle Gerber kills it for @BoschendalWines #dgb #DGBinthewinelands

Boschendal Cap Classique Jean le Long Prestige Cuvée Blanc de Blancs, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Chardonnay curried favour from impeccant and licid (2007 base wine) cool climate fruit and then ingratiated by 60 months plus one year on the lees. Of added significance by only having been sulphured at disgorgement. A yeasty B de B of beautifully beckoning oxidation and bone dry at 2.3 g/L of RS. Fizz of finesse and elegance, a feet sweeping, inveigling, influence exerting Stellenbosch cuvée. A skillfully applied mound of preserved lemon and freshly grated wild ginger, piled like airy mousse, or like lustrous wasabi without the burn. Benchmark for the Méthode Cap Classique B de B style. Drink 2015-2027. Tasted September 2015 @BoschendalWines @LiffordON @liffordwine

Cape Oysters Vietnamese #chefswarehouse #capetown

Boschendal Cap Classique Grand Cuvée Brut 2009, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

Time is the settler is this Pinot Noir (51 per cent) and Chardonnay (49) of aeration and ripeness from its days as a sun-worshipper. From fruit primarily sourced in Stellenbosch with some help from the Elgin Valley. Disgorged in the Spring of 2014, six months post 36 months on its yeasts have brought it to a very happy place. As it found itself in requiem of a less than Brut profile, the sugar level is higher (7.8 g/L), a munching magic mousse transformative indeed, enacted during secondary fermentation and measured dosage. Distinctly nutty, rich, torch toasty and presented in purview by citrus. For Cape oysters, at the least, or foie gras and with a bowl of salted nuts. Drink 2015-2029. Tasted September 2015

Boschendal Cap Classique Grand Cuvée Brut 2009

Boschendal Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Elgin, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

From the highest of and one of the latest ripening mountain plateau vineyards in Elgin, 500m above sea level and only 18km away from the Atlantic Ocean. The Eikenhof farm offers well-drained Bokkeveld Shale soils and with a healthy yet restrained sugar component (4.4 g/L), here Sauvignon Blanc goes at it rich and grassy, herbal and highly textured. The white pepper olfaction in lieu of capsicum makes a yummo aromatic impression. Here SB executes in expatiated flection, with layers waiting to be peeled away in discovery of what lays beneath. I would suggest not treading near the surface. You will miss out on the mysteries weighted in its depths. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted September 2015

Pork Belly at DGB in the Capelands food truck event

Boschendal Chardonnay 2013, Elgin, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

Slow-ripened, low-yielding Chardonnay seasoned from unirrigated mountain slopes of Bokkeveld Shale mixed with some clay. Chardonnay paid attention in detail only a small farm can afford, followed by prudent picking in a warmer than average vintage. The barrel has its say in a heartfelt way, the integration with delicate fruit sprouting wings more effete than mannish. One quarter of the 80 per cent oak ferment is new and the rest either second or third fill. Fresh now, reductive to a necessary degree and built for a minimum five with an optimum seven to eight year shelf life. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015

This guy loves Canada @WOSA_ZA #DGBinthewinelands #foodtrucks

Boschendal Pinot Noir 2013, Elgin, South Africa (Winery, Agent)

This is the bomb. Lizelle Gerber may be benevolently pegged as the white wine maker at Boschendal but place Pinot Noir fruit from the second highest vineyard in South Africa in her hands and shazam; welcome to the hallowed alchemy payoff. The treatment is not unlike what Gerber effects upon her Chardonnay; 50 per cent natural fermentation, 12 months barrel maturation in (25 per cent) new, (35) second fill, (15) third and (25) fourth French oak. Variability comes by way of heavy red clays, from Table Mountain Sandstone, Bokkeveld shale, Tukulu and Silica Quartz with underlying Caoline clay. So what? Balance, so what. Her Pinot Noir finds separation by soil. The small berries are so prized even the baboons want in. The windswept vineyards are a place of chaste, inviolable grounds, where Pinot Noir needs little human interference save for some predator protection. The gathering here imagines Willamette salinity, Otago purity and Beaune delicacy. Gerber’s Pinot is simple, cast from only overnight free-run juice, unpressed, pitch perfect, virtuous and riddled with the tension of decorum. It will age for 10 years plus. Drink 2015-2025. Tasted September 2015

Good to go!

Twitter: @mgodello

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WineAlign: Michael Godel

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Twelve days of wine to get you through the holidays

Dec1

Charcuterie and Appetizers @barquebutchers by the GSF

More reasons are requested, given, offered, presented and needed for purchasing and consuming wine during the month of December than at any other time of the year. And so, 12 more suggestions, falling this time within the realm of mortal affordability yet special enough to gift and to make you feel like you’ve done something nice for yourself. Go ahead, indulge. All from the November 28th VINTAGES release.

Casas Del Bosque Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Casablanca Valley, Chile (974717, $13.95, WineAlign)

Could not be anything but Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc, movie quotes and all. Tossed like a cayenne dart at a yellow plum tree board. Sweet and salty, like white taffy and sprigs of rosemary on a bacon-wrapped scallop. Odd combo and why not. On the edge of tomatillo and nettle? Perhaps, but also composed with an acerbic wit, as time goes by. “It’s still the same old story. A fight for love and glory.” Drink 2015-2018. Tasted November 2015 @CasasdelBosque @azureau @DrinkChile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaAqze81y4Y

Delheim Family Chenin Blanc 2014, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (429720, $17.95, WineAlign)

Flinty, smoky, reductive Chenin, certainly produced with quantity and accessibility in mind. Typically, succinctly Stellenbosch, with a level of sweetness available and in balance with the stony fruit that is marked by a mineral mine. Has good acidity and even better length. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September and November 2015 @Delheim @Noble_Estates @WOSACanada @WOSA_ZA

Arnaldo Caprai Anima Umbra Rosso 2012, Igt Umbria, Italy (434266, $19.95, WineAlign)

So unexpectedly and remarkably fresh Umbrian of red fruit and ripe acids without any overkill from wood or tannin. This is a pure breath of fresh air in a world dominated by barrel, heat, over-extraction and covert winemaking operations. The fruit may not be Caprai’s most prized but it works a basic stratagem of interpretative and integrated, integral magic. It must be lauded for its honesty. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted November 2015 @Arnaldocaprai @StemWineGroup

Josef Chromy Pepik Sekt, Tasmania, Australia, (429704, $26.95, WineAlign)

A whole whorl of aromas kick up the dust from this pearl of a Tazzy with an arid and saline sense of destiny. Density and weight are surprising features, along with orchard fruit and wild machinations. Jams and swaggers with so much personality, from lime lining the velodramatic slopes of its groove to fish jumping out of its waters. Calling it alive would be an understatement. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Drink 2015-2020. Tasted November 2015 @JosefChromy @bwwines

Jean Max Roger Cuvée G.C. Sancerre 2014, Loire Valley, France (189126, $28.95, WineAlign)

Sweet scenting and spicy wafting Sauvignon Blanc, with white pepper and cool herbiage (mint, savoury, tarragon and basil). Good solid Sancerre, always, organically developed and of a verbiage that is modern, proper and articulate. Always spot on. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted November 2015 @oenophilia1 @LoireValleyWine

Spy Valley Envoy Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Waihopai Valley, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (429308, $29.95, WineAlign)

Elevated, reductive, flinty tones, noticeably crash course modern and reactive for New Zealand. Capsicum and juicy fruit gum, matchstick and tropical fruit, then citrus on the palate with opiate numbing. This is Sauvignon Blanc like Semillon, as if the winemaker at Spy Valley, with the best fruit possible from Waihopai Valley, had the intention of making the most serious SB on the planet. With a bit of barrel effect, though that may be a stretch I’m looking at a 10 year development here, into honey, rocks and a blast of propellent. Uncharted territory. Will have its share of naysaying anti-stylistic poo-pooers. Drink 2016-2026. Tasted November 2015 @spyvalleywine @SpyValleyUK @nzwine @TrialtoON

Château Bernadotte 2005, Ac Haut Médoc, Bordeaux, France (431775, $32.95, WineAlign)

A really nice drop of Bordeaux that has fully resolved from the semi-heat of 2005. This is good to go, with both acidity and tannin gracefully interconnected while the fruit remains. A good leathery hide and a slight ferric bleed fills the nooks. Lovely semi-old Bordeaux. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted November 2015

Majella Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Coonawarra, South Australia (301531, $33.95, WineAlign)

A massive combination of fruit, tannin and wood whorl in a ferric, tough, gritty and ready for nothing in any particular hurry Cabernet. That said, it is silky smooth, spicy and velvety too. A really big mouthful of so much goodness to last 20 years or more. Out it aside for all the major players to get in tune and it will be music to your ears. And pleasure to your lips. Drink 2017-2032. Tasted November 2015 @aussiewineguy @HalpernWine @CoonawarraWine

Faustino I Gran Reserva 2004, Doca Rioja, Spain (976662, $35.95, WineAlign)

Rioja of another era, of tradition, curated history and the famous rusty liqueur. Steeping cherries, elongated acidity, rifling ripples of leather, cedar, cypress and chestnut. The right kind of Rioja with just a hint of plum and plenty of naturally orchestrated enjoyment. Drink 2015-2024. Tasted November 2015 @RiojaWine @Select_Wines

Stags’ Leap Winery Petite Sirah 2012, Napa Valley, California (590356, $39.95, WineAlign)

Dark, dusty and devilishly rich. Must be noted from the start that this is quite restrained for Petite Sirah, cautiously oaked and modest in alcohol. It’s no introvert mind you. A note of volatility keeps it on the edge and the flavours are steeped in tea, coffee and cocoa nib. The vintage agrees with the varietal transplantation and the burgeoning acidity makes for a relationship built on mutual respect. Good and plenty. The handshake is currently quite gripped so waiting another 18 months or so should and will soften the clasp. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted November 2015 @stagsleapwines

Künstler Hochheimer Stielweg Old Vines Riesling Trocken 2013, Qualitätswein, Rheingau, Germany (425041, $42.95, WineAlign)

Along with Rudesheim and Johannisberg, Hochheim was anointed by Goethe as one of the magnates of the Rheingau. From a singular cone-shaped hill locale on the unshaded east-west aspect of the Rhine River. The mediterranean micro-climate makes for, simply stated, stupid good Riesling. Riesling of richness and minerality, strength and length, perfectly good bitters and even better health assisting tonics. Fruit density in the realm of peach and apricot lives in due part because of the Cyrena marl and its soil matrix of dark, alluvial loamy loess. Bounty buoyed by energy. Layers and layers of health, wealth and old vines wisdom. Drink 2018-2035. Tasted May and November 2015 @Noble_Estates @germanwineca @WinesofGermany

Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Mendoza, Argentina (959965, $46.95, WineAlign)

A very pretty, floral and flirtatious Cabernet, supported by extremely ripe and ripping tannins currently caught in a veritable uproar. Elongating drivers are chalky but not grainy and while the sweetness of those conduits are astonishing, the immediate gratification tells me I won’t see this continuing to develop for the better after the ten year mark. Five to ten will be just right. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted November 2015 @CatenaMalbec @LauraCatena @winesofarg @ArgentinaWineCA @TrialtoON

Good to go!

Twitter: @mgodello

Instagram: mgodello

WineAlign: Michael Godel

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Once upon a time in the Western Cape

Oct7

Cape Wine 2015

Independents, rebels, rogues, zoo biscuits, risk takers, revolution. Buzz words, gathered sects and constituents of rebellion. Clusters of assemblage ruminating, circulating and percolating at the latest edition of organized wine in South Africa.

Who among us might have foretold in dramatic foreshadowing the story of September’s Cape Wine 2015? Who could have known that the southern hemisphere’s largest gathering of producers, marketers, buyers, sellers, sommeliers and journalists would do more to quell preconceived notions and stereotypes for any wine producing country than any trade show that has come before? Total, utter energy.

PIWOSA

Centuries ago, when the fishing and trading boats would return west to the Cape they would mistakenly enter the wrong basin. “There’s that confounded bay again,” they would curse. False Bay. During the week preceding and following Cape Wine we climbed aboard cars and vans headed out from Cape Town or Stellenbosch. En route to a farm, estate or winery, more often than not, out the window, there was False Bay, like a magnet, drawing attention, setting and re-setting the excursion compass. As we watched the bay ache into and fade out of view each jaunt-acquiesced day, it just seemed as though we were always heading north and gaining altitude. Not really.

Cape wine country meanderings exist in requiem well beyond points A to B. Directional challenges are inclusive of L-shapes, U-turns and rotations. Lines draw as much east, southeast and northeast as they do falsely north. Journeys always conclude in a valley, at the base of a mountain or in an amphitheatre bound by geological reality. The getting there is often hazy but the arrival always comfortable.

Maybe I’ve a reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland

South African wine is not what we thought it was. This mantra can’t be repeated often enough. Ventures into the wine lands compounded the about-face turn of mind. Tastings, tours and zealous immersion into Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Swartland and Hemel-En-Aarde saw to that. South Africa is not what you thought folks, but it just might be what you dare to dream. If you’ve not visited you can’t possibly know what revelations lurk.

The frontier is inhabited by cowboys and their multifarious varietal schemes. It’s surfeited by demi-century established Chenin Blanc bush vines, painted pell-mell with expatriate rootstock and cuttings outside the Bordeaux and Burgundy box; Nebbiolo, Barbera, Tinta Barocca, Albarino, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Tempranillo and Tannat. Nothing is sacred and everything is fair game. Rhône blends are the current rage and Cinsault is going it alone with nothing short of remarkable results.

The Zoo Biscuits

Natural fermentation, skin contact and carbonic maceration have infiltrated the winemaker’s psyche. The eco-bio movement has challenged the fundamentalist incumbency and forced sweeping reforms. Fresh, natural, orange, caliginous and tenebrous have taken the Cape by storm. Praetorian makers are changing their ways. Pinotage has abandoned decades of Bordeaux wannabe style to once again don bell bottoms and retro suede. In 2015 South Africa, cats and dogs are living together.

Zoo Biscuits poster

Introduce me to a winemaker who is not in tune with his or her terroir and I’ll show you a winemaker who is either faking it or blindly towing a company line. That breed is few and far between. In South Africa I met exactly none of that ilk. So what? What’s so special about a nation of winemakers who work as one with their soil, their meso-climate and their geology? You’re supposed to intuit those abstracts to make great wine. “You’re supposed to take care of your kids!”

No, what separates South African vignerons from the rest of the world is the playground mentality and the execution in consummation of those ideals. The soils and the weather are nothing short of perfect in the vast growing region known as the Western Cape, or in the local vernacular, the Cape Winelands. Any varietal of choice can find its way to achieve perfect phenolic ripeness virtually anywhere the grapes are planted. The mitigating effect of Cape winds eradicates all disease. The place is a veritable garden of viticulture eden. Or, as in the case of the Hemel-En-Aarde Valley, a verdant, fertile valley known as “heaven on earth,” the adage takes on the paradisiacal guise of the sublime. South Africa is the wine collective equivalent of the wild west. In the Western Cape, anything goes.

Heap big trouble in the land of plenty
Tell me how we’re gonna do what’s best
You guess once upon a time in the west

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUOqTIaau3o

I will expand, in due course, on all the wines tasted during the eight days I spent in South Africa. A list of top wines and a preponderant unfurling are sure to follow in the form of fifty odd tasting notes. For now I will concentrate, in the name of lede consistency, on the varietal and stylistic revolution taking place.

Swartland Independents

The following notes will unquestionably focus on three platoons, Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa (PIWOSA), the Swartland Independents and the Zoo Biscuits. The first is a collective of straight-shooting, accordant, premium, independent wine producers from across the diverse wine regions of South Africa’s Western Cape. The second comprises 25 (give or take) cricket playing, indigenous fermenting, Anglikaans-gabbing grape shepherds. The third may draw their name from beloved childhood memories of packaged iced silhouettes of animals on cookies when in actuality they are a gaggle of like-minded, boundary-pushing, fun-loving, serious winemakers.

Suzaan and Chris Alheit

Cape Wine 2015 may have seen 300 presenters toting thousands of South African bottles but the swagger of 40 young vignerons stole the proverbial show. They did it with passion, innocence, acumen beyond years and attention to history. They go it alone and with a pack mentality. They care about old vines, tradition and respect for the land but they also have chutzpah. They don’t really give a fuck what the establishment thinks about their winemaking.

Jamie Goode and Godello, CapeWine2015

Three days at the Cape Town International Convention Centre allowed for extensive coverage of the South African wine scene. It was a perfectly organized show. Credit begins with the vignerons. Their work is tireless, especially when all must be dropped to focus on all-in, three relentless days of pouring while offering elaborate dissertations about their wines and their place in the South African scene.

At the lead there is Wines of South Africa, headed by Michael Jordaan and Siobhan Thompson, chair and CEO, respectively. André Morgenthal and Laurel Keenan head up communications, marketing, events and PR for WOSA, in South Africa and in Canada. The show and the excursions around the Cape Winelands were made possible by their collective efforts. Their immense efforts and impeccable work can’t ever be overestimated.

Chenin Blanc

No discourse on new versus old in South Africa can be addressed without first looking at the modish dialectal of Chenin Blanc. The combination of bush and old vines, coupled with indigenous ferments and skin contact addresses has elevated the stalwart, signature grape to its current reality.

Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines Chenin Blanc Skin Contact 2013, Swartland, South Africa (Winery)

It begins with viticulturist Rosa Kruger and the cleanest fruit this side of Matroosberg Mountain. Vigneron and winemaker Chris and Andrea Mullineux use egg inversion to press and skin contact lasts for three months. This plus old barrels hyper-intensify umami; part bread dough, some pine forest, all wild yeast and a hint of Matsutake mushroom. The meld into acidity is a wild carpeted Chenin ride. Exhibits layers of Greekdom, in spice and complexity. The long inosinate to guanylate finish arrives and lingers in thanks to the scraped skins of many citrus fruits. They strip, stripe and spank the mouth. The spirited lashing and accumulated bejewelling is a sign of spiritual and plentiful life. Drink 2015-2021. Tasted September 2015 @MullineuxWines @MullineuxChris @SwartlandRev

A A Badenhorst Wines

A. A. Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2015, Swartland, South Africa (Winery, SAQ 12135092 $18.05, BC $23.00, WineAlign)

From Adi Badenhorst, old bushvines planted in the 1950’s and 1960’s and whole bunch handled with no crushing or de-stemming. Fruit is transferred to concrete and 500l old foudres. The simple, minimalist approach and lots of less stirring, leading to great texture, right up there with the most complex Chenin. Also possessive of the righteous level in bitters, intense citrus and bookworm herbology. Lucent, lambent, capable Chenin Blanc. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @AABadenhorst @SwartlandRev

Riesling

Not exactly household or predominant by any stretch of the imagination, Riesling does play a bit part in the white idiomatic presentation of South African wine. With the emergence of Elgin as a cool climate growing area capable of expertly ripening both aromatic and aerified varieties, the future will crystallize with more Riesling, Gewürztraminer and offshoot concepts.

Paul Cluver Riesling Close Encounter 2013, Elgin, South Africa (Winery, LCBO 500396, $23.00 WineAlign )

A more serious effort than the sibling ‘Dry Encounter’ because this Riesling knows what it wants to be. On its left may be Alsace and on its right the Mosel but in truth this speaks to a Kabinett reasoning, with Elgin layering. At nine per cent alcohol, 36 g/L RS and 8.2 g/L TA it knows the difference and speaks the truth about off-dry Riesling, with elevated and yet balancing acidity. It pretends to be nothing but what is of and for itself. Flint and an attainable stratosphere (between 300-500m above sea level) accept the airy drifts of oceans and the gathering returns to earth with the weight of wax and glade. If you think South African Riesling is “a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land,” taste Elgin and think again. The skeptical Nowhere man is ignorant to the new frontier for Riesling and to him I say “please listen, you don’t know what you’re missing.” Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @paulcluverwines @PIWOSA

White Blends

A category not to be taken lightly, what with so many varieties available to work together and with the idea of appellative blends not necessarily so far off or far-fetched. Chenin Blanc is most certainly the pillar and the rock with support ready, willing and applicable from Clairette Blanc, Verdelho, Chardonnay, Viognier, Gewürztraminer, Semillon, Roussane, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Colombard.

Donovan Rall

Rall Wines White Coastal Region 2014 (Winery)

A contiguous king blend of Chenin Blanc with Verdelho, Chardonnay and Viognier from vineyards allowing for increased production year after year. Natural fermentations acquiesce varying degrees and species of spiced dipped flowers set upon expressions of lees. The Chenin is 41 year-old Swartland (Paardeberg) fruit with Stellenbosch (Bottelary and Helderberg) quartz soil Chardonnay and Verdelho. Anise, star anise and pure white stone groove me in a gather of complimentary and controvertible Chenin (and friends) complexity. “Uhh! Awww, sookie sookie now!” @SwartlandRev

Other White

What obscure or less heralded white grape variety would you like to play with? Ask the Cape winemaker that question and he or she might keep you awhile. The rules again need not apply. Spin the wheel and work your magic. Odds are at even that a handful of least employed Châteauneuf and/or Gemischter Satz varietal wines show up at a CapeWine Fair sometime soon.

Cederberg Bukettraube 2014, Cederberg Mountains, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

David Nieuwoudt’s Dwarsrivier rare take on the cultivar (less than 77 hectares of vines remain planted worldwide) is a wine with altitude and attitude. Cederberg is one of only three South African farms in kind of these vines in Glenrosa and sandstone soils on the escarpment atop the Cederberg Mountains. Natural sugar of 25 g/L from the arrested ferment is toothsome in a next to Spätlese way, though the citrus and herbal crasis separates this from Riesling. What brings it circling again is the formidable acidity, circulating and rounding up, culminating in a viscosity and a palate coating that ends with none word. Delicious. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @Cederseun @imbibersreport @PIWOSA

Cinsault

There was a time when all South African Rhône varietal wines needed to be compared to the mother land and many continue to encourage the adage “you can take the varieties out of the Rhône but you can’t take the Rhône out of the varieties.” The modern Cinsault maker has turned expatriate exploits on its axiomatic head. You’ve not likely had your way with these versions of Cinsault and like me, once you have, you may never go back.

Radford Dale ‘Thirst’ Cinsault and Gamay Noir

The Winery of Good Hope Radford Dale Cinsault ‘Thirst’ 2015, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery)

If the Thirst Gamay from vignerons Alex Dale and Jacques De Klerk is “a live rock concert rather than a manufactured, boyband studio album,” the carbonically macerated Cinsault is weekend long palooza replete with music, clowns, acrobats and roaming minstrels. The wonders of natural, nouveau Gamay are well known but the natural fermentation application on Cinsault goes funky, wild and complex in a whole other attitude. Chilled properly this Thirst adds a Mad max factor to the circus, tannins even and most certainly an explosive grit. If the Gamay is smashable, the Cinsault is obliterateable. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted September 2015 @Radforddale @WineryGoodHope @Noble_Estates @PIWOSA

Syrah

The globe trekking grape has been backed into a corner, with blood primarily spilled at the hands of big box Australian producers but some blame has also circulated South Africa’s way. Heavy petting, elevated heat and alcohol, street tar and vulcanized rubber have combined in resolute, culprit fashion to maim the great variety. As with Cinsault, but in an entirely more mainstream way, the fortunes of Syrah are wafting in the winds of change. Natural fermentations, some carbonic maceration and especially prudent picking from essential Syrah sites are turning the jammy heavy into the genteel and dignified wine it needs to be.

Journey’s End

Journey’s End Syrah ‘The Griffin’ 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Winery, Agent, WineAlign)

The ’12 signifies a departure and a new style for the winery and for Syrah in the Cape. Some (three weeks) of carbonic maceration leads to a dichotomous passion play in which the middle romance is acted out in seven barrels for 18 months of (70 per cent American and 30 per cent French) oak. It’s as if the grapes are shocked into an awakening and then slowly brought down to calm. As if the fruit develops a protective shell, protected from and coerced by and with ushering along by slow motion micro-oxidation. This is Syrah void of cracked nut, pepper, veneer and big league chew. It’s a terribly beautiful experiment, the Syrah equivalent of similar function world’s away, done with Chardonnay, in Orange and all the while with natural yeast that sling the fruit to destinations previously unknown. At least around here. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted September 2015 @JourneysEndWine @colyntruter @vonterrabev @PIWOSA

Callie Louw’s smoker

Porseleinberg Syrah 2013, Swartland, South Africa (Winery)

They call Callie Louw a lekker ou. Having played on his side and under his tutelage for a bowl and a bat or two, I can concur. He is a nice guy. Having eaten his smoked pork shoulder, brisket and wings, I can tell you that he is a master smoker. Having tasted his ’13 Syrah twice, I can also say he is a great winemaker. Louw is proficient at many things, including cricket and smoking Swartland’s best BBQ. Making Syrah from the schist soils of Riebeek Kasteel is his true calling and with thanks to Marc Kent (of Boekenhoutskloof) he is able to work with some of South Africa’s best fruit out of one of its harshest climats. Picked fruit is left to its own devices, 40 per cent in concrete eggs and 60 in larger foudres. I’d hate to smack a natural sticker on this one because it resides outside the realm of labels, generalizations and uneventful stipulations. It has killer tannins and the legs to walk the earth. What else do you need to know? Drink 2017-2030. Tasted September 2015 @SwartlandRev

Porseleinberg Syrah 2013

Pinot Noir

The future for Pinot Noir is bright beyond the pale, with certain exceptional growing sites producing varietal fruit so pure and of ripe phenolics as profound as anywhere on the planet. A few producers have found their way. More will follow and when they do, South Africa will begin to tear away at the market share enjoyed by the likes of New Zealand and California.

Blackwater Wines

Blackwater Wines Pinot Noir Cuvée Terra Lux MMXI 2013 (Winery)

Winemaker Francois Haasbroek is not merely on to something. He has it figured out. The elegance of his wines (sourced from vineyards across the Western Cape) share a strong affinity with one another. In a consistently distinguished line-up this Pinot Noir may not be his most accomplished but it is his most definitive bottle. From three Elgin Vineyards this spent 18 months in older 225L barrels and help me if this does not purely express the humanity of Pinot Noir. Oh, the natural funk of Elgin, where Pinot Noir need be embraced and fostered. Not unlike Haasbroek’s Syrah, the sweetness is impossible, the imagined imaging haunting and asomatous. With time the true luxe will emerge, in the form of mushroom, truffle and candied cherry. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted September 2015 @Blackwaterwine @ZooBiscuitsWine

Pinotage

For so long we ignorant, pathetic and far away people knew not from Pinotage. We imagined its machinations through, by way of and expressed like espresso, forced and pressed with nothing but wood in mind. That the grape variety could have a personality bright and friendly was something we had no reference from which to begin. A visit to the Cape Winelands re-charts the compass and the rebirth is nothing short of born again oenophilia. The new Pinotage may be what it once was but it is also what it can never be again.

David and Nadia Pardelbosch Pinotage 2014

David and Nadia Paardebosch Pinotage 2014, Swartland, South Africa (Winery, WineAlign)

From parcels of the highest possible elevation and black rock that imparts swarthy tannin on a frame of alcohol sharpened at 12.5 per cent. Nothing short of stunning aromatics. Whole bunch fermentation, three weeks of skin contact and minimal punch downs are directed with pinpoint precision to what Pinotage should and simply must be. Fresh, lithe and promising. Good-bye Pinotage being Pinotage. Hello Pinotage in pure, honest perfume. Older oak barrels (4th, 5th and 6th fill) round out the texture, amplify the arroyo seco and excellence washes through, with simple acidity and riverine length. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015 @DavidandNadia @SwartlandRev

Red Blends

The sky is the limit for what can be attempted and achieved with the varietal kitchen sink of availability. In consideration that any red variety can scour the Cape Winelands in a journeyed search for phenolic ripeness, a prudent pick, ferment (or co-ferment) will certainly, invariably conjoin towards assemblage nirvana. Rhône styling is most often mimicked, from both north and south but OZ indicators and even California flower child prodigies are both seen and heard. There is no tried and true in this outpost of red democracy. In the case of Cape wine, anarchy rules and there is really nothing wrong with that.

Sheree Nothnagel, Wildnhurst Wines

Wilde hurst Red 2012, Swartland, South Africa (Winery)

Shiraz (62 per cent) co-fermented with Viognier (5) is joined in rank by Mourvèdre (33, though is some years it’s Cinsault) in an unembellished red that not only lies back but rises in free spirit. A red to express the personality of its maker, Sheree Nothnagel. Silk and lace, cure and mace, spice and so many things nice are the aspect ratios of a very natal wine, like a prevailing wind. A real stretch in tannin, sweet and smooth of grain leads to length, from Koringberg to the slopes of the Picketberg and Paardeberg mountains. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @WildehurstW @ShereeNothnagel @SwartlandRev

The wines of Duncan Savage

Savage Wines Follow the Line 2014 (Winery)

The Western Cape has likely never seen such polish and precocious affinity with its varied soils as it has or likely soon will when Duncan Savage is making wine. The blend of Cinsault (58 per cent), Grenache (21) and Syrah (21) is predominantly Darling grapes and shows a deeper, funkier understanding of Cape soil. Bright red cherry fruit supports life on this brooding planet and propagation is furthered with cinnamon-like spice and a purity for supplementary red fruit so direct and so very pure. The wine’s moniker comes from the farming expression “follow the line.” All rows lead to the farmhouse, eventually. All winemaking roads in the Cape will lead to the name Duncan Savage or at least involve him in the conversation. He is the farmhouse. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @ZooBiscuitsWine

Alheit Vineyards Flotsam & Jetsam and Cartology

Alheit Vineyards Flotsam & Jetsam Days of Yore 2014 (Winery, WineAlign)

Chris Alheit’s brand might allude to a chapter in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers but Days of Yore must pay some homage to the 80’s thrash metal band and with great irony. This Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault blend is no Doomsday for the Receiver and certainly No Place for Disgrace. What it is instead is pure liquid brilliance. Old 1960 Cabernet Sauvignon bush vines are (even if unintentionally) farmed the way they used to be, back in the days of yore. Now cropped, tended and produced in pitch perfect cure, the resulting wine (when Cabernet is blended with Albeit’s dry-farmed, stomped and tonic-singular Cinsault) shows smoky depth and musicality. Sour-edged or tart can’t begin to describe the tang. It’s something other, unnameable, sapid, fluid and beautiful. It brings South Africa from out of the heart of its wayfinding darkness. Drink 2015-2025. Tasted September 2015 @ChrisAlheit @ZooBiscuitsWine

Other Red

Momento Wines

Momento Wines Tinta Barocca 2013, Bot River, South Africa (Winery)

From a south-facing, 40 year-old, one and a half hectare vineyard in Bot River that Marelise Niemann convinced the farmer not to rip out so that she may continue to produce some 2,000 bottles of a variety you can’t really find or are want to grow anywhere else. This has been a small love affair since 2007 with this block. “My child, my charity case,” she admits. I am not sure I tasted any other wine in South Africa with such fresh, pure, unspoiled innocence as this Tinta Barocca. “You have to have a connection to the vineyard. To guide it.” The underlay of perspicuity is a streak provided by Bokkeveld shale. The clarity of red fruit and deferential tannin is too sacred to spit, too beautiful to spill and too genteel to waste. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015 @ZooBiscuitsWine

Godello and Marelise Niemann, Momento Wines

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Top ten imports from the VINTAGES September 19th release

Sep22

From left to right: Pella The Vanilla Chenin Blanc 2013, Dominio De Punctum Viento Aliseo Viognier 2014, Laurenz Und Sophie Singing Grüner Veltliner 2013, Barton Merlot 2012 and Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Rosso 2011

Back from South Africa and while I was gone some pretty good wines were released this past weekend. The VINTAGES September 19th release must have been methodized with this late September summer climatic empressement in mind. I tasted these 10 back in August and at the time said to myself, “self, these will make for superb late September sipping.” Here are the notes.

Pella The Vanilla Chenin Blanc 2013, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (389619, $14.95, WineAlign)

The vanilla is an odd moniker for any wine, let alone Chenin Blanc and the usage ends here. The bush vine savagery, atlantic wind and poor gravel soil have more influence than the barrel though there is a distinct aroma that reminds of wood fires on an old oak forest campsite. Creamiest of creamy Chenin Blanc, with the flavour of roasted marshmallow with almost no sweetness or cloy. An acquired taste to be certain but I will pull up a rock or a log to its comforts any day. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015 @SSVineyards @WOSACanada

Dominio De Punctum Viento Aliseo Viognier 2014, Do La Mancha, Spain (424713, $15.95, WineAlign)

O and B Viognier of profound aromatics and lithe enough to call itself a gentleman. White flowers lit by beeswax candle, white pepper and prettier than most herbs. Punctuates with a palate built on mineral and perpetuates good feelings with acidity and structure. More La Mancha than Viognier and rightfully so. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015 @DePunctum @TheLivingVine @vinodelamancha

Laurenz Und Sophie Singing Grüner Veltliner 2013, Niederösterreich, Austria (87627, $16.95, WineAlign)

Stonking mineral Gruner, herbal and gravel inflected, its voice scratchy and smoky like a good Veltliner can be. Actually reminds me of Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, with the herbs and the minor spritz but as Gruner, that’s a bit of a stretch. Eminently drinkable nonetheless. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September 2015 @KylixWines @AustrianWine

Barton Merlot 2012, Wo Walker Bay, South Africa (424143, $14.95, WineAlign)

So much soil funk, gritty, chalky, like liquid concrete and crumbling clay, mixed into a high-acting cocktail. This Merlot is alive, full of tingles and tricks, rich and chocolate fixated. If the acidity were a bit north of the 34/19 line, it would be a formidable red to drink for 10 more years. As it is five will do just fine. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted September 2015 @WOSA_ZA

Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Rosso 2011, Umbria, Italy (46417, $20.95, WineAlign)

Natural to a degree, ripe to a larger one and angled with juicy tang and ripe tannins. Nothing overdone, but there is deep intent, rigid lines and membranes, daunting like facing a large stance of game animals and their dangerous racks. Step aside, let them pass and come back when they are older and more docile. The tannins I mean. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted September 2015 @Scacciadiavoli1 @ConsSagrantino

From left to right: Tandem Macula 2006, Talbott Kali Hart Chardonnay 2013, Schiopetto Pinot Grigio 2013, Capanna Brunello Di Montalcino 2009 and Paschal Marchand Meursault 2012

Tandem Macula 2006, Navarra, Spain (424705, $24.95, WineAlign)

Like dried red fruit sprinkled with a fine aggregate of sweet concrete, if such a combination of inanimate flora existed, plated upon a pool of sanguine fauna below. Funky omeboshi and a torch of garrigue, like spruce tips and a struck match, Dripping, unctuous liquor of varietal amalgamation, having soaked up sunshine and now slowly, naturally leaning towards Nirvana. Where have you been Macula? Drink 2015-2021. Tasted September 2015 @jmfraile @hobbsandco @navarrawine

Talbott Kali Hart Chardonnay 2013, Monterey County, California (46417, $27.95, WineAlign)

Always upscale and like a sheep in wolf’s clothing, matchstick jumpy and full of barrel bounty. Rich and thick like fresh churned butter on rye toast, spice and effectuality. Really ramps up in the vintage and makes a bold Monterey statement. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @TalbottVineyard @MontereyWines @Smallwinemakers

Schiopetto Pinot Grigio 2013, Doc Collio, Friuli, Italy (234757, $32.95, WineAlign)

Holy great mineral Batman. A coolio, Collio trove of fruit goodness and stony tang. Some musty notes and plenty of fruit offset the rocky, badass bent. Full and distinctive, with northern character and ready, steady climb. Build and builds. Many steps up from 99 per cent of Pinot Grigio realities. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted September 2015 @schiopetto @LeSommelierWine

Capanna Brunello Di Montalcino 2009, Tuscany, Italy (378513, $44.95, WineAlign)

Liqueur distilled into Sangiovese, with Grosso layering and from a vintage that meant business from go. Cherries never dried so well, fennel never whiffed so sweet and wood resin never reduced to flavour with such elegance. A very pretty Brunello with massive tannins to send it down the 20 year road in all directions departing Montalcino. Beautiful stuff for a song. Drink 2018-2030. Tasted September 2015 @ConsBrunello

Marchand Tawse Meursault 2012, Burgundy, France (285866, $52.95, WineAlign)

Rich Meursault if two-dimensionally direct, out of a very good vintage. Unctuous along the line to mineral. Brings both butter and beauty. Layered and complex. Fine bass line, with percussion fills between the beats. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted September 2015 @MARCHANDTAWSE

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Shades of South Africa

May22

From left to right: Vinum Africa Chenin Blanc 2012, Ken Forrester Reserve Chenin Blanc 2013, De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2011, Boschendal 1685 Shiraz/Mourvèdre 2013, Graham Beck The Game Reserve Shiraz 2012 and Kanonkop Pinotage 2012

A sit down at Montecito Restaurant last month engaged three flights of South African wines, introduced by master of presentation ceremonies Will Predhomme, who declared a federal truth politic. “This is meant for sommeliers but you journalists will get what you need out of it.” Mr. affable’s public service announcement held great meaning. Pour 15 wines from South Africa to a group of somms, journos and consumers to discover there will be something for everyone.

When execution and style is so varied from within one very large wine region, things can turn into dramaturgy verging on the absurd. At any sort of political theatre tasting comprising a range of disparate wines, three things need to go right. First the presenter must have a keen sense of the rug that ties it all together. Second, the support needs to be in place from the larger powers that be and third, the wines must be good. Three for three, first in the care of Jimson Bienenstock and the kitchen at Montecito, then with thanks to Wines of South Africa Canada and finally by way of succinct explanation via Mr. Predhomme.

Lunch at Montecito

A tasting like this, explained Predhomme, “is about expressing what South Africa is but with wines that are available in our market.” South Africa’s wine history, or at least how it exists in relation to the modern world, is quite young yet has advanced with incredible speed. Imagine that Chardonnay did not arrive until 1983 and had to be smuggled in. Some of the world’s finest Chardonnay is now made on South African soils.

Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and the country’s strive for democracy had a profound effect on the revolution, evolution and expedient rush to embrace modernity. Twenty one years later “South Africa as a whole is really starting to see where it fits,” says Predhomme, “though it will still take at least another generation to really figure it out.”

Home to 600 producers, the country exported 22 million litres in 1992 and 417 million in 2012. The U.K. is the number one buyer, followed by Holland and then Canada, who ranks number seven. “You can’t maintain this type of growth,” notes Predhomme, “but you can shape it.” This is why WOSA has set up shop in nearly a dozen countries.

Winegrowing regions of South Africa

South Africa is a geographical and geological land of wonder, of ancient soils and picturesque intrusions. Extreme examples include the shale and schist of Swartland that turns into dust and the granite domes of Paarl, which are 30 million years old. “Beginning of time stuff, but how does it impart into wine?” Taste fifteen wines and you will get a sense.

South Africa is barely older than Ontario in terms of the modern era of winemaking and yet it produces some 18,000 hectares of Chenin Blanc, double the amount in the Loire Valley. In Swartland the betide is nothing short of a Rhône revolution, with producers doing “whatever they want.” There are hot climate wines from dry-farmed table lands with bush vines similar to Mendoza, minus the Andes. A huge diurnal shift is taking place. Wines are coming from high elevations, where it’s hot but the nights are cool. New upcoming areas in cool, coastal areas, in places like Elgin, Bot River and Walker Bay’s Hemel-en-Aarde Valley have Sonoma like conditions, with maritime influences and fog. All of this adds to the diversity of the South African palette.

Montecito

Whites Flight

Villiera Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Stellenbosch-Elgin, Western Cape, South Africa (Agent, $17.95, WineAlign)

Western Cape in the hands of winemaker Jeff Grier is all about varietal fruit, here Stellenbosch helped into blending-like ambition by young, spritely Elgin berries. A kitchen sink varietal nose gathers gooseberry and fig fruit, incorporates earthly elements (3.46 pH), medicines, sugars and tonics. The Sauvignon Blanc aspect is riper than most. Where the discombabulation comes is from atmospheric pressures, rescued in part by a candied (3.7 g/L RS) Granny Smith apple, pyrazine palate. The MOR alcohol (12.9 per cent) and final act of tart (6.3 g/L) acidity is the calling card to remember, acting as the twist, the tie and the rock. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted April 2015 @villiera @AbconWine

Vinum Africa Chenin Blanc 2012, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (739995, $15.95, WineAlign)

Robust, high-strung, wrapped tight Chenin Blanc that acutely pushes the limits of excitable fruit. The aromatic tonality causes salivation and the eyes to water, as the nose drifts upwards, like the feeling of looking straight into the sun set high against a perfect blue sky. Then the palate lifts to off-dry, sending tingling sensations rippling through, with a cool-climate Chardonnay like prickling. Some oak and crunchy mineral add a smack of Stellenbosch in this rangy white from Alex Dale from the Winery of Good Hope. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted April 2015 @WineryGoodHope @Noble_Estates

Ken Forrester Reserve Chenin Blanc 2013, Stellenbosch, South Africa (231282, $17.95, WineAlign)

The 2013 Forrester OV Chenin has less early, obvious and striking appeal but that does not take away from its persistent and indubitable quality. This is a most fine and elegant vintage, with a faint yet obvious quiver of honey. Yellow fruit and their flowers mingle with the fleeting sweetness, in the name of balance and purity. A slide from one moment effortlessly into another, through a waft, from a swirl. Though the fruit is harder to find, it’s a cause of placing the origin; something south Asian but not quite tropical sweet. Like Salak or Kumquat or Jack. So much mineral, tightly wound on a spindle, wound to unwind, unwinding to rewind. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted April 2015 @KFwines @Noble_Estates

De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2011, Stellenbosch, South Africa (339762, $29.95, WineAlign)

Even at four years of age, the wood aspect of this Chenin Blanc exaggerates rather then amalgamates. At the time, winemaker Carl van der Merwe held nothing back to fashion a white with considerable heft and weight. Alcohol (14.1 per cent) persists in linking with the barrel for a humid, toasty and sultry affair, cosigned by matching (7.7 g/L) sugar and acid tones. This is a prime example of a love/hate Chenin Blanc relationship. If you are on the varietal fence then the magnifications will drive you away. If Chenin Blanc and barrel fermentation are your splintered cup of tea then this will woo you with passion. The hyperbole of rocks, medicines, tonics, peats, elements (including iodine and heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds) are all here. It’s a veritable CB feast. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted April 2015 @DeMorgenzonWine @TandemSelection

Glenelly Cellars Grand Vin Chardonnay 2012, Wo Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, South Africa (382200, $19.95, WineAlign)

From out of Stellenbosch in the Idas Valley, on the southern slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain, opened in 2010 by May de Lencquesaing. State-of-the-art facilities give range and class to this whole cluster pressed Chardonnay, aged for 10 months in new and second fill 500L barrels and left for nine months on the lees. The intensity of chalk, remedy, tang and tart fruit volleys and assails in many ways. It hangs on the edge and teases. You can take the Chardonnay out of the Coastal Region but you can’t remove the ancient geology granite and schist, reinforced iodine aroma from the Chardonnay. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted April 2015 @GlenellyWines @HHDImports_Wine

Chenin Blanc

Bordeaux Cultivars

Raats Family Cabernet Franc 2010, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, $39.95, WineAlign)

From decomposed Dolomite granite soils and vines in that vigorous young adulthood range of 18 to 25 years. A Cabernet Franc of ripeness, extraction, warmth, picked at fully realized sugar potential and vinified nearly bone dry. No stranger to wood, it spent 18 months in French Vicard and Mercury oak barrels (25% new, 25% second, 25% third fill and 25% fourth fill). Was neither fined nor filtered. All tolled it is quite steroidal, highly ferric and plugged in. Transmits currants by frenetic current, by bush smoulder and melts with macerated cherries. What minor holes in the oak blanket that show through are patched with a thin veneer of pungent compound, decomposed stone and the effects of dry farming. The lack of irrigation trumps the iron gait and grit, limiting the solvent to minute drips and drops. This is a big, arid red with few tears and many years ahead. Drink 2017-2024. Tasted April 2015 @RaatsWines @TandemSelection

Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Wo Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, South Africa (403964, $48.00, WineAlign)

A mouthful to be sure, this Simonsberg is a cup runneth over “red wine bowl” of a Cabernet. Such a ripe, rich, rapturous and varietally obvious wine, overflowing with red fruit (berries and plums) and gilded enough to beat the ferrous inference into submission. Just a dusty rub of greenery, a sage and charcoal aggregate residue that dissolves into the sappy juice and the rush of late acidity. Quite a clout of sauvage and garrigue in this modern red with a loyal, rustic swell. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted April 2015 @KanonkopEstate @Noble_Estates

Constantia Glen Three Cape Peninsula 2010, Constantia Valley, South Africa (Agent, $21.95, WineAlign)

A stone’s throw from of Cape Town comes this maritime red as close to cool-climate as you are likely to find in those environs. Two Cabs and a Merlot legato conjoin to continue the bent to modernist winemaking, with a twist of old world funk and soul. Smoky jazz beats darken the room filled with bright, ripe, con brio waves of concentrated fruit. Though this has the gauze and the grippy, firm, gritty B key blow of tenor sax, the cool middle tinkling keyboard bars temper the tension and the nerves. Bordeaux blend with a wall of sound and value to boot. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted April 2015 @ConstantiaGlen @TandemSelection @constantia1685

Hartenberg Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, $35.00, WineAlign)

A healthy swath of oak (18 months in 60 per cent new and 40 in second fill French) buoys and blankets this deep, cimmerian Cabernet. The nose is quite candied and while floral too, those edibles are dipped in a frosty coating. There are separations between the lines of intention, at once all forest floor, truffle and mushroom and again sugary, sappy and like a stew. Lustrous and silky of texture, with a grain running on tension and a drying out on the finish. Big, brawny, toothsome and hot. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted April 2015 @HartenbergWine @hobbsandco

Villiera Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, $18.95, WineAlign)

The nose is quite unusually pretty and floral. So much strawberry, of fruit and leaves. A cool and polished red with a late push of varietal ferrous on the back of the tongue. This has layer upon layer, wave over wave, a veritable cake and vegetable garden, a terrace of nightshades and beets. May not be everyone’s cup of multi-varietal Napolean but it is complex. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted April 2015

Rhône/Blend/Indigenous

Boschendal 1685 S & M Shiraz/Mourvèdre 2013, Wo Coastal Region, South Africa (403667, $19.95, WineAlign)

From the hands of winemaker Bertho van der Westhuizen, this puts 70 per cent Shiraz from vineyards in the Faure area of Stellenbosch, Helderberg and Bottelary hills sites together with 30 per cent Mourvèdre from the Paardeberg area. Goes directly to a happy place so not quite the S & M you might have expected. The playful reverse psychology and complex fermentation regimen spins the world right around (80 per cent of the wine went into 300L oak barrels, a quarter each in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill, while the remainder was left unoaked). The S & M spits out with a remarkable impression of weightlessness, of hovering inches above the ground. Like the gentle, almost awkward and swerving of a bouncing rubber ball, playful and innocent, into comfortable Rhône territory. Smoked berries, fine cherry and very persistent, in memory, forward and onwards. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted April 2015 @BoschendalWines @LiffordON

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2011, Wellington, South Africa (Agent, $69.95, WineAlign)

A ripe, plush, super annotated, developed and slowly developed aromatic layering that defies even South African logic. A smoky, slow-roasted Syrah seemingly only winemaker Marc Kent could procure, like a combined 24-hour brisket and an entire porcine roast in a pit of sand on Brendan Beach. And yet tell me this does not somehow smell like Curry? Like a full-on, whole spice ground, stratified Masala, of cardamom, dalchini, jaiphal and kalonji. This is Syrah of intense concentration, ripe hauteur, serious breadth and a sense to be Rhône without the bacon cure. Won’t be going anywhere, anytime soon. Drink 2018-2025. Tasted April 2015 @TheWolftrapWine @TandemSelection @PorcupineWines

Graham Beck The Game Reserve Shiraz 2012, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (383570, $18.95, WineAlign)

The game is in The Game with musky scents from just charred roast venison and wild boar hide. Also modern, reminiscent of internationally-styled blends from Terra Alta or Montsant. The game works in smothering partnership with heavy, fully ripe and extracted fruit. This is a strong, big willed and boned $18 South African red that should help to alleviate old prejudices and is really quite seamless at the price. Almost tastes volcanic. Wood is used and used well, without pretence or obnoxious behaviour. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted April 2015 @GrahamBeckWines @VinexxCanada

Kanonkop Pinotage 2012, Wo Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, South Africa (Agent, $44.95, WineAlign)

Estate, pedigree and price raise all the bars of expectation for the grape with a modern crush on and for espresso and mochaccino. OK Pinotage, what have you got at $45? A deep red wine in demand to draw plenty of attention, to pluck strings with pizzicato and reverberation? The answer is yes and my attention is indeed captured. Light on chocolate, mocha, creme and nary a lissom or bouncing tone, but instead this Pinotage sings straight lines of red fruit. A stone temple of Pinotage, a pilot of its own fruitful flight. The Pinotage flavour, of tar in summer comes late, is more obvious, notable and grounded as the wine dries to its finish. This is one of the better, even great renditions to date. Bravo. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted April 2015 @KanonkopEstate @Noble_Estates

Bouchard Finlayson Hannibal 2012, Hemel-En-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa (Agent, $47.99, WineAlign)

The varietal potpourri is an Italian-French polygamous matrimony, a cross-section of colour, aroma and flavour that somehow comes righteously together. Call it a lavandino della cucina or évier de cuisine but either way you translate this mix is one of gastronomy and oenology, crafted, blended, sautéed and vinified. Hanibal is barrel matured for sixteen months after fermenting the different grapes separately, comprised of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Mouvedre, with Nebbiolo and Barbera. The culmination revolves on an axis bold as love, of Brett, funk and circumstance. A wildly natural wine, very 1960’s, smoky and with wafts so thick you need a fork to eat and goggles to see through the haze. A wicked blend of heaven and earth. Meaty, cured, sanguine and charred. Super-charged and running hot. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted April 2015 @BouchFinlayson @LiffordON

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Snow whites and the seven reds

Feb5

The seven reds from left to right: Resta Salice Salentino 2011, Mocali Morellino Di Scansano 2012, Rustenberg Shiraz 2011, Coyote’s Run Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012, Salcheto Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2011, Beni Di Batasiolo Riserva Barolo 2006, Fattoi Brunello Di Montalcino 2009

Just as a child will willfully accept the naive and basic truth in a fairy tale, most of us will search for wines deeply buried within their simplicity. Then we have a sip. When we begin to think about that sip we delve deeper into the story and the mythology of the wine. This is where things begin to get complicated.

Maybe we invent comparative mythologies from tales and into wine just to play with the unconscious expressions of ourselves, or perhaps we just need to have some fun. Wine is not our yesteryear’s religion, nor is it something, once consumed, that can be held onto. It is fleeting and ever-changing. It is conceivable to think that wine drinkers of past eras were more childlike and held wine in more fairy-tale like hands. Today we act as though modern wines speak religiously, as if they each belong to one sect or another. Strange, but true.

On Saturday VINTAGES will roll out another lengthy tale of new releases, with a major focus on Italian reds. Like the analysis of the most famous of fairy tales, meaning is derived, not unlike an assessment of Italians and their wines, imagined as a desperate need to rule their own kingdom. The ferric, mineral and tannic nature of the group require that their rage be danced away with time, to re-gain control of their beauty and their lives.

For more recommendations from the VINTAGES February 7th, 2015 release:

Related – Is writing making a mess of wine

Here are the winter snow whites and seven Italian reds to look for, in stores now.

The snow whites from left to right: Poulet Et Fils Brut Crémant De Die, Simonsig Chenin Avec Chêne Chenin Blanc 2012, Domaine De Saint Pierre Sancerre 2013, Girard Chardonnay 2012, Poplar Grove Chardonnay 2012, Taittinger Prestige Brut Rosé Champagne

Resta Salice Salentino 2011, Doc Puglia, Italy (324731, $15.95, WineAlign)

Negroamaro (80 per cent) and Malvasia Nero combine for a mess of tar, composted earth, density in chewy dates, figs and ground funk drawn from dark, dank places. A Salice suspended, after the bruise of fermentation, like a charcoal tracing, like shadow with just an osculant of faint light. A cheesy note hangs, of a salinity out of cultures and wet vats. This may not be everyman’s cup of spume, peat and sedge, with its rough tannin too, but its value lies in complexity and value under $16. Tasted January 2015 @winesofpuglia @puglia

Mocali Morellino Di Scansano 2012, Docg Tuscany, Italy (317115, $16.95, WineAlign)

Morellino that is briery, earthy and with a soaked, cedar chip overlay on dark fruit. Brambly, purple pitchy and almost but not quite flamboyant. Slow as geology seeping, tile weeping, liqueur steeping then turning gritty with drying tannins. Good persistence and a bitter finish. Good value. Tasted January 2015 @InfoMorellino @liffordwine

Poulet Et Fils Brut Crémant De Die, Rhône, France (392555, $17.95, WineAlign)

The unique sparklers from the Die, made from (mostly) Clairette are somewhat of a rarity in Ontario waters. The bitter pith nose, ranging tangy palate and slightly oxidative style is a bit touchy but the length is nearly exceptional for the Euro. In the realm of Crémants, this Rhône dips pear slices past cracker nasturtium pods bobbing in a bowl of beneficial bitters. With a Mediterranean climate and altitude-influenced elemental aroma as if burnished pewter, the bird is anything but fowl. The case is made for these bubbles. Tasted January 2015 @VINSRHONE @WineandFood_RA @TheCaseForWine

Rustenberg Shiraz 2011, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (399246, $19.95, WineAlign)

As per the Stellenbosch Shiraz stratagem, this may lean to sweetness but it’s all about rich, ripe fruit running wild and free. Savoury support comes from green tea, smoking branches and fulminating esters. Neither heavy nor burning, the ’11 is warm, clean and highly accessible. Impressive density and at 14.5 degrees alcohol, really quite soft, unwavering in its ability to suppress the demands of the octane push. Drink in the near term. Tasted January 2015 @RustenbergWines @StellWineRoute

Coyote’s Run Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (79228, $24.95, WineAlign)

This is an intense and vexing vintage for the Red Paw, a Pinot Noir of delicacy in constant search for the right dancing partner. In 2012 the soil seems to have been magnetized with a gravity of ferric density, causing juicy and spontaneous fits of revelry and a painting of the Paw red. Cherries, stones and figs are in, along with ether, earth and peat. The longevity quotient comes into question as the tenure already seems quite evolved but in its current state it is quite fun to drink. Tasted January 2015 @coyotesrun

Simonsig Chenin Avec Chêne Chenin Blanc 2012, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (282772, $25.95, WineAlign)

This barrel-aged Chenin Blanc is toasty, reductive and stratified, scaling heights few whites reach for, to seek other worldly atmospheres. I don’t find anything remotely tropical about it, on the contrary, it’s way out of the equatorial zone and into the upper reaches of the ozone. This has the Loire imprint of longing and distance. It will need time to come back down to earth, what with its hyper fruit meet mineral nuances. When it does it will walk through rain forests and dry flood plains with those extreme noisome notes in tow, to settle amongst the stones by the river. For some, this will be a rare find. Tasted January 2015 @Simonsig_Estate @WOSACanada @WoSA_USA @StellWineRoute

Domaine De Saint Pierre Sancerre 2013, Loire Valley, France (170258, $26.95, WineAlign)

A most promising and textured Sauvignon Blanc, full of chalky fruit and a lamina of minerality, like a strudel of stone fruit spread between layers of Phyllo pastry greased by pulverulant butter. Though this Sancerre does not and will not travel the longest route for the Loire, it is a seamless wine and one that is well-designed. Has a modernity about it while yet keeping a finger on and an ear to the radiocarbon chronometer. Tasted January 2015 @LoireValleyWine

Girard Chardonnay 2012, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California (338434, $26.95, WineAlign)

Quite a different sort of California Chardonnay, cooler and in avoidance of the sub-equatorial fruit of the tropics. With a wisp of woodsmoke and a toothpick poke or two of smokey spice, this RRV bottling puts foggy Sonoma first in line, ahead of warm Cali sunshine. The one warm aspect is a vanilla overlay on creamy mango, a texture that is present but not over the top. The ripeness gathers moss and little stones, gets going, gains steam and fleshes out across a length that steers forward towards a future of nice value. Tasted January 2015 @GirardWinery @imbibersrepotr @sonomavintners

Salcheto Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2011, Docg, Tuscany, Italy (685180, $29.95, WineAlign)

Here a most modern Vino Nobile from Salcheto, through its forward and public fruit to its fine designed label. Retains a sensible and loyal texture, wearing its coat of arms in reverence of its past. Argumentative tannin and acidity speak loud, over the voices of tar, ferrous vernacular, black and blue bruises and rolling stones. Like rusty blood seeping into the cracked earth of a water-starved forest, this Sangiovese gets inside and under the skin. “Come si chiama, what’s your game?” She will answer, Vino Nobile, that’s my name. Tasted January 2015 @SalchetoWinery @AMH_hobbsandco

Poplar Grove Chardonnay 2012, VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (276675, $29.95, WineAlign)

The vintage does not strike so much a new direction for the Poplar Grove Chardonnay as much as a blip on the cool climate radar. Before extrapolating on that comment it must be said that this is a well-made wine. It’s riper, with more gregarious character, an increase in topicality and into a nearly candied buttercup feel. Rich in glück and circumstance. Where in ’11 there were many notes in ripe coconut and green tones, they are a merely a suggestion in ’12, not a composition. A brûlée of lemon and ginger with a sprinkle of cinnamon finds the palate in think mode moving forwards in slurry strides towards a cemented and fixed positional finish. This is for the here and now. Tasted January 2015 @poplargrovewine

Beni Di Batasiolo Riserva Barolo 2006, Doc Piedmont, Italy (330704, $39.95, WineAlign)

Time yet remains on the diminishing side of this Barolo of necessity, regaling and expressive of tea, tannin and flowers, dried and crumbled over fine earth. A modern and high-toned La Morra that is representative of very good value. The tannins persist in clenched chops and will need up to five years to resolve. The BdB Riserva ’06 may not be the Nebbiolo to mortgage the cellar on, but it does have the ability to be a wine to arouse the longing of one who waits. Tasted January 2015 @ChartonHobbs @MikeAikins1

Fattoi Brunello Di Montalcino 2009, Tuscany, Italy (33498, $39.95, WineAlign)

The porcine cure of a Fattoi Brunello is a thing of mesmerism, here alongside a gamey note of soft, braised heart of beef. In ’09 the aromatics are a bit closed at present, atypical for the vintage but likely more a product of the curated, house style. Leather and some judicious oak spice offer up characteristic Grosso sentiments, dug into sweet earth and a feign of candied fruits and flowers. Sumptuous and terrific stuff. Here Brunello that effects the blinding potency of vines screaming of their fruit. Tasted January 2015 @BrunelloImports @ConsBrunello

Taittinger Prestige Brut Rosé Champagne, Ac Champagne, France (993113, $67.95, WineAlign)

A sweeping scopic range of bitters, soft tonics and savoury Polygonaceae circulate in the vacuum of this point beleaguering Champagne. She plies a rough trade, with a flinty, smouldering gun effect that simulates a toasted barrel blowing smoke upwards a riotous Rosé’s crystal glass. With citrus acidity off the charts, a pampered and churned pamplemousse ever expanding, the Taittinger excites and jointly strikes the heart with elegance and beauty. Her style is both chic and confidential, “she’s a combination Anita Eckberg, Mamie van Doren.” A Champagne that avoids freud and “drives a candy pink Cadillac,” that will “make you want to give up high school.” For immediate pleasure and years of future memories. Tasted January 2015 @Taittinger_News @TaittingerUSA

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If it’s value you want, it’s South Africa you need

Feb2

From left to right: Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2013, Boschendal 1685 Chardonnay 2013, The Wolftrap Syrah Mourvedre Viognier 2013, Café Culture Coffee Mocha Pinotage 2014, Thelema Mountain Red 2012

I sat down a few weeks back to taste 20 South African wines, all value-based, consumer-friendly and market-driven. With WineAlign colleagues David Lawrason, John Szabo M.S., Margaret Swaine, Steve Thurlow and Sara d’Amato on hand, the general consensus at the tasting was positive and only worked to re-enforce how competitive South African wines can be in the sub-$15 market.

While certainly not immune to flaws, some South African reds and whites can sometimes get right in your face and yet others show remarkable elegance and complexity at entry-level prices. When I taste wines such as these I imagine the catastrophe of grace. They are wines that move through history with the fluency of a spirit. Some make a house cleaning of belief, others are solid senders. The South African tasting was more than just a group of cheap wines with something to say, more than a pleasant surprise, it was in fact, a pleasure.

Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2013, Swartland, South Africa (595280, $14.95, WineAlign)

Deep dish Syrah, with meaty and cured toppings and the mordant pitch of Swartland. Tarry, olivine rampant and filled with the late summer, sorrowful berries; blackberry and black raspberry. Naturally sweet, viscous, grainy and tannic mess of texture overlaying fruit. Tons of wine for the buck and a very promising vintage to lay down. Aridity takes over on the briery finish. Wow. Tasted January 2015 @PorcupineWines

Boschendal 1685 Chardonnay 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (367698, $14.85, WineAlign)

Here is a buttery and toasty Western Cape Chardonnay, slightly dirty and reductive. Confused, seemingly high residual avoirdupois restricts the opening notes, though they surely begin to play. The aromatics are heavy with the soaking skins of pear, apple and quince in crumbled amaretto cookie and flaky pastry boozy waters. Give this three plus years to shed its nerdy phase and integrate its tangy persistence. Tasted January 2015 @BoschendalWines @liffordwine

The Wolftrap Syrah Mourvedre Viognier 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (292557, $13.95, WineAlign)

Referring to Marc Kent’s blend as traditionally Rhône may seem at odds in consideration of the north-south, modish chaos, the price and the locale, but folky it is. The blend is unvarying Boekenhoutskloof, grounded by Syrah with support from Mourvèdre and Viognier. The latter, aromatic white grape variety lifts and brightens the brooding load. This is quite sweet and sour, of high-toned red and black fruits meeting a reduction of Champagne vinegar. A tannic and mineral streak divides, circles and conquers all. This will drink better in a year and for a few more after that. Tasted January 2015 @TandemSelection

Café Culture Coffee Mocha Pinotage 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (292466, $12.95, WineAlign)

From the KWV stable, the triad of outwardly and rhetorically spoken culture is right there on the label, in all its java glory. Café, Coffee, Mocha. The charm here is that perhaps in 2014 it has actually been scaled back a touch, the wood suffusion, to at least reveal a modicum of red fruits. Nonetheless it is the notes of smoke, tar, rubber and of course coffee that dominate. “Cause it’s the new Mother Nature takin’ over.” There are also at least two spoonfuls too many of sugar. Like the annoying Guess Who song, this can only be taken in very small doses. “Find a corner where I can hide.” Tasted January 2015 @TheCafeCult @Diageo_News

Thelema Mountain Red 2012, Western Cape, South Africa (222570, $12.95, WineAlign)

From fruit up on the slopes of the Simonsig Mountains, this has real, natural cherry brightness, not to mention a kitchen sink of varietal interplay. Shiraz (37 per cent), Petit Verdot (25), Cabernet Sauvignon (23), Merlot (10), Grenache (4) and Cabernet Franc (1) are coalesced by a lighter hand and the effect is less frightening than might be expected. Like similar California action (save for Zinfandel and/or Petite Sirah), this comes together nicely, even coherently, with just a few wrinkles. Represents very good value for a multitude of purposes; BBQ and barbecue being two of them. Tasted January 2015 @ThelemaWines @EpicW_S

From left to right: Cape Heritage Inception Deep Layered Red 2012, Cape Heights Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Flat Roof Manor Pinot Grigio 2014, Flat Roof Manor Merlot 2013, Boschendal The Pavillion Chenin Blanc 2014

Cape Heritage Inception Deep Layered Red 2012, Western Cape, South Africa (369967, $12.95, WineAlign)

If 2011 was sweet, this next vintage is like Carabao mango, Luohan duo and Deglet noor dates all cooked down together into a mawkish, sappy jam. Or maybe it’s much simpler than that; just deeply layered refined sugar and red dye number 40. There is almost no aromatic discernment beyond the crystalline layers. No fruit, no soil, no acidity, no tannin. Just sweetness. Tasted January 2015

Cape Heights Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (129874, $11.30, WineAlign)

The simple drawn label indicates honest design and intent. The alcohol (14.5 per cent) seems spot on and in sweetness, honestly declared. Stones of fruit, full on Cassis, vanilla and wood spice are in the glass and obviously so. Scales greater heights than most generic California counterparts and comes across as Cabernet Sauvignon, with savoury Western Cape scents closer to Sonoma than say, Central Coast. Some coal and tar come in play with a good, persistent finish. Tasted January 2015 @liffordretail

Flat Roof Manor Pinot Grigio 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (27128, $11.25, WineAlign)

With the simple aroma of vanilla drops on cut pears and refined sugar, this is clean, crystalline and simple Pinot Grigio. Inoffensive, for a large gathering it will not hurt any feelings. The production is mindlessly prepared and contrived, until a warm cookie dough nuance takes it to another level. Nothing shocking here. Tasted January 2015 @FlatRoofManor

Flat Roof Manor Merlot 2013, Stellenbosch, South Africa (27128, $11.25, WineAlign)

A taut and toned Merlot, varietally correct and though the label reads 13.5 per cent alcohol, shows considerable heat. Very Merlot, dusty, mulberry scented, syrupy and familiar as a Cape red. Fully garnished, varnished and a rubber stamp this side of tarnished, the thick smoke does distort the clarity. Somewhat seamless in its heavy charms and structured, if quick to finish. Tasted January 2015 @FlatRoofManor

Boschendal The Pavillion Chenin Blanc 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (365353, $10.95, WineAlign)

Though the label has forsaken the partnership with (15 per cent) Viognier, the aromatic floral lilt persists, lifts and buoys the stoic and stark Chenin to impossible heights in a sub-$11 wine. The Chenin’s sharp reserve is inwardly atomic and the relationship with the 15 percenter strictly platonic. Together they create honeyed matter, walk hand in hand and handsomely forward. The residual sugar drip may be a touch heavy-handed but laying a bottle or two down for a few years is entirely possible and save for the price, even longer than that. The acidity circulates to the end, framed by a fine tannic texture. Tasted January 2015 @BoschendalWines @liffordwine

From left to right: Goats Do Roam White 2013, Flagstone Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Durbanville Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc Extra Dry Sparkling Wine 2013, Bellingham Big Oak Red 2013

Goats Do Roam White 2013, Coastal Region, South Africa (237313, $10.95, WineAlign)

The popular and successful Rhône-ish north-south blend in 2013 is Viognier (67 per cent), Roussane (19) and Grenache Blanc (14). In memory, mimic and polar fellowship of the mother land, the GdR is spic and span clean if slightly saccharine and sentimental. I find this to be a typically commercial and derivative South African white wine, with an aromatic and palate profile of sugary, viscous appliqué and rubber tree sap. Has that awkward, gummy resin sensation, along with tropical notes. It’s the pineapple expression that saves the day and makes it more fun to drink. Tasted January 2015 @DonGoatti @FairviewWine

Flagstone Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Western Cape, South Africa (358754, $10.95, WineAlign)

Like flavoured, warmed to dripping chocolate, with splinters. Like overripe blackberries seeping in warm rainwater. There is some formidable tannin and acidity which could use some air time to resolve. Quite unique and fun for an inexpensive South African red with only a minute level of rubbery, volatile acidity. Some earth and plenty of spice, much of it from wood. Quite bright actually and well made. Tasted January 2015 @flagstonewines @CBrandsCareers

Durbanville Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Durbanville, South Africa (22251, $10.95, WineAlign)

Extreme savour and notes for green vegetables are sprinkled with capsicum and dried caper dust in this piquant Sauvignon Blanc. Windswept tops of or cliff edges can be conjured at a sip, along with he dust of desert brush and spots of European gorse. Ocean mists join the notes of Ulex, contributing further green aromas and salty-based flavours. Acidity brings it all in focus. There is complexity in this SB’s drive. Tasted January 2015 @dhillswine

Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc Extra Dry Sparkling Wine 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (281311, $10.95, WineAlign)

Quite oxidized and based on the saccharine sugar aspect, “Extra-Dry” must be a translation from the local winemaker’s dialect. While it has some fining aridity on the back end, the early palate is coated with not so unpleasant sweetness. The capsicum captures the effectualness of the varietal, as do green vegetables and grasses. Intensity comes through in lemon curd and the finish is quite bitter. Tasted January 2015

Bellingham Big Oak Red 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (350595, $10.80, WineAlign)

A Shiraz-Cabernet blend that’s all about the tree, the barrel and a winemaker’s loud and clear pronouncement of the way jammy Western Cape fruit should be treated. Tire tread and sappy tensor bandage smother along with all kinds of chocolate. Plenty of red fruit, grainy tannin and condensed acidity, straight out of the can. Big wine for so little. Tasted January 2015 @DionysusWines

From left to right: Frisky Zebras From left to right: Nederburg Winemaster's Reserve Shiraz 2013, Douglas Green Sauvignon Blanc 2014, K W V Contemporary Collection Chenin Blanc 2014, Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Frisky Zebras Sensuous Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon Blanc

From left to right: Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Shiraz 2013, Douglas Green Sauvignon Blanc 2014, K W V Contemporary Collection Chenin Blanc 2014, Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Frisky Zebras Sensuous Sauvignon Blanc

Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Shiraz 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (527457, $9.95, WineAlign)

Have always had a soft spot for this hard-nosed, high-alcohol (pushing the 15 per cent limit, despite the declared 14.5 on the bottle) heavy lead and plush red berry Shiraz. Especially at under $10. Graphite and mephitic barks, ferrous bits and cool bites keep it dancing under ground. It’s sweet and sour, with soy and balsamic swirls. Covers a wide ranging set of Western Cape parameters. Runs the flavour gamut and represents more than solid value. It’s the style, love it or not. Tasted January 2015 @Nederburg @ImportWineMAFWM

Douglas Green Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (367821, $9.80, WineAlign)

Mr. Green Jr. has fashioned the goods, following in the footsteps of his father. This is a cheeky little Sauvignon Blanc. Slightly oxidized, certainly pumped up by a touch of effervescent CO2 and tempered by Western Cape sentiments. Has hallmark South African flaw-ish white wine tendencies but also plenty of back-end bite meets verve. Like Scatterlings in a bottle, “in their hearts a burning hunger, beneath the copper sun,” this SB has tons of tropical flavour. Also possesses a green apple crunch and a Cleggy, cool, minty middle. Most excellent and affordable juice. Tasted January 2015 @DionysusWines

K W V Contemporary Collection Chenin Blanc 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (18689, $9.45, WineAlign)

Despite the obvious base, elemental and flinty suggestions, it would take some yoga like stretching to pull a Chenin Blanc muscle out of the overall aromatics in a blind tasting. Yet somehow it screams Western Cape and South Africa. Reeks of gauze, sacchariferous density and homeopathic remedy. Saps moisture with anti-vivid aridity. Must overs are in vegetative tones. And, it’s all in. Tasted January 2015 @KWVwines @DiamondEstates

Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Western Cape, South Africa (527465, $9.45, WineAlign)

Struts slowly out, the aromatic neck in craning position, the rotund body slightly awkward and stuck in one dimension. The sweet perfume is animal musky, in a medicinal way. The big bird is a perfectly planar white that is just and only that, hardly recognizable as Sauvignon Blanc, with no ties to any defined terroir. The ostrich abides for simple and ordinary quaffing. Tasted January 2015 @ObikwaWines @ImportWineMAFWM

Frisky Zebras Sensuous Sauvignon Blanc NV, Western Cape, South Africa (237685, $8.95, WineAlign)

From purchased fair-trade fruit, this non-vintage white wine is nondescript. Here brews honeydew in a bottle. Tinny, oxidized and briny, bronzing smells are also sunburnt. The mouth is the recipient of a greasy, reductive, effervescent and prickling salve. Non-Maleficence in Sauvignon Blanc. Tasted January 2015

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Top 15 under-$25 wines of 2014

Dec19

Barque Smokehouse Miami Ribs
PHOTO: Kevin Hewitt and Jill Chen (http://www.freestylefarm.ca/)

The year-end list. Why? To “free the individual from the collective.” To ponder, speculate and formulate a narrative. To create the sociological, world of wine equivalent of splitting the atom. To celebrate the triumph of laic heterodoxy and the arrogance of modernity. To seek purity from beneath the massacre caused by an avalanche of contrived wines. In anthropological terms, “to make a housecleaning of belief.”

For the great majority, $25 is the threshold rarely exceeded when shopping for a bottle of wine. If a solid, honest to good bottle can’t be had for less, grape dismissal rears its ugly head and the switch turns to beer, or worse, rail booze mixed with sugar and/or chemical bitters. Oh, the drab humanity of it all.

But a great wine can be had for less than $25 and once found should be exalted and purchased by the case. The category of reds and in less instances whites, need company. This is where Sparkling, Sherry and even Dessert wines seek the embrace of an open mind and a willing palate. Spread the wealth, into glasses filled, from methods and styles unknown.

You will note that this list is filled with such rare animals and not just from the calculations in ferment, but from places unexpected, far off, of gestalt, historical significance and of the ancients. Places like Naoussa and Santorini in Greece, Montilla Moriles from Spain and Alsace, France.

These 15 wines are (almost all) culled from VINTAGES releases. I tasted countless other terrific under-$25 examples in 2014; local, parochial, from beyond Ontario’s borders and abroad. For the purposes of what the Ontario consumer needs to know and for what serves them best, restricting the bulk of the list to what is available in LCBO stores (or in many cases, what was and will again, as a newer vintage, be released), these 15 wines are not hard to find.

So yes, this is an ode, a nod, shout out and props to our faithful and loyal provider, the LCBO and truer to the point, VINTAGES, the fine wine and spirits division of the Ontario monopoly. The supply chain for great wine is alive and well, despite the efforts required to sift through the chaff, to separate it from the proverbial wheat. The gems, though oft-times hidden, can be unearthed. The diamonds will time and again be scooped from the rough and the cream will also rise to the top. Cliché is a by-product of wine life in Ontario.

What stands out and above is the contribution made and presented by the winemakers and vintners in this province. Six out of my 15 choices are from Ontario. The attitude that Ontario wines are too expensive and do not offer good value as compared to similar wines from Chile, Argentina, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is rubbish. My decision to include six such beasts drives the point. Many excellent wines are available at the u-$25 price point.

Here are my wines of the year that came in under $25. Some are sold out, many are not. Find them before the year is out.

Toro Albalá Fino Del Lagar Electrico, Do Montilla Moriles, Spain (Agent, $14.95, 500ml, WineAlign) From Recently tasted here, there and everywhere, November 24, 2014

The winery was founded in 1844 and in 1970 Toro Albalá became the first commercial Montilla producer in the classic Solera method, from (estate-grown) Pedro Ximénez vines. This is unfortified Fino, at a naturally achieved alcohol of 15 per cent, from an average age of 10 years. It’s so dry, like a desert you could walk for astral weeks, as if it should be measured in negative residual sugar. Like pure almond extract paste, bones in the sand and the essence of pulverized, powdered nuts, void of moisture. The chalky-white Albariza soils of the Moriles Alto subzone are hardwired into its Akashic, astral Electrico plane. This Fino ventures in the slipstream, between viaducts of dreams, “where immobile steel rims crack.” Impossibly long finish. Tasted November 2014 @toroalbala @MontillaMoriles @LeSommelierWine

Ken Forrester Reserve Chenin Blanc 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa (231282, $17.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES June 21, 2014 Release

Always a diamond cut above its like-minded and similarly priced peers. Ken Forrester’s Chenin Blanc has the most wonderful smell of bleeding, oozing metal and the bitten into stones of many tree fruits, in bittering nobility. Not to mention the pith of citrus and the pits of tree nuts. Though currently in a sulphurous, reductive state, with age this will seek and find an earthen, honey bronzed gorgeousness, in say five to seven years and live in sweet CB infamy until 2025. For a wine that crosses oceans to arrive in your tasting glass, at $18 it represents the finest value in Chenin just about anywhere on the planet. Terrific length. Chenin meets Montrachet. Tasted May 2014 @KFwines @WOSACanada

Artichoke and Fiddleheads
PHOTO: Michael Godel

Boeckel Brandluft Riesling 2012, Alsace, France (392928, $17.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES November 8, 2014 Release, Big release, bigger wines, November 7, 2014

From a northern part of Alsace, southwest of Strasbourg comes this epitome of Dry Alsace Riesling, stone cold stoic and bereft. The impossibility of this style is what Alsace does with impunity and propriety; gaseous and aerified without petrol or vitriol. But it will condense and go there after five years time. The quality is excellent for the price, from a limestone and silica lieu-dit just this side short of Grand Cru. Citrus would be the wrong descriptor but it does act like an exuding of citric acid. So stark and beautiful. Such a mineral expression in every fighting sense of the argument. Like chewing on rock salts and dehydrated limestone, the second tablet then dropped into the glass. A famous wine merchant in London sells this for $25 CAN. In Ontario, this is a must purchase by the case. Tasted October 2014 @HHDImports_Wine @drinkAlsace

Dirty Ramps

Rosewood Select Sémillon 2013, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario (winery, $18.00,WineAlign) From Taste Ontario’s polarity of personality, October 8, 2014

After tasting Rosewood’s ’12, I urged the region’s cultivation of the great white wolf variety. Then the winter of 2014 happened. Rosewood’s vines were wiped clean off the map, erased like a child of parents who never met. The ’13 Sem is the last Mohican and its 12.5 per cent alcohol (down two from ’12) is a fitting, subdued and graceful epitaph to an amazing Beamsville run. This final cut is lean, stark, raving mad. So very savoury, tannic and built to linger for longer than most. The Rosewood honey is in hiding,”far from flying high in clear blue skies,” but like all memorable vintages of this wine, it will emerge in time. This Sémillon asks, “and if I show you my dark side, will you still hold me tonight?” Yes is the answer, and not just because she is the last one. Terrific curtain call. Tasted October 2014 @Rosewoodwine

Rockway Small Lot Block 12 150 Riesling 2012, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (372441, $18.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES July 19, 2014 Release, Release the summer wine, July 17, 2014

Noticeably dry but also earthy/funky. Struck match and plowed earth. As it settles into its skin and your consciousness it develops body, depth and acidity. Grows and expands, reaches heights you thought it would not. The vintage works wonders for the Twenty Mile Bench and this block has expansive stuffing to take it long, not to mention the earthy complexity to see it change and evolve. It may go through a disturbing, unusual phase but be patient and set one aside for 15 years from now. You will be amazed what honey and deep geology it discovers and uncovers. Tasted June 2014 @RockwayVineyard

Vineland Estates Elevation St. Urban Vineyard Riesling 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (38117, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES December 6, 2014 Release, The final 14 bargains of 2014, December 5, 2014

Who has not waited for Elevation to hit out of the 2012 vintage? Straight up it must be noted that this will rank over and above the best from the St. Urban Vineyard. The ’12 Elevation will not only find long-term success among the great values in Bench Riesling, it will go down as one of the best ever, at any price. The vintage impart is a natural for this wine. At the moment it is the most primary of all because of the layers that texture bring. The Elevation will go thirty years and climb higher and higher into the stratosphere, gaining flesh and personality. The already seamless gathering of fruit and mineral is palpable. And still a reminder, the price is $20. This is a Schmidt gift to Ontario, for anyone and everyone to be one of the lucky ones. To purchase in increments any less than a case may be considered a crime against Riesling. Tasted November 2014 @VinelandEstates @benchwineguy

Maine Lobsters

Nugan King Valley Frasca’s Lane Chardonnay 2012, King Valley, Victoria, Australia (288191, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES June 7, 2014 Release, Australian rules VINTAGES, June 4, 2014

The toast in this Victorian charmer comes across in a mild-mannered, spoken word way with a simmering, buttery bass line. The fruit is high but the rhythms are delicate and even-keeled. More white flowers than your average Australian Chardonnay, brighter, with more grace and more beauty. She’s a girl with a short skirt and a long jacket eating angel cake. Still firm towards the back-end with citrus zest and mouth-watering acidity, she’s “fast and thorough and sharp as a tack.” Finishes with a long and persistent held trumpeting line. “Na,na,na,na,na,na.” Tasted May 2014 @PMA_int

Katogi & Strofilia Averoff Xinomavro 2008, Pdo Naoussa, Greece (249615, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES October 11, 2014 Release, From VINTAGES for Thanksgiving, in wine and with song, October 10, 2014

It’s not that every Xinomavro is infallible but every Xinomavro is worth exploring. The Averoff is classic; smoky, rich plum meets cherry intensity, tannic and textured, layered, like old school Pinot Noir. Liqueur of Naoussa terra firma, rocks and sweet beets. Balance of earth, wind and fire, fun funky and moving. Shares the spice of life so “let this groove, light up your fuse, alright. Let this groove, set in your shoes.” Parts unknown gather to subvert the uninitiated and make them move to Greece. Tasted October 2014 @katogistrofilia

Thymiopoulos Vineyards Yn Kai Oupavós Xinomavro 2010, Unfiltered, Naoussa, Greece (360750, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES January 20, 2014 Release, From Super Bowl XLVIII wine odds, January 30, 2014

Magnificent Macedonian, built upon the unheralded yet stalwart variety Xinomavro. Pure, sweet-smelling gardenia and the refuse of ancient rolling stones express every bit of sun and wind-swept, low bush vines goodness. Purposefully and thankfully unfiltered, so that all the delicious sweet and sour cherry and great biting but sweet tannin are left in. Purity, good sugar/alcohol heights without oak corruption. Earth possessive of mythic undercurrent, sage, wealth of knowledge, sweet anise and hyssop. Scents of game on the grill. Amazing complexity and length. While tasting this Xinomavro it made me “feel so hypnotized, can’t describe the scene.” Get your rocks off to the Greek. Tasted January 2014 @thymiopoulosvin

Huff Estates South Bay Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay 2012, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $21.95, WineAlign) From Take them home, County wines, May 20, 2014

The Huff Chardonnay bent has seen a shift as strong as South Bay’s prevailing winds, away from the weight of barrel ferment to a clean, Chablis-like style. The ’10 might just have been the turning point and though they now make two versions, this ’12 is the cementing of the attitude. What is most amazing is that the texture, aromas and feel remain those of an oak-influenced wine. Huff manages the linear consistency without the need to encumber, toast or char the purity of its glade, glycerin and citrus fruit. Only Prince Edward County’s limestone soil can effect this kind of nine inch nails drive into Chardonnay without oak and only Huff can do it with this kind of elegance. A wine “less concerned about fitting into the world.” Do not miss this singular effort. @HuffEstatesWine

Estate Argyros Assyrtiko 2011, Santorini, Greece (366450, $22.95, SAQ 11901091, $24.50, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 29, 2014 Release, On a wine and a prayer, March 24, 2014

A 100 per cent Assyrtiko from a 150 year-old, Cycladic Phylloxera sanctuary vineyard. Separates itself from other Santorini adelphoi by ageing 20 per cent of the inoxydable, ancient-minded grapes in French barrels. An Assyrtiko that can’t help be anything but stony, atomic driven goodness. Volcano flow and spew, with more texture than most, its elevated price a necessary reflection of a tertiary expertise. Elevated aromatics, locked in tight by the barrel and matched by extreme flavours, so primary, raw, powerful, relentless and grippy. A remarkable white wine that impresses with a sensation of mouth rope burn full of complex, seafaring knots, this Assytiko will age for 15 years in the cellar and develop into something ethereal. Will melt away in dreamy waves when it settles together. Myth will beget legend, legend will beget truth. Tasted March 2014 @KolonakiGroup

Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Swiss Chard
Photo: Michael Godel

Bordón Gran Reserva 2005, Doca Rioja, Spain (114454, $22.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES October 25, 2014 Release, Wine on company time, October 23, 2014

If it were so because of cryogenic preserved must or an accidental tipping and topping up into an unused barrel by recent vintage juice I would not be left hanging with mouth fully agape. Considering the amount of time this flat out delicious Gran Reserva saw in barrel, the mystery must somehow be explained, how it came to be so surprisingly modern and bright (for its age), especially at $23. But it has been seen many times before, with no greater example than the Montecillo 1991 GR that drank fortuitously well into the last years of the previous decade. This is the magic of Rioja. That said, there is some sinew and some raw character here as well – that’s the old school treatment and style talking. Red cherry fruit. Ripe fruit roasted, rested and now sliced, showing its perfectly cooked rare cut. Juicy and with sanguine notes still running through its grain. Wonderful old school yet bright Rioja. Riotous red wine with a calming aura of quietude. Tasted October 2014 @RiojaBordon @Eurovintage @RiojaWine

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva 2006, Docg, Tuscany, Italy (382945, $23.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES December 6, 2014 Release, The final 14 bargains of 2014, December 5, 2014

An ’06 Chianti Classico Riserva you say, pre-aged, delivered to the Ontario market and presented here in 2014, all in for $24? You can’t fool us. We’ve been duped too many times before. This must fall into the “too good to be true” category. The answer depends on which style of Chianti you prefer. This walks all the halls, plies the trades and hits the marks of the CCR ancients. Comes from a remarkable vintage, holding on but in true advanced, oxidizing and fruit diminishing character. Mushrooms and truffles abound, as does game in the early roasting stage. A note of Brett is here too, not over the top but its presence can’t be denied. Acidity speaks, as does bitter chocolate. This is not for all but all should have a go. Tasted November 2014 @Ilmolinodigrace @chianticlassico

Riesling and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Pearl Morissette Riesling Cuvée Blackball Barrique 2012, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario ($25, WineAlign) From The pearls of Morisstte’s wisdom, May 26, 2014

When tasted in July of 2013 the ’12 Barrique had only been in bottle for three days so the musk was quite front and centre. Aged in foudres (neutral, old wood casks) it held much latitude at such a young age with notes of herbiage (mint, tarragon), nary a drop of residual sugar and a wholly unique type of dry acidity. “It will not always show this way,” commented Morissette. Tasted 10 months later I can say this. The ’12 Riesling Barrique avoids excessive malic and tartaric acid, not to mention any amount of volatile acidity. It is viable, vital and technically sound. “This is a wine that will take time,” pleads François . “I care about texture, not about varietal character.” Though perplexing and untamed, the wine has undeniable body and that noble bitterness in its unsung tang. It is the anti-Riesling hero, full of experiential conceit and needs to be revisited often, to see where it will go. Tasted July 2013 and May 2014 @PearlMorissette

Barque Holiday Basket
http://barque.ca/baskets#&panel1-1

Hinterland Ancestral 2014, Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $25,00, WineAlign) From Godello’s guide to holiday effervescence

Just released today, the anterior sniff and first sip procure a sense of immediacy in declaration: This is Jonas Newman’s finest Ancestral to date. Amethyst methustos bled from Prince Edward County Gamay. If a continuing study on such sparkling wine were to be conducted in the méthode ancestrale diaspora, the anthropologist would lose time in the County. Say what you must about the method and the New World place, this elevates an old game, in fact it creates a new one. Strawberry is again at the helm with the sugar number high and balanced by three necessary portents of chemistry; low alcohol, savor and acidity. The finish is conspicuously dry, conditioning the palate to activate the phenotypic sensors. Hits all the right bells, traits, whistles and behaviour. Careful, it will make you want to go out and make babies. Tasted November 2014 @hinterlandwine on the card at @barquebbq

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Tweets by mgodello

Bouillabaisse, paella and 32 wines

Dec17

Chiado’s Bouillabaisse

No words. No tasting notes. Just the wines. What happens at WineAlign‘s #waxmas14 stays at Waxmas14. I will say this. There was music.

Waxmas Whites

Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru La Moutonne 1996, Burgundy, France

Vergelegen G.V.B. White 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa

René Muré Riesling Clos Saint-Landelin 2008, Alsace, France

R. López de Heredia Viña Tondoni Reserva 1999, Rioja, Spain

Waxmas Whites

Four More Whites

Domaine de Beaurenard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2009, Rhône Valley, France

Mendel Sémillon 2013, Mendoza, Argentina

Quinta de Soalheiro Alvarinho 2012, Vinho Verde, Portugal

Pelle Pince Szt. Tamás Furmint 2012, Hungary

Four More Whites

Eclectic Blancs

Exultet Estates The Blessed 2009, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario

Le Clos Jordanne Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard 2003, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

Pierre Frick Pinot Blanc de Noir 2006, Alsace, France

Hedesheimer Hof Weingut Beck Grauer Burgunder Kabinett Trocken 2012, Prädikatswein, Germany

Eclectic Blancs

The Stealth Reds

Domaine Alary, Cairanne L’Exclus d’Alary 2012, Cairanne, Rhône Valley, France

Bodega Chacra Pinot Noir Cincuenta y Cinco 2012, Patagonia, Argentina

Bodegas Poesia 2010, Mendoza, Argentina

Thibault Liger-Belair Moulin a Vent, Vieilles Vignes 2011, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

The Stealth Reds

Big Red Movements

Colinas De São Lourenço Principal Reserva 2007, Bairrada, Portugal

Brodie Estate Pinot Noir 2010, Martinborough, New Zealand

Re Manfredi Aglianico Del Vulture 2000, Campania, Italy

Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon Côte de Py 2011, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

Big Red Movements

Seriously Red

Azienda Agricola Cos Cerasuolo Di Vittorio Classico 2008, DOCG Sicily, Italy

Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz Bin 389 1995, South Australia, Australia

Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon 1997, Napa Valley, California

Argiano Brunello Di Montalcino 2004, Tuscany, Italy

Seriously Red

The Grace of Transition

Domaine Baud Crémant du Jura Brut Sauvage, Jura, France

Vidonia Listan Blanco Vinas Viejas 2012, Valle de la Orotava, Spain

Pazo Pondal Albariño 2012, D.O. Rias Baixas, Spain

Hidden Bench Pinot Noir Felseck Vineyard 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario

The Grace of Transition

Chef Michael Pataran’s Paella

And in the End

Domaine Hatzidakis Assyrtiko de Mylos Vieilles Vignes 2011, Santorini, Greece

Cave de Tain l’Hermitage Hermitage Gambert de Loche 1998, Northern Rhône, France

Suertes del Marques El Esquilon 2012, Valle de la Orotava, Spain

Azienda Agricola Brezza Giacomo & Figli Cannubi 1989, Piedmont, Italy

“The love you take is equal to the love you make.”

Good to go!

Tweets by mgodello

Godello

a wine processor

Category Archives: Stellenbosch

Wines of South Africa: Go Cars Go

Anthonij Rupert Estate

Wines of South Africa: It’s the fling itself

The PIWOSA Wine-Car Boot, Journey’s End Winery

The Stellenbosch Experience, Longridge Estate

Ellerman House

DGB in the Capelands

Twelve days of wine to get you through the holidays

Once upon a time in the Western Cape

Chenin Blanc

Riesling

White Blends

Other White

Cinsault

Syrah

Pinot Noir

Pinotage

Red Blends

Other Red

Top ten imports from the VINTAGES September 19th release

Shades of South Africa

Whites Flight

Bordeaux Cultivars

Rhône/Blend/Indigenous

Snow whites and the seven reds

If it’s value you want, it’s South Africa you need

Top 15 under-$25 wines of 2014

Bouillabaisse, paella and 32 wines

Waxmas Whites

Four More Whites

Eclectic Blancs

The Stealth Reds

Big Red Movements

Seriously Red

The Grace of Transition

Chef Michael Pataran’s Paella

And in the End