The Quaffers

Kleine Zalze : Merlot 2006

2008-09-09T06:14:00.001-07:00

Sian and I were at Brugels in Mowbray on the last Sunday in August. And we scrounged around the wine list looking for something:

Nice
Cheap

We settled on a bottle of Kleine Zalze Merlot 2006, for R60 (not bad for a restaurant); and I don't know if it was just a good bottle or what, but it was a really smooth merlot, perfect for the great schitzophrenic pizzas Brugels make.

Lovely lovely wine. Very good for a recession grade dinner!

Persia to Paarl : My new favourite wine fest

2008-08-21T05:28:00.001-07:00

From what I heard the Stellenbosch Wine Fest was a bit of a dog show this year, with far too many people due to tickets being sold long after a favourable amount of people were let in.

I can't say for sure, I wasn't there, deciding to give it a bit of a miss.

But what I didn't skip this year (after missing it last year for having been out of the country) was the Persia to Paarl festival at Nederberg this year.

It was AMAZING. I've been to the Nederberg conference center for other events, some even non-wine related (in-joke: Heroes Happen Here!), and its a great venue, with very friendly permanent staff.

I don't know who in Paarl is responsible for organising this FANTASTIC festival, which gets its inspiration from the fact that Shiraz comes from Iran (that's Persia if you didn't know).

I took it slow on the wine front, because I was on anti-biotics which I was assured by my doctor and pharmacist would make me feel like death if I drank. The secret was simply to 'forget' to take the pills every three hours before the event and I was fine.

The amount of effort the estates and organisers put into this event really speaks to what a great time it was. Unlike Ommiberg, in which you can at times end up at what seems like a deserted estate, the festival halls were buzzing, especially the food court when SA lost to NZ, but not TOO full. I have to be honest, I can't imagine this festival, this gem of an event, is going to remain so perfectly attended as it was this year (and by all accounts last year). I'm quite certain it will be spilling over with people as the word slowly gets out (not unlike the Wacky Wine Weekend, and the Stellenbosch wine fest).

Clearly wine festivals are the new rock concerts for the over 25s. And Persia to Paarl is a truly unique experience, sort of like the small ethno-rock stage at a big European music festival. The exhibitors dressed up, and were happy to share there wines in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

The festival also had a wonderful collection of food stalls, which made cutting the wine a little, and thus having a far longer stay without becoming inebriated that much easier.

I went with a group of friends, and we had a fantastic day, including a lovely bottle of Cafe Culture and a cheese platter and ciabatta from stalwarts Fairview under some trees near by the exhibition hall.

It really was a wonderful day out in Paarl, which is rapidly overtaking my old home of Stellenbosch, as my favourite wine region in the Cape.

Well done to all involved. I hope that next year is as much fun!

P.S. my punt for a farm which is doing things really well at the moment in my opinion: Glen Carlou. The wines are really starting to hit my palate in a way that makes their prices seem reasonable. That's a good thing for me, because I often couldn't bring myself to shell out for their wines because the price/value ratio seemed a bit skewed. No MORE!

Wine Magazine should get over themselves

2008-07-04T05:58:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad that Henré Rossouw said what I've been thinking for a long time: that South African wine critics have simply no class.

I'm a long time reader of Wine Magazine, and over the years the arrogance has gotten to me on varying levels. Reading Rob Morris' article, where he unjustifiably slams a farm that is making good efforts to improve itself and its brand, is classless and baseless. Perhaps he should remember his years a varsity drop out before mommy from publisher's Ramsey, Son and Parker got him the job at Wine Magazine.

Morris, and Christian Eedes (with whom he's been known to waste a Friday lunch hour drinking free wine at Greek in Mowbray), exemplify a real weak point in South African wine journalism: namely the idea that great wine journalism is snobbish and slams all who try.

I am certainly no fan of the 'everyone deserves a certificate' attitude of many in our post-modern world: but I think people who spend their lives writing copy for a magazine like Wine Magazine in a suburb as plat as Pinelands should watch what they say (I know, I lived there once, as I did in Stellenbosch: At least people who live in the winelands have some class!)

Foreign wines in local shops

2008-05-19T06:56:00.001-07:00

South Africa has great wines, but not a lot of places to try things other than local produce.

Maybe that's why other wine countries (and consumer countries like the UK) sometimes get nasty about South Africa; perhaps it bothers them that our wines are so good that South Africans don't bother with R150 French Plonk! :P

Enough with the ribbing, there are some great wines from around the world which we let ourselves down if we don't explore, and sadly in South Africa that means, more often than not, finding stores which sell foreign wines at a bit of a premium.

One such store and cellar is, Wine Cellar, http://www.winecellar.co.za/, in Observatory in Cape Town. There is good wine, there is great wine, and then their is over priced wine.

I don't know if the Wine Cellar's wine is overpriced, I'd like to go to one of their legendary tastings before deciding on that;

That said, they have an AMAZING range of French and other nations' wines. That sort of range deserves to go at a bit of a premium, and Sian and I look forward to going for a tasting there soonest (i.e. when the wallet allows!)

Once we know more about this business, and its cellaring, I look forward to giving a full report.

Ingwe 2004

2008-05-12T03:21:00.001-07:00

We had a bottle of Alain Moueix's Ingwe 2004. This great wine is made by PJ Geyer, and Francois Baard is the viticulturist. Francois's daughter once told me at a party how absolutely amazing this wine was, and I have to be honest that when I hear from the children of people in the wine industry how great there wine is I tend to hesitate; not because they aren't great arbiters of taste, but rather that often blood is thicker and wine, and an honest critique of a family product is hard thing... (I know all about this... its a huge problem... I used to extol the virtues of my families pies, even when we were having a 'bad' period - i.e. making pastry in Cape Town in February is a hard thing due to the heat).

Well Sian brought out the bottle while we had Swiss fondue on Saturday night.

What can I say? I simply LOVED it. The colour of the wine is dark and ripe, no hints of over stayed browns here: just a pure ruby. But unlike other wines which often come out with such a colour when they are the consistency of molasses, this wine is just the right weight; not too heavy, but not a model on heroin either.

The nose is a bit subdued; something I've come to appreciate, often I get misled when a wine had a fantastic nose only to be disappointed when the first taste hits my mouth.

I think a subtle nose to a wine, like a quick glace, or a gentle brush of the hands is far more seductive to the drinker; some wines strut to the table in F-me pumps and a mini-skirt, and Ingwe is far more reserved, and consequently a far more glamorous wine for it.

On the mouth, the wine is smooth and complex; a very rich flavour which doesn't overpower the senses; the wine was more than passable with the fondue, but to be honest I think would have paired spectacularly with a good roast or steak;

I can only speak for this wine from personal experience, I don't know how others might find it, but we finished the bottle and I certainly felt ready to buy a case. It really is a fantastic wine with a lot to offer as a Bordeaux blend from South Africa.

Viva Ingwe. It's great to have a wine with an African name that isn't simple a marketing gimmick, but a really great wine in its own right.

Cape Times V&A Wine Affair

2008-05-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

Myself and Sian, Ez and Alan went to the Cape Times Wine Affair at the V&A last night.

This event has now officially become my favourite on the wine calendar of the Western Cape. Why? Simple... the quality of it all.

The Wine Affair moved from the Market Square to the new Parking Lot opposite the Victoria Wharf mall. Very clever and practical, and easy access to the rest of the waterfront, and a nice high view into the amazing African Renaissance stadium being thrown up a few hundred meters away.

The venue was a LITTLE warm; i.e. it was boiling hot at first; I've noticed this now at most festivals, with the exception of the Stellenbosch Wine Route Festival. I suppose warm is better than cold; but it is a bit poor. As the evening went on the temperature seemed to adjust (or at least I stopped caring) and it wasn't as noticeable.

What makes the Wine Affair so great is its exhibitors; so many great farms, the big labels and the boutiques, from all over the province made a showing. There are always a couple of farms you'd like to see, but the event offers a real treat for those looking to explore new wines from old favourite labels, as well as being surprised by wines from undiscovered wine makers.

For me the find of the show wasn't a wine, but rather a region; the wines from Rawsonville near Worcester are really getting quite excellent; every interesting and different from what you are used to; I've resolved to driving out there soon and getting more of a taste for the region - a lot of the wines coming out of their seem to be EXCELLENT everyday table wines; maybe not as "dignified" as some of the Paarl and Stellenbosch estates, but certainly up and coming.

I was particularly impressed by the balanced ranges coming from the region. I'm sure they've been making great wines for years; but for someone whose only really followed wine for 5 years it was great to find something new at a show you've been to before.

Balance is what makes the Wine Affair so great. The balance between food and wine, cheaper and more expensive, famous and new is perfectly struck. The entire event has a mildly curated feel which I think is at times lacking in events in SA, and it makes so much difference.
Had some amazing oysters at the Wild Peacock stand. I took their card :)

There was a lot of food at the show, a lot more than at most wine shows, with sushi, meat, fish, cheese, etc. Its fantastic to have both palate cleansers and great fresh food with wine; its the way wine is supposed to be enjoyed; and really gives you an opportunity to let wines open up in context.

Even Fisherman's Choice, the old Waterfront favourite, had a stand, and was serving some of the best calamari I've tasted from them in years.

Val de Vie's shiraz was perfectly paired by golden cardamom chocolates they had at their stand. They also have a wine called Polo which is a fantastic red blend for the table.

There were so many great wines at the show. De Klerk from Rawsonville. (Family name prejudice there I fear :) ), McGregor, De Grendel, Boekenhoutskloof, the list goes on...
Ooo, and I didn't have any, but Krone was there, from Twee Jong Gezellen; when I drank it at Winex it convinced me to buy a case of it at this last new years.

Raka and Asara's wines are also tasting a lot better on my palate than they have in the past; must have something to do with my new prelidiction for shiraz; thank you Sian!

How can I sum up this show? Unmissable!

I recommend it to anyone for next year; it really is the best way to spend a cold May evening, with great friends, great wine and food, and a wonderful festival of the good life.

Alcohol + Lent = Free Booze

2008-03-03T11:20:00.001-08:00

I'm a Catholic, and for a myriad of reasons Catholics give up 'something for lent'. Why we do this delves into Jesus, his 40 days before he began his ministry and a whole lot of other dogmatic and traditional aspects of my life which aren't really part of this blog, and aren't really interesting unless you are, A) Catholic or B) Interested in developing a distorted opinion of what being a Catholic is all about.

But the premise is you give something up for 40 days and 40 nights (queue the comedy), and use that denial of something you'd otherwise have to focus your mind and develop yourself spiritually. So I went from spiritually to spirits, and gave up booze for lent. Not feeling quite masochistic enough, I gave up meat as well. Right, no meat, no booze. How is a man supposed to live?

So what does "The Universe" do when you lay down such a karmic challenge? It tempts you, or rather you realise the temptation which was never there. When we say God tempts us, the truth is we have drawn a line in the sand which we have decided not to cross despite our corporal desire to do so. And that is the temptation I have felt these last 22 days, and will no doubt feel again in the next 18.

Why has it been so bad? Well in the shortest of orders the opportunity for free booze and free meat has been INSANE. From Microsoft Launch parties, to comp'd business lunches, to wine weekends and festivals, to house bring and braais, to trading conferences to Newbie Bowls with booze and boerewors rolls, the last couple of weeks have been a real test to avoid the booze and meat.

What can I say? Well I'm sure that the free booze and free meat train will pull into the station on Holy Thursday, and I'll have to pay for the meat and booze I'm no doubt going to want to drink so desperately when I finally can.

The truth is you realise your physical desires a lot more. Someone could open a bottle of wine 10 metres from me and now I'll smell it. Same re: meat, I finally understand what the OT is talking about when they talk of the smell of the the offering was pleasing to God; my word a braai is a nice smell, especially when the ruddy Israelites (or in my case, the house mates) have been hesitant to braai as of late.

I'm making my mouth water just as I write this. I should stop.

But the interesting thing to think about is the power of denial; how denying yourself something can make your realise how much you really need it. In our lives we give up things like chocolate, or our favourite TV show, but we often forget that the things we really should appreciate we aren't denied until there is nothing we can do about it: like our family, our friends, and finally our lives.

So what I've taken from this lent, spiritual growth aside, is the simple fact that everything in our lives, no matter how trivial, when taken away is something to regret. And the things which really matter even more so, which for good reason we should reach out and share and enjoy the time and things of our lives with the people we love.

It's all in the nose

2008-02-25T01:26:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine once likened Rust en Vrede to the smell of a pizza box and a new radio control car.

Really wine is all in the nose, and what smells and odours you relate wine too. A wine is such a subjective thing... But as long as its great to drink, then fantastic.

The below cartoon explains it perfectly:

And a big apology about not writing more... like an idiot I've given up meat and wine for lent; it truly has been a task which I've struggled with.

On the up side I can now smell as soon as a bottle of wine is opened within 15 feet of me, because my palate is yearning for a good merlot.

I look forward to critiquing a lot of great wines as soon as I can. There are a lot of wine locations and wines themselves that Sian and the rest of the crew (along with me) are desperate to check out, and for me to write about!

Cheese goes with Wine... no, really! :)

2008-02-21T01:28:00.001-08:00

April 26, 2008
2008 SA Cheese Festival
Let the best of SA cheese seduce you

Allow the earthy scents of cheese to lure you to the country?s major cheese event ? the SA Cheese Festival which will be held from 25 to 28 April 2008 on the historic Bien Donn? farm nestled in the countryside between Paarl and Franschhoek. Young and old will be sure to enjoy this farm-to-table cheese experience.

Enjoy a magnitude of legendary champion cheeses and discover daring new varieties paired with delicacies such as wine, olives and freshly baked bread in a country market atmosphere. Visitors will be afforded the exhilarating opportunity to compare our local cheeses to their French counterparts, imported especially for the festival. South Africa?s most celebrated food personalities and cheese-makers will be there to let you in on the most scrumptious cheese secrets, while demonstrating new trends of the cheese world. All of this included in the entrance fee of R75.

Tickets for this delectable event will be available from 1 February 2008 at Computicket outlets countrywide and online. Senior citizens will be able to enter for a mere R45 and children 12 years and under enter free. Numbers are limited so do not hesitate to put the 2008 Cheese Festival in first place on your to do list.

The gates will be open from 10:00 to 18:00 from Friday to Sunday and from 10:00 to 16:00 on Monday 28 April. For more details, contact the organiser, Agri-Expo, at tel 021 975 4440, e-mail cheese@agriexpo.co.za or visit www.cheesefestival.co.za.

Pinotage to go with Thai

2008-02-06T12:39:00.001-08:00

Sian and I made some awesome Thai food this last weekend, and Sian paired with a great Devon Hill 2004 Pinotage.

After some bowls of red and green Thai curry, the pinotage tasted sweet and almost like a dessert wine; obviously it wasn't, but the interesting pairing really opened up some new flavours from tasting the wine.

I don't know what it costs a bottle, but I can say its well worth it, being a fan of Pinotage, as I am, can be really difficult at times because so much of it out there has something of the 'cardboard box' as Louis would put it: Devon Hill's 2004 Pinotage certainly does not!

Read more about this great little winery at their site: http://www.devonhill.co.za/

or at CapeVin: http://www.capvin.co.za/devonhill.html

Grey 150

2008-01-26T02:19:00.002-08:00

Last night, PK, Louis and I had a bottle of Grey High School's 150 anniversary wine, made at Yonder Hill in Stellenbosch. There is a quite a story to this eventful wine (which tastes a lot like Rust en Vrede's Merlot by the way).

The wine went on sale the weekend Grey got beaten at home by Paul Roos, and the people of Bloemfontein lost their appetite for Stellebosch, leaving a lot of bottles of this lovely wine all over the show.

The moral of the story is really: don't stop buying a good wine, even if your affinity for the brand has lost some of its lustre; that doesn't just go for school and special labellings - I think particularly of Blaawklippen who for me dilute the living hell of their brand by bottling white wines not worthy of the name wine, which should be relegated to the papsak; those wines were my first into to Blaawklippen and subsequently I struggle to enjoy their other wines because I have this gnawing feeling in the back of my head that there good wine is simply a mask for the swill that they put in their cheaper wines.

Brand loyalty is one thing, but drinking Aussie wine is another entirely. John's Aussie wine goes untouched. Hopefully I'll bring myself to uncork it tonight at Louis' birthday do!

Lourensford Eden Crest Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay

2008-01-26T02:19:00.001-08:00

3 (and a 1/4 slash 1/2) stars

Tonight was a night for blends, in addition to the great blend from Havana Hills, I also had the chance to enjoy some of a bottle of Lourensford Eden Crest Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay 2007.

And what a lovely wine it is, with quite a lot of colour for a white blend, underlining the chardonnay in the blend. I'm a huge fan of chardonnay (although, like the unsophisticated palate I am, I prefer it wooded so even my tongue can taste the rounding butterscotch caramel tones of a good chardonnay) and enjoy it immensely, and this blend is well put together.

Being a wine from Lourensford, I expected the price to be a little steep, but one of the people at the table said its retailing for R19 at Checkers. This HAS to be some sort of mistake; but if it isn't buy as much as you can.

Surprisingly for a white, the bottle is VERY clear that the ageing potential is one year MAX, so if it is so cheap at Checkers, it may have something to do with that. From my vantage point, the wine tastes good and is ready to drink TODAY! If its R19 a bottle so be it... a little birdie tells me even restaurants aren't getting it from the distributors for so cheap, so grab at it while it lasts.

I've never drunk Eden Crest before, and if this is Lourensford's value wine, then it is a good one. So often cheap/value white wine's can be too acidic, but this wine avoids being too acidic without sacrificing itself on the alter of sweetness; for a white wine drinker who wants a fairly dry wine without too much acid at a value price, you could do a LOT worse.

For me, I just want to buy a couple more bottles and see how I feel about it, after a few more bottles on a few more occasions. I think it exceeds the grade of a midweek wine, I wouldn't drink it in the day time, I think its deserving of an ice bucket.

The 2007 is obviously not up to the same as the 2006 detailed below (the 2007 is a new release, and they haven't updated the website) , because the bottle is quite firm in its recommendation that it shouldn't be kept for longer than a year after vintage. Obviously they've gone for developing a little more of a 'plonk' in 2007, but I think the vintage is great as it is, and if the price is to be believed, a real steal. Something to buy a case of to see through the summer.

Details:
Eden Crest Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay
Vintage: 2006

Cultivar: 51% Sauvignon blanc, 46% Chardonnay (2005 and 2006), 3% Viognier (2005)

Altitude: 100 500m above sea level

Age of vines: 5 - 10 years

Origin: Grapes from Lourensford and Lanzerac.

Soil: Situated on a variety of soils derived from decomposed granite and sandstone.

Harvesting: Harvest analyses: Sugar 23.5 24.5°B, Total Acidity 6 - 7 g/l, pH 3.4

Harvest date: Harvested in February and March 2005 and 2006.

Vinification: All grapes were sorted for quality after arrival at the winery. De-stemming and crushing followed after which the mash was conveyed to the presses. Light pressing followed and the juice was settled overnight at 15°C. The clarified juice was racked to a fermentation tank where it was inoculated with a selected yeast strain. Alcoholic fermentation was carried out between 13 to 15C and the process took 3 weeks to complete. The final components were blended together after tasting trials were conducted.

Analysis:

Alcohol: 13.5 vol%
Residual sugar 3.76 g/l

Total acidity: 5.72 g/l

pH: 3.76

Cellarmaster's Comments: The wine has a light, straw-yellow colour. Citrus and tropical aromas charachterize the nose. The palate is mineral and smooth with a refreshing crispness.
Serving Suggestions:Serve between 13 and 15°C with salads and cold meats

Maturation Potential: Enjoy up to 3 years after the vintage.

Nico Vermeulen's The Right Two Whites

2008-01-26T02:18:00.002-08:00

3 stars - perfect midweek summer white blend

Often when I am over at Sian's for dinner I'm faced with wines I'd never normally see, or choose. A lot of this has to do with her being a lot more experimental with regards to wine, which means sometimes gems are discovered around her family table, and sometimes there are wines which would be better sold as vinegar.

One wine, which certainly should never be placed anywhere near the vinegar shelf, is the Sauvignon Blanc/Semillion blend from the cellar at Havana Hills under Nico Vermeulen, called The Right Two Whites.

This is a fantastic and crisp white blend, perfectly balanced; its a fantastic mid week table wine, and when ever there is a bottle open I'm more than happy to have a glass.

Sian picks it up quite cheaply at Mooiberg in the Stellenbosch winelands, but if you aren't so lucky to have a chance to shop at that fantastic wine store, then you can pick it up for approx. R50 through regular retail channels. Sian got a great deal on it, at R50 it might be a bit steep; see what you can get it for, its well worth R35 if you can get it at that.

Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I really enjoy the wines that are coming out of the Swartland; especially Havana Hills and Spice Route (one of Fairview's labels).

I'm looking forward to a 'fact-finding' expedition to a few more of the Swartland wineries to see what is going down!

Simonsvlei Chardonnay 2007 : Brief Notes

2008-01-26T02:18:00.001-08:00

Last night, Sian, PK and I went to Qing Sushi in Canal Walk and had bottle of Simonsvlei Chardonnay 2007.

The wine is very drinkable, very early for a chardonnay; its lightly wooded, and very 'friendly' for a chardonnay. I think it would be a good wine to give to someone who generally drinks lighter whites like Chenin or Sav. Blanc who is looking to enquire about Chardonnay.

Its a good table wine with sushi and seafood, the pairing was good (so full marks to me!), very good value (i.e. you could drink it during the week without burning a hole in your pocket), and well worth the opening.

If you are looking for a chardonnay to rock your socks off, this IS NOT IT! But as a decent balanced table chardonnay you could do a lot worse, it avoids the temptation to be too acidic in the search for complexity, which like so many of Simonsvlei wines mean that the wine is infinitely drinkable.

In Quest of Meerlust

2008-01-26T02:16:00.000-08:00

Meerlust estate (aka The Wine Farm which makes the Wine your Dad drinks), is one of the epic and 'ancient' South African wine farms, which made the first Bordeaux style blend in the country (Rubicon) and remains an iconic South African wine brand.

As a young wine drinker, Meerlust can often be an intimidating wine to buy and to drink. I remember my first thoughts of Meerlust only awakening when I started working a couple of years ago, and then thinking what they charged for wine was FAR too much... i could do just fine with a R50 bottle of something decent.

But in the last year or so I've become ever intrigued; I want to see what all the fuss is about, what makes their wines so special, and if anyone should really even bother.

So Sian and I headed out this Friday for a little investigation in Stellenbosch; first we went out to Franschoek to Hillcrest berry farm for a little brunch (much needed) and then off back towards Cape Town to the Meerlust estate.

Meerlust is towards Strand, along Baden Powell, close to De Wijnlander estate, and is VERY low key in its signage, parking and tasting. Basically its absolutely great, a little off the track of the Spier, et al Wine(Disney)Worlds that seem to be consuming the Stellenbosch region. The Meerlust estate is a family affair and looks so.

We went in for the tasting (R20, and they let you taste all their wines all the way to the flagship, which I think is really respectable, and gives you an opportunity to see what the fuss is all about, rather than the usual "vintages not for tasting", i.e. "You should know why our flagship is so great"), and Meerlust let you know what they have on offer, there is no keeping of cards close to the chest. These wines mean business.

The tasting goes through from their solo Chardonnay, to their Pinot Noir (a real treat in my opinion, the colour is a little 'brown' as Pinot's often are, but the round taste is great, especially so early on), from there we headed into their 'Red' label, for the years when the Rubicon is not bottled (i.e. 'bad' years).

A quick note on Meerlust Red: its a good wine, it's worth its price. but DON'T buy this wine trying to figure out Rubicon. I've read this oft-quoted piece of advice before, and having now tasted at the farm I can safely say this is COMPLETE RUBBISH. Meerlust Red is a superb table wine, and something to keep for a mid-week occasion, but it is NOT a poorman's/student's Rubicon. If you are looking for that, there are better bottles at R100 elsewhere.

From the Red, the tasting moved onto a 1998 vintage Merlot; which I found INCREDIBLY spicy and up for it, even after a decade (this was VERY surprising to me, and was a good indication that Meerlust aren't joking around with their ageing potentials) the wine was very direct and complex, and it tasted great. I could have nursed a bottle myself.

From there we went onto their latest Merlot release, for which the Cab. Sav they used to blend in the Merlot has been replaced with Cab Franc. Sian isn't a fan of Cab Franc normally but she rated the Merlot good... tasting the younger Merlot, I can honestly say I think that Meerlust's Merlot should be cellared for a while... Not because its bad fairly young, but because it really improves with age, whilst losing little to no flavour.

Then came the Cab Sav. It's Cab Sav. It tastes like Cab Sav. Don't get me wrong... its a great Cab Sav, but this varietal isn't doing it for me the way it was 5 years ago. It was dry, plummy, dignified, but Cab Sav is a meal wine for me, and never a highlight to taste (unless you've got an aged steak marinating in the fridge and you are looking for a bottle to buy to drink that night). Their C.S. is great though, a very good one by all estimations... but there is something lacking, it's a great wine, but I suspect that all the best grapes are being kept for.... Rubicon.

You can read a lot about Rubicon elsewhere, and one of the reasons we went to the farm was for me to evaluate it before I spent R200 on a bottle for a friend. To cut a long story short, if you like classic, slightly conservative Bordeaux blends (as I do) and like your wine to be from another decade, then Rubicon is where it is AT as far as I'm concerned, wine writers be DAMNED. Rubicon is a great wine, its got brand awareness, which can inflate a wine's price (Just look at Ernie Els wines... those things aren't worth 480 a bottle), but in its case it has not. At between 180-200 a bottle depending on vintage (little birdie tells us 2003 is the best EVER) it's a steal in my opinion. Have it properly cellared.

Rubicon looks impressive as soon as it's in the glass. Both Sian and I were impressed by the colour. It simply looks the way a wine should look in the glass... it's heavy, but not too heavy. The tastes, the nose, the legs of the wine are pretty pitch perfect for what it's trying to do: i.e. be a good, solid, dependable and excellent wine. It is all those things.

If you are looking for 'excitement', have that between 60-120 a bottle at checkers. If you want to have a bottle to take out of the cabinet to drink over dinner with your girlfriend's parents asking them if you can marry their daughter, get a bottle of Meerlust Rubicon. It is Cesarean in its gait, and an excellent wine. It reminds me of what blends can achieve when well thought out, and is a wine which even the most novice of wine drinker can appreciate for its balance.

The trip was an education in not being intimidated by so-called big name wines, and instead appreciating the few private estates for what they bring to the wine merchants; great wines which remind you why South Africa is the wine world's best kept secret.

Glenwood Merlot 2004

2008-01-26T02:15:00.001-08:00

An exceptional wine, truly well worth the wait! ~ 4 stars

To kick off the wine blog, I thought I’d review a wine that has been waiting for the last three years for me, and which to celebrate an evening with a friend from Up North I don’t get to see that often, as well as my brother’s Matric passing, I decided to open it up and share with friends over some warthog ribs at the fantastic Hussar Grill in Camps Bay.

This wine had a real story for me, a few years ago my partner and I were driving around Franschoek and ended up rather lost and on a gravel road in seemingly nowhere. Tucked away in the valley (little known Robertsvlei) we found our rest at Glenwood , where we had a very special tasting, greeted by the cellar manager and his great team.

We ended up buying a lot of wine, and having a wonderful afternoon of tasting and discussing the wines of the farm with those who know it best. The plantings where fairly new, the wine was expressive, and the feeling from the staff was of commitment, enjoyment and a small operation feel which is often lost in the times of ‘big label/private collection’ wines.

Of particular interest was a young 2004 Merlot from a fairly new block on the farm, it promised great things we felt.

Well it delivered, with the 2005 vintage now on sale for R55 a bottle I can recommend it to anyone I meet, the 2004 was a wonderful little merlot. The wine revels in its nature, not trying to be a ‘Cabernet-Light’, instead it’s a mellow, round merlot, perfect with a meal or on its own.

I believe wine should be enjoyed because it’s enjoyable, and not because of a label, price or varietal. This wine is certainly that. I doubt any wine snobs will be able to bring themselves to enjoy a wine at R55 a bottle, but it really is excellent, and after 3 years of lying down had lost none of its plumy, fruity tastes, and had lost some of the earlier piquant tastes if my memory serves me correctly.

I can recommend the Merlot 2004 wholeheartedly, it truly is a great wine.

Welcome to The Quaffers

2008-01-26T02:14:00.001-08:00

The Quaffers is a blog for people who enjoy wine, and who aren't stuck up about what they enjoy. It's basically a place where I can record some of the greats wines (and wine farms) as well as other wine related experiences myself and a few of my nearest and dearest (affectionately henceforth to be known as Quaffers) enjoy some of the best the world's vineyards (especially our South African ones) have to offer.

I'll be trying to review a wine every week or so, along with other wine related anecdotes along the way, and hopefully will be getting some of my friends, housemates, etc. to submit some notes and stories on the great wines (and not so great) wines they've enjoyed over the last while.