RECENT RELEASES
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Recent releases for early spring (2)
Wines from
Jordan, Paul Cluver,
Pinotage Restaurant, Saxenburg,
Jordan
When it comes to creating a new wine, Gary and Kathy Jordan always set about the task with rigorous research – in this case much tasting around Provence in France before the preferred style was identified. The Jordans stress that from the word go all processes were directed towards this rosé, it was not an off-shoot of a red wine. The building blocks were shiraz (50%), merlot (44%) and cabernet sauvignon, each vineyard selected for its ability to ripen grapes at lower sugars, fruit form each harvested separately and macerated on the skins for a few hours, the remaining vinification as for a white wine. Perhaps surprisingly, our scores ranged widely – from 14.5 down to 11.5. Both TJ and GdF mentioned it as a more interesting, serious wine with complexity. I was the most in favour, enjoying the glinting ruby colour, spicy freshness, medium body and dry finish with its twang of tannin. It is definitely not your usual summer sipper, but rather a rosé that will show well with food. But for RP it is unripe, stalky and harsh. No wonder the silvery/grey Chameleon on the label looks as though it’s shivering with cold – or fright! – AL
Paul Cluver
A trio of screwcapped white wines which illustrate the benefits of this closure with the purity and freshness of their aromas and flavours. It will be interesting to monitor their maturation, as all have what it takes to benefit from a few years development. The chardonnay still shows quite prominent toastiness on the nose (oaking is 62% new and 38% second-fill Burgundian barrels) but this is accompanied by fresh lemon curd and the typical lime of Elgin's cool climate. These citrus notes follow through to the palate with the added ripeness and tang of orange marmalade, and good complexity and mid-palate weight. Over two or three days, the overt toastiness dissipated somewhat, yet the wine retained its richness and promising tang of acidity, which bodes well for its future. The Cluvers have a reputation for some of South Africa’s finest rieslings in typically elegant, Germanic style. The 2007 offers enticing ripe white peach and floral (jasmine and lime blossom) aromas. Although off-dry, the wine displays an impressive balance of residual sugar and refreshing acidity with lychees and citrus on the palate providing a delightful play of sweet and sour. AL and TJ both would have given a slightly higher rating but I was a little more critical of the lightness on the finish. The othersl put this down to the youthfulness of the wine and vouch for its ageability! The Gewürztraminer offers typical rosepetal and honeysuckle aromas, yet remains delicate rather than spicy or overly perfumed. The palate shows the same poise (alcohol is a pleasantly low 12%) with good acidity and fruit mid-palate and hints of ginger and spice on a dry finish. We found it ending rather short and not quite as good as this Producer’s Gewürz sometimes is. Though it is sure to provide satisfaction for a further year or two (as suggested by the expressive nose and pink grapefruit freshness it maintained over the next three days), it’s probably best enjoyed sooner rather than later. Forget the much-flogged spicy food recommendation; this wine is just perfect with smoked mackerel! – GdF
Saxenburg
There’s a new look to this always pricey (and now extremely so) top offering from Saxenburg, with the old SSS label replaced by a simple, fresh, understated image of an outside staircase (presumably representing something – aspiration? the steepness of the price?) The wine itself is anything other than simple and understated, and there’s not all that much refreshment value: this is not shiraz in its delicate, European mode, but in full-throttle Australian style. The aromas are most attractive, with some floral perfume, and the flavours are good and ripe, with suave and savoury tannins. There’s no obvious influence from the small cabernet and merlot components. It’s the big, 15% alcohol that’s the problem, particularly in making the finish rather ‘hot’ and making a glassful quite a daunting prospect (ah – perhaps that’s what the staircase is all about). For AL particularly, it is altogether just too powerful.
The Pinotage Restaurant
It’s a good story – the
first non-winery to produce wine in Gauteng, the only restaurant in
Gauteng with official winemaking accreditation with the authorites. The
grapes were flown in from the Cape to be stomped into juice by intrepid
Gauteng winelovers…. As to the wine – we did just wonder if it wouldn’t
have been better to leave it up to Meerendal (I wonder if they know
their name is so prominently on the label?). It has a good varietal
charactater and is forward and friendly, which is great – but it’s also
rather sickly sweet, chock-full of tannins and acid, all rather clunky
and awkward. Maybe the wine’s great with the food, but perhaps don’t let
the punters see the label first: by comparison the wine seems like a pretty
classy effort!
Slowine • Rosé 2007 R35 13 • Shiraz 2006 R45 14 !!! These new releases from the partnership of Andries Burger of Paul Cluver, Niels Verburg of Luddite, Sebastian Beaumont of Beaumont Wines and Ryan Elan-Puttick of Villiersdorp Cellars are intended as easy drinking wines, ready for enjoyment on relaxing occasions. The philosophy behind them follows that of Slow Food, to re-discover life in the slow lane: to value serenity over stress. So do the wines help achieve that goal? The Chenin-Sauvignon is disappointing; rather mute and dilute – or as GdF sums it up, ‘Short, dry and wet!’ I enjoyed the Rosé more than the others did; its round nose, savoury edge, hint of candyfloss, mixed fruit and spice have much appeal. The wine's balance and texture indicate it will go well with food. TJ found it rather acidic, and it's a little too simple for AL. The Shiraz 2006 is new to the range. Its pure berry nose reminds me of Niels Verburg’s Luddite and his (formerly his, anyway) Beaumont wines. There are herbs and a smidgeon of Ribena blended with raisins and mixed spice on the palate. A year in seasoned oak has rounded the wine without dominating. This does hit the spot of drinkability. – RP
Vrede en Lust
South African sauvignon blanc has come a long way in the last twenty years. For a start, its viticutural needs are much better understood and with the dropping of quotas in the early 1990s, it quickly gravitated to better quality, cooler sites. Producers whose own grapes do not meet requirements increasingly turn elsewhere. As did Vrede en Lust, the farm which lies in the foothills on the Paarl side of the Simonsberg. For this wine the fruit was sourced from two vineyards in Sir Lowry's Pass and Durbanville, each harvested at different levels of ripeness. The liaison works harmoniously here, the cool climate influence evident in tangerine, lemon grass and green pea fragrance smoothly integrated with the sweet-fruited, weighty palate and clean, tangy finish. All in balanced until the end when a high, albeit fine, acid leaves a less pleasant effect, which particularly distrubed TJ – but with a little time this might settle. The concern voiced by GduF is the overpowering green pea character, very much part of a particular style of sauvignon that one either likes or hates. – AL
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Scoring Grape’s interpretation of the 20-point rating scale 0-10: Faulty or just unpleasant 10.5-11.5: Dull, uninteresting but sound 12-13.5: Pleasant enough, decent but basically simple quaffer 14-15.5: Good and enjoyable, but no real excitement 16-16.5 Very good wine, offering something special 17-17.5 Fine and beautiful world-class wine, among the best in SA 18-20 Truly excellent, some even among the world’s finest !!! indicates especially good value
Prices Tasters for these wines
TJ – Tim James
Guest tasters: For more information regarding the tasting procedures, tasters, etc, see the Recent releases contents page
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