RECENT RELEASES
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Recent releases: from superquaffers to
Wines from Axe Hill, Borg Family Wines, Edgebaston, Groote Post, Kleinood, Middelvlei, Nederburg, Simonsig, Vergelegen and Waterford
Note that we have from now partly adopted a suggestion made by one of our readers: when the panel members' scores are not very close, following discussion, we have not noted a concensus score, but indicated the whole range of scores. (When this does not happen, it can be assumed that the scores were either identical, or within a half-point or so, and that nobody felt strongly about stressing slight difference of opinion – given that we do not regard scores as scientifically precise, or the most important part of our appraisal of a wine.)
• White Port NV R120 15 • Cape Vintage Port 2005 R125 17 The most recent news from Axehill is that it’s been sold to two Johannesburg businessmen who share Lyn Mossop’s love of the Klein Karoo and her late husband Tony’s fondness for port-style wines. They have the responsibility of selling the wines just bottled by Tony’s son Miles (winemaker at Tokara), and will appreciate the respective allure and polish of these two offerings. The White Port, a blend of chenin across the vintages 2003 to 2007, is a lovely nutty gold with floral, honey and butterscotch notes, and nutty finish. TJ was at the lower end of scoring, as he thought it over-ripe – all power and little fruit. At the other end, IM liked it more than the rest, who didn’t find much to be excited by: she finds it complex and distinctive, and suggests that, poured over ice, it would be a welcoming and different aperitif. By contrast, the Vintage was praised by all. From mainly touriga nacional and tinta barocca aged for a year in old 500 litre barrels and then a further 10 months in stainless steel, it has a relatively low residual sugar of around 88 g/l, fiery 20% alcohol and grippy tannins. These form the frame around which layers of dried fruit, marzipan and violets have been draped. Powerfully flavoured and well-structured, it has the potential to improve for upwards of 15 years, if well cellared. – CvZ
• Viognier 2007 R50 14
• Shiraz 2006
R50 14.5 The Shiraz, sourced from Ingwe on the Sir Lowry’s Pass Road outside Somerset West, contains a10% splash of cabernet sauvignon and finished its alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, some new. Dry and with a seemingly moderate 14% alcohol, it offers plenty of decent, ripe red fruit. The tannins, however, appear too firm at the moment. Possibly, with a further year, they will become more pliable and it will prove a more satisfying drink later in 2008. – CvZ
• Chardonnay 2006 R75 TJ 15.5; AL/CvZ 16; IM 16+ • Shiraz 2004 R120 16 ‘Finlayson Family Wines’ is the rubric that appears beneath the elegantly cursive winery name on the pages of wine notes – and that is pretty good advertisement in itself, given the record of Walter and then David Finlayson at Glen Carlou. With that winery now fully owned by the Hess Group (though David remains cellarmaster), Edgebaston is the family’s privately owned venture in Stellenbosch’s Simonsberg area. These wines are both WO Stellenbosch. The Chardonnay occasioned some discussion and disagreement, largely over whether the overt toasty oak and the high alcohol were in balance or not. I was less convinced – finding the lovely silky texture and elegant breadth (abetted by a little residual sugar) and lemon-lime notes marred by a rather hot, hard alcoholic finish, and the oak just too prominent, though the acidity is well balanced. IM, using words like ‘robust’ and ‘rich’ feels it is all part of the particular character of the wine. Clearly, personal preference as to style should guide potential buyers here. Also in firmly modern New World mode, the Shiraz was also found intrusively oaky by TJ and AL – who thought it a pity that the ripe (very ripe) flavours of red and black fruit, and the classy structure, should be so compromised by the effect of all that wood (70% new French, the rest older American). CvZ was not bothered by it, however. An attractive floral note should also be mentioned, and good savoury tannins; the 14.2% alcohol is in balance with the fruit. Undoubtedly a good, well made wine, which should age well for a good few years, but again the pleasure it will give will partly depend on how much the drinker welcomes oak flavours. – TJ
• Sauvignon Blanc 2007 R65 15 • Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2007 R100 16
The 2007 Reserve is only the second vintage of this wine, which was launched in 2005, because winemaker Lukas Wentzel felt that 2006’s fruit concentration wasn’t up to his standard. From a single vineyard and bottled under the smart-looking Vino-Lok glass stopper, it has the same bouquet and flavour profile as the standard version but, as expected, is more intense, more complex, and far more mineral and persistent. Roll on summer! – CvZ
• Tamboerskloof Viognier 2006 R55 TJ 12; AL/IM 13.5; CvZ 14.5 • Tamboerskloof Syrah 2005 R85 (f) 15.5
Viognier (4%, with 2% mourvèdre) also features in the Syrah but this wine provided less head-scratching and more pleasure. Still youthfully tight, it will benefit from a further year or two before opening, judging by the noticeable improvements after a day's aeration. Unshowy yet interesting dark soft berries, wild game and lilies make up the fruit profile; at first oak, both in flavour and tannin, is also a prominent feature but melds better with plenty of air. The texture is creamy but not heavy, the acid's refreshing and provides some elegance and good length. Overall, an agreeable expression of modern SA shiraz. A point on some slightly confusing packaging: the handsome display label shows just ‘Tamboerskloof’ and the vintage – the same label for both wines. You won’t see ‘Kleinood’, the name of the property, except on the other label, together with all the obligatory information and the name of the distinguishing variety. – AL
• Chardonnay 2007 R40 14.5 !!! • Momberg 2004 R150 AL/TJ 15.5; CvZ 16.5; IM 17 This Stellenbosch-based, family-owned farm continues to impress us with both the honesty and quality of its wines. Our initial impression of the Chardonnay, without consulting the vinification notes, was that it is lightly wooded, the effect of which is structural rather than flavour-enhancing. It feels firmly anchored to its base of acid, tannin and alcohol, such framework holding gentle creamy richness and pure, if restrained limey tones. It says much for Tinnie Momberg's skills that, in fact, this wine has had no contact at all with oak. As an unwooded chardonnay, it manages to be both comfortable and lively, also satisfying but without claims to further complexity or the benefits of further aging. It's also as versatile as one could wish as a food wine. The maiden Momberg is altogether more ambitious, as befits a flagship, but also more controversial. It was thus instructive to taste it alongside Waterford's The Jem and Vergelegen V. The blend works well, if you like pinotage, for there is no hiding this grape, however small its inclusion. Here, it is the major partner at 37%, with 29% shiraz and 17% each merlot and cabernet sauvignon. The blend was assembled prior to oaking, a brave move as it allows for less adjustment afterwards and one wonders if the Mombergs might have gone for different proportions in retrospect. The oak, all new, was shared equally between French and American, and well balanced. CvZ appreciates the lifted floral and lavender polish aromas, the wine's refreshing acid and convincing finish, while IM enjoys the fleshy extract: both regard it as an old South African style but none the worse for that. TJ finds it rather too fruitily sweet and the high alcohol likely to make for a difficult drink. I describe the wine as ‘pretty' with agreeable fruit purity, flavour array and freshness, and some depth without setting the taste-buds on fire. The longer the wine is open, incidentally, the more dominant the pinotage becomes.. – AL
As with the reds in this new Nederburg range, grapes for the sole white are sourced from the top-performing vineyards available to the producer: it speaks volumes that, for the Sauvignon Blanc, 61% of the grapes came from the Groenekloof ward in Darling, with vines in Durbanville delivering 34% and those in Stellenbosch the final 5%. Pale lemon in colour, it has a complex bouquet with ‘Durbanville dust’ notes mingling with capsicum and cat’s pee notes. Its palate is lively and fresh, with measured weight and breadth courtesy post-fermentation ageing on the lees. While several sauvignons we’ve tasted this year have been quite aggressively acidic, the acidity of the Manor House has been cleverly tempered by pre-fermentation skin contact on selected batches. With the exception of AL who finds it a little short, we advise putting a bottle or two in your December holiday hamper. – CVZ
• Chenin Blanc 2007 R30 15!!! • Brut Rosé 2006 R100 15.5 This Chenin from this always reliably good Stellenbosch property was voted the current Platter guide’s ‘Superquaffer of the year’ for being ‘exceptinally drinkable and well priced’. Unsurprisingly, given that the present tasters were all on the Platter panel, we agree, on this re-tasting. Nice fruity characters (winter melon and guava among them) combine pleasantly with some green notes. It’s ripe, juicy, forceful, with loads of flavour – fruitily dry for most of us, possibly a touch sweet and wanting a bit more crisp acidity for others. But deliciously pleasant we all agreed. Simonsig was the pioneer of champagne-method sparkling wines in South Africa (with Kaapse Vonkel), so they’ve had plenty of practice, and this Brut Rosé is very pleasant and will no doubt contribute to many a Valentine’s Day celebration – but at the price one is a bit more demanding before declaring it as good value as the Chenin. This bubbly is made mostly from pinotage, along with some pinot meunier (rare in the Cape but important in Champagne) and a little pinot noir. So good red berry notes are there, but not too showily. AL was a little less satisfied by the fruit quality, but generally we find it a refreshing, fruity, youthful and pleasant wine with a lot of flavour guided to a persistent finish by a touch of savoury steeliness. The colour, we decided after some discussion, is ‘antique rose’! – TJ
V 2004 R750 (f) 18.5 This is the third vintage of André van Rensburg's non plus ultra of the Vergelegen flagship range and we are unanimous that it is the best yet. Both the 01 and 03 (vintage conditions precluded an 02) were much more showy – not that this 04 lacks drama, but it gives the impression that van Rensburg now has the understanding to interpret what the vines have yielded without striving for the effect he seeks. And in this manner, the wine also shows balance and classic restraint within its own potent build. Anyone lucky enough to have even one bottle should be determined to lose it somewhere for the next five years at least, for the formidable tannins still take centre-stage, even after 18 hours of decanting (which is what we gave it when we tasted it as a group). After a further three days the powerful, sumptuous dark berried fruit, sufficiently concentrated to soak up 200% new French oak, was allowed a better look-in, and delicious it is, with a measure of appealing savouriness not often found in wines clocking 14.5% alcohol. The fact sheet tells us that it contains 7% merlot and 3% cabernet franc, but the focus is unreservedly on majestic cabernet sauvignon; as befits such status, a long and illustrious life lies ahead. – AL
• The Jem R680 18
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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 IM – Regular guest taster Ingrid Motteux, Cape-based wine consultant; taster for the Platter Guide For more information regarding the tasting procedures, tasters, etc, see the Recent releases contents page
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We would welcome adding your opinions of these wines |
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Axe
Hill
There’s
nothing I – and many others – enjoy more during a blustery Cape summer
than sipping cold sauvignon blanc. Some opt for chardonnays, viogniers
or chenins, claiming that the ‘savage white’ is too simple a grape to
produce an interesting or contemplative mono-varietal wine; ‘savvy’ fans
beg to differ and Groote Post is undoubtedly one of our favourite
producers. Situated in the Darling Hills on the Cape West Coast, its
vineyards consistently deliver fine, poised examples with racy acidity
and grassy bouquets seasoned with capsicum, asparagus and similar
‘dusty’ notes found in sauvignons from Durbanville. The standard
bottling is no exception having, in addition, a very pleasing dense core
of fruit. 
Viognier
is a newcomer to Gerard and Libby de Villiers' range, this maiden
vintage harvested from four year old vines. We are not informed about
the state of the grapes at harvesting, so are not sure what to read into
the fact that they required three sortings before pressing. Fermentation
and two months' maturation in French oak followed. Perhaps it was one or
a combination of all of these or just the old problem of ill-fitting
corks, but the first bottle was damaged by oxidiation. Initially, the
second bottle revealed oak-dominated peachy, honeysuckle perfume, a
medium body with lowish acid and a touch of pithy phenolics associated
with the variety. Unfortunately, signs of oxidation again appeared,
overriding the fruit; CvZ was less convinced about this though she
agrees the oak is overdone. TJ found the wine anyway insipid. The
unstable features made scoring very difficult, especially as it is
unclear if the problem is a general one throughout the entire bottling.
This
new label has already received good coverage since its October release,
and we’re pleased to add to the praise it’s received. Kevin Arnold,
part-owner and guiding light of Waterford, has been building up to this
wine since 1998, when work began on selecting and planting the varieties
that would perform well on the Stellenbosch estate’s soils. Now, working
with his team led by Lombard Loubser in the vineyards and Francois
Haasbroek in the cellar, he’s content to come out with a statement
(named after owner Jeremy Ord, though many feel the wine deserves
something a little more austere, less domestic). Eight varieties are
included – the historically Bordeaux ones (cabs sauvignon and franc make
up nearly 60%, plus petit verdot, malbec and merlot) and the Rhône ones
(shiraz, mourvèdre) and a bit of promising barbera (the northern Italian
grape with a notably good acidity). But it is no mere compromise, this,
rather an inclusive and indivisible transcendence of the components (if
such lofty phrasemaking is permissible). And very convincing. The modest
levels of new wood are a lesson to all those who think that showy oak is
necessary for impressiveness; certainly oak does not stand out here,
though it no doubt supports the spiciness. There’s plenty of fruit
flavour (giving ample rein to those who like listing the analogies and
characters that a wine evokes), within an overall understated vinous
rather than fruity savouriness. Elegant rather than showy or massive,
well-balanced and refreshing; a very fine wine which, it must be rather
reluctantly confessed, is very good to drink now (compared with the
Vergelegen V, which surely needs time before giving as much pleasure as
interest); but its balance and fruit quality should ensure useful
development over five or more years, and a much longer life than that.
– TJ