RECENT RELEASES
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Autumnal offerings (1) 30 April 2008
Wines from Bouchard Finlayson, Long Distance Blend, Morgenster, Nederburg, Paul Cluver, Riebeek Cellars, Topiary
Bouchard Finlayson • Chardonnay Sans Barrique 2007 R80 GdF 15.5, TJ/AL 16, CvZ 16.5 • Chardonnay Missionvale 2007 R100 (f) 17
The unwooded version speaks clearly of its varietal origin without being overtly fruity; its cool, rich flavours, being sustained by an elegant, balanced structure and freshness. We concur with TJ's 'Refined deliciousness' and GdF's remark that it's sufficiently gentle to sit and sip but also has the personality to make a satisfying partner with a diversity of dishes. The Missionvale, barrel-fermented with a 30% new oak component, is a completely different style from the Sans Barrique. For me, there is evocative hint of Burgundy in the dry, toasted nuts mingled with oak aromas, these brightened by citrusy minerals on the palate. Compact, medium bodied and classically dry, it promises future richness and complexity. It should be well worth the two years' wait it deserves and its promised development over many more years. – AL
[Company of Wine People] • Long Distance Blend NV R50 GdF/AL 14, TJ/CvZ 14.5 Fine-tuning a blend over the phone cannot be an easy feat. But this was the challenge faced by winemakers Christoph Hammel of Germany and SA-born Morné van Rooyen when they set out to produce one wine from two continents. Their intentions are certainly laudable: without any deductions, proceeds from the 4000 bottles will be donated to South Africa’s national mentally-handicapped soccer team. Working across vintage differences (the catchy label cleverly alludes to the 2006 and 2007 vintages – which can’t legally be overtly mentioned), the blend comprises 1 500 litres of riesling from each country. Characteristic of the grape on the nose, with lovely peach and apricot fruit and sufficient tart green apple to make you salivate, the palate doesn't quite live up to this enticing prelude. Somewhat flat and lacking riesling's all-important acidic vein, we - myself in particular - are a little disappointed, though appreciate the lighter, uncomplicated style, especially the mere 11.5% alcohol. Anyone looking for an easy introduction to the grape will certainly be making a worthy purchase. – GdF
• Morgenster 2004 R270 (f) 17
The flagship blend of this esteemed
Cape property has remained consistently classy and Old World in
stylistic aspiration since the maiden 2000. With its warmer conditions,
2004 brought challenges, reports winemaker Marius Lategan, but merlot
produced a beautiful crop. No surprise, then that the latest release is
merlot-driven; at 69%, the highest yet. Wine consultant Pierre Lurton of
Château Cheval Blanc in St Bordeaux’s St
Emilion area (where there’s a good deal of this grape) must surely have
been in his element! The colour is an impressive dense purple; the
bouquet subtle with dark berries and classic cedar wood, whilst the
palate shows dense, concentrated fruit and a tail of spice. Lategan
views this vintage as possessing more structure, tannin and delineation
than the top vintages 2003 and 2001 and believes it will be at its
finest from 2012 to 2015. We, on the other hand, appreciate the wine's
seamless elegance and find it more opulent than tannin-driven, so
already offering approachability but with a good few years of enjoyment
yet.
Nederburg • Winemaker's Reserve Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2007 R42 15.5 !!! How gratifying it has been to see this favourite old brand take on a new lease of life in recent years under the enthusiastic hands of Razvan Macici and his team. Success with this Chenin Blanc stems partly from Macici's patience in waiting for the right fruit before launching a new label. Old, dryland bush vines in Darling, Stellenbosch and Bottelary Hills met his demands. The fruit was harvested at different ripeness levels; the fresher portion accounting for 80% of the blend, was tank fermented, the later, riper fruit was fermented and aged eight months in larger, used oak with regular stirring. The result is a pleasingly polished wine with real fragrance and concentrated flavours of quince, pear, thatch and fynbos spice. Oaking adds nothing more than extra shoulder, while 8 grams of residual sugar is perfectly balanced by fresh acid. Great value, and lovely drinking now with maturation possibilities over the next few years. - AL Wesite www.nederburg.co.za
Paul Cluver • Chardonnay 2007 R95 GdF 15.5, CvZ 16, TJ/AL 16.5 • Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 R95 AL14, TJ/GdF 14.5, CvZ 15 • Seven Flags Pinot Noir 2006 R360 (f) AL/GdF 16, TJ/CvZ 17
We praised the more gentle oaking regime on the 2007 Chardonnay. Previous vintages have been bold and rich with a fair share of oak but this offers more elegance. Leesy, oatmeal characters on the nose with subtle background perfume are indicative of the 100% wild ferment and further ageing in Burgundian oak (52% new). The palate offers pleasant citrus flavours and ends on a creamy note with just enough lime to be refreshing. I am slightly less satisfied with fruit concentration than the others and believe it's likely to remain lightweight rather than a blockbuster. The Cabernet Sauvignon received the most critical comment. While CvZ applauds the fruit of this more elegant, cool-climate wine, an overly nutty character on the nose and somewhat dryish, bitter tannins pull our scores down. On re-tasting the following day, the wine showed better varietally-typical cassis fruit and hints of bellpepper. The tannic bitterness was no longer as obvious but the finish still remained a little short. - GdF
Riebeek Cellars • Cape Vintage 2005 R108 15.5 This large-volume Swartland winery offers everything from chenin to fortifieds, Jerepiko and Cape Ruby being the focus in the latter category; we welcomed the opportunity to taste their latest Cape Vintage port-style wine. The blend includes pontac and shiraz as well as touriga nacional, a traditional port variety. Traditional too are the two years the wine spent in older barrels. Offering a pleasant fruitcake bouquet and sweet ripe plums and chocolate on the palate, the wine’s brightness of fruit and its balance received praise from us all. A relatively low alcohol of 18,22% coupled with residual sugar of only 90.1g/l may explain the lightness and fresher quality of this likeable wine. We do, however, feel it is more of a Ruby style, and lacks the tannic grip and power of a serious Cape Vintage, particularly at its premium price. - GdF
Topiary • Chenin Blanc 2007 R35 13.5 • Chardonnay 2007 R40 13 • Rosé 2007 R34 11.5 • Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 R65 AL/CvZ 13, TJ/GdF 14 These are maiden vintages from a new winery just outside the village of Franschhoek, on the Wemmershoek road. Previously known as La Tramontane, the farm has undergone a rejuvenation over the past three years thanks to owner Roy Andrews, winemaker Chris Albrecht and farm manager/viticulturist Malcolm Pemberton. A cellar and tasting room have been constructed and a further three hectares added to the existing 17 ha of vines, which include shiraz, cabernet, chardonnay and chenin blanc.The new name of both the farm and the wines derives from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener; in this case the toparius is Malcolm Pemberton, who has practised the art of topiary - clipping evergreen shrubs and trees into different shapes - for many years. As they approach the tasting room, visitors to the farm will be able to admire his handicraft in the form of San hunters. As the prices might suggest, one should not necessarily expect this maiden quartet to be particularly complex or long-lived, more in satisfying, easy-drinking styles. If there is one criticism that we would level at all four it relates to unharmonious, assertive acidity, an aspect that detracts from any easy-drinking status.
The Chenin evokes some pear and quince
though also a few baked notes; some residual sugar sustains the flavours
but I'm less sure about it than the others. The Chardonnay is indeed
lightly oaked, as claimed, and lightly fruited. Very ripe, with snatches
of vaguely tropical fruit, it lacks real freshness despite a finishing
rush of acid. Shiraz is responsible for the Rosé but sweetness rather
than fruit is the defining feature of this light-bodied wine. Better
news about the Cabernet though: the sweet berry fruit with its
accompanying whiff of cedarwood are simple, which for TJ leaves it easy
drinking with just a bit of grip. But once again the over-enthusiastic
acid concerns us; it's probably best to open now and partner with some
dish that will soak up the more astringent features.
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Scoring We continue to partly use the suggestion made by one of our readers: when the panel members' scores are not very close, following discussion, we have not noted a consensus score, but indicated the whole range of scores. (When this does not happen, it can be assumed that the scores were either identical, or close enough that nobody felt strongly about stressing a 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.)
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 GdF – Ginette de Fleuriot, Cape Wine Master For more information regarding the tasting procedures, tasters, etc, see the Recent releases contents page
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COMMENT From Mark: From the ed: A combination of pure democracy and laziness. We taste wines that are sent to us by wineries and their agents. Everyone is more than welcome to let us have sample of wines that have been recently released, or will be soon released, and we will taste and comment on everything we are sent. To send wines, contact Angela Lloyd, who is in charge of the process for Grape.
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We would welcome adding your opinions of these wines |
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Peter
Finlayson's wines exude the restraint and authority that derive only
from a winemaker's experience and understanding of the fruit he or she
is dealing with. The 2008 vintage represents Finlayson's 18th
vintage at his eponymous winery, though the Kaaimansgat (Crocodile's
Lair) vineyard, high above Villiersdorp, has provided fruit for the
unwooded Chardonnay since 1992; the Missionvale, from home vineyards,
came on stream a year later. 
Morgenster
What
better name for a flagship wine than Seven Flags – in this case
referring to the seven flags in the Cluver family crest and symbolizing
the ultimate in the family’s winemaking achievement. This august title
on a rather smart but also overly-heavy, deep-punted bottle is reserved
for a Pinot Noir and the packaging (and price) surely suggest ‘wine in
earnest’.”The oldest pinot noir vineyard on the Cluvers' Elgin property
provides the fruit; here the