South Africa beat France today in the World Cup.
South Africa has been beating France in wine for years.
Tonight I tasted the 2008 vintage of Glen Carlou Chardonnay from South Africa. It sells in the states for $14.99 a bottle. It is delicious. Balanced fruit, oak and acidity that would cost twice the amount if it was from France. Richer than a Macon/Pouilly Fuisse, it not quite as rich as a Meursault. Just a good drink. As well as a cocktail wine, there is enough stuffing and acid for this wine to be a worker with food. I am thinking more chicken and pork rather than fish. Unless it is a highly seasoned fish. Cream, butter sauce is optional.
Glen Carlou is in the Paarl region of South Africa. The estate has a reported good place to eat, I did not eat there when I last visited, but the view is wonderful. I tasted on the deck that overlooked a ridge of mountains that gave credence to "purple mountains majesty above the fruited plane." In addition Glen Carlou is owned by Hess of Switzerland. Hess is one of the great modern art collectors in the world. The gallery there is everchanging and is even enjoyed by me, a modern art boor.
Showing posts with label South African Wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South African Wine. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Fore!
South African golfer Ernie Els is the best celebrity wine estate owner in the world. Well the Rothschilds are celebrities but they have been wine owners for so long that they are more famous for their wines than the original banking business. But I digress.
Ernie has hired a crackerjack team to make wine from his estate and his label. The wines with his name on it are very expensive and very good. Just down the hill from his named estate is another property he owns that has a fab restaurant run by another Els, no relation. This winery is Guardian Peak. I have mentioned in an earlier blog about the best wine from the estate, SMG, that retails for $24.99 a bottle and is sold out awaiting the next vintage from South Africa. Recently I found another blended wine from Guardian Peak named Frontier. This yummy blend is from Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot and retails for $14.99 a bottle. This wine is delicious now for a barbque, but has enough tannins to improve for a couple of years in the cellar. Crowd pleaser and gourmet pleaser for reasonable money. Sounds like a double eagle. Golf reference, 3 under par on one hole.
Ernie has hired a crackerjack team to make wine from his estate and his label. The wines with his name on it are very expensive and very good. Just down the hill from his named estate is another property he owns that has a fab restaurant run by another Els, no relation. This winery is Guardian Peak. I have mentioned in an earlier blog about the best wine from the estate, SMG, that retails for $24.99 a bottle and is sold out awaiting the next vintage from South Africa. Recently I found another blended wine from Guardian Peak named Frontier. This yummy blend is from Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot and retails for $14.99 a bottle. This wine is delicious now for a barbque, but has enough tannins to improve for a couple of years in the cellar. Crowd pleaser and gourmet pleaser for reasonable money. Sounds like a double eagle. Golf reference, 3 under par on one hole.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Name that wine
There is a family of South African wines you can get in the US but not in South Africa. Sounds silly, but true. The Jardin wines of South Africa are fabulous and only available in the US. The reason? The family name is on the label in South Africa and the family name is Jordan, no relation to the California Jordan's but that is way the name is changed here in the US.
Jardin best Chardonnay is a barrel selection of all their Chardonnay. It is called Nine Yards Chardonnay, because it is the whole nine yards. Ok, I just made that up, I don't know why its called Nine Yards. What I do know that another South African winery has joined the style of California and France to make a delicious wine. The 2005 vintage is $29.99 a bottle. Not a typo, 2005! Most Cal Chards are long gone by 5 years of age, this one is just starting to peak. Noticeable oak in harmony with great fruit flavors, crisp acidity and some mellow yellow color are evident in this wine. Closer in style to a Meursault with some hints of hazelnut, you can serve this wine with or without food. I pick the food because this allows the wine to show more versatility. There is also a 2003 Cabernet available from Jardin, that is equally as yummy and has the one thing a winemaker cannot create, bottle age and the flavors that come with it.
Jardin best Chardonnay is a barrel selection of all their Chardonnay. It is called Nine Yards Chardonnay, because it is the whole nine yards. Ok, I just made that up, I don't know why its called Nine Yards. What I do know that another South African winery has joined the style of California and France to make a delicious wine. The 2005 vintage is $29.99 a bottle. Not a typo, 2005! Most Cal Chards are long gone by 5 years of age, this one is just starting to peak. Noticeable oak in harmony with great fruit flavors, crisp acidity and some mellow yellow color are evident in this wine. Closer in style to a Meursault with some hints of hazelnut, you can serve this wine with or without food. I pick the food because this allows the wine to show more versatility. There is also a 2003 Cabernet available from Jardin, that is equally as yummy and has the one thing a winemaker cannot create, bottle age and the flavors that come with it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Soccer, Futbol, wines
Yeah yeah yeah, the World Cup will be in South Africa for the next month. Big Deal.
One of the oldest and best wineries in South Africa is Rust en Vrede. Their flagship wine, among many, is the Estate wine. A blend of roughly 60 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 Shiraz and 10 Merlot, this complex and flavorful wine was tasty with tonight's steak. In comparing the 2003 vs. 2004, the 03 was softer and easier to drink and enjoy tonight. The 04 had much more tannic structure and will continue to develop over the next 5 years. Each at $44.99, drink the 03, cellar the 04.
Really want to try this wine again with a lamb dinner.
One of the oldest and best wineries in South Africa is Rust en Vrede. Their flagship wine, among many, is the Estate wine. A blend of roughly 60 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 Shiraz and 10 Merlot, this complex and flavorful wine was tasty with tonight's steak. In comparing the 2003 vs. 2004, the 03 was softer and easier to drink and enjoy tonight. The 04 had much more tannic structure and will continue to develop over the next 5 years. Each at $44.99, drink the 03, cellar the 04.
Really want to try this wine again with a lamb dinner.
3 DeTrafford
One of the best winemakers and smallest is De Trafford in the "Golden Triangle" of Stellenbosch South Africa.
Tiny, with only 3000 cases made, and meticulous and enormous quality for the price, David De Trafford makes some of the best bang for the buck wines in the world. Tonight I tried 3: Caberent Sauvignon, that most in my party thought was great Bordeaux even after they saw the label, the Blueprint Shiraz, generally thought to be not as good, but was amazing with the barbqued ribs and his dessert wine the Vin de Paille aka Straw Wine, which I am shocked to the flavor and quality.
Each of these wines is between 40 and 50 a bottle, the dessert wine is $44.99 a half bottle. World class wines that will continue to benefit from aging, but are truly delicious right now.
Tiny, with only 3000 cases made, and meticulous and enormous quality for the price, David De Trafford makes some of the best bang for the buck wines in the world. Tonight I tried 3: Caberent Sauvignon, that most in my party thought was great Bordeaux even after they saw the label, the Blueprint Shiraz, generally thought to be not as good, but was amazing with the barbqued ribs and his dessert wine the Vin de Paille aka Straw Wine, which I am shocked to the flavor and quality.
Each of these wines is between 40 and 50 a bottle, the dessert wine is $44.99 a half bottle. World class wines that will continue to benefit from aging, but are truly delicious right now.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Merlot
Another of my favorite 8 x5 cards is.
To me it was true love, to her it was Meerlust.
Meerlust is one of the historic and top quality wineries of South Africa. They make a tremendous Bordeaux blend, called Rubicon, sorry California, this is better, but we are sold out of it now. They also make a wonderful Merlot, called, Merlot. Plums and minerals and hints of chocolate in a smooth red wine, that gets better with age. Age like 10 + years. Hard to believe in a Merlot. But this is the real deal. I love to serve this with a dish that has lots of herbs and spices in it. Beef, lamb, veal, all work terrificly. This is $24.99 a bottle, tastes 3 times the price.
Some people lust after it too.
To me it was true love, to her it was Meerlust.
Meerlust is one of the historic and top quality wineries of South Africa. They make a tremendous Bordeaux blend, called Rubicon, sorry California, this is better, but we are sold out of it now. They also make a wonderful Merlot, called, Merlot. Plums and minerals and hints of chocolate in a smooth red wine, that gets better with age. Age like 10 + years. Hard to believe in a Merlot. But this is the real deal. I love to serve this with a dish that has lots of herbs and spices in it. Beef, lamb, veal, all work terrificly. This is $24.99 a bottle, tastes 3 times the price.
Some people lust after it too.
Friday, May 14, 2010
South African Wine Dinner
A fine group of gourmands asked me to host a wine dinner at the Oregon Club tonight, Wed. May 12th. The wine theme was South African reds. We ordered off the menu.
The 2008 DMZ Shiraz was the steal and deal. Retailing for $14.99 at the store, it has more French stylings than Aussie. It does has some fruit, but not the over the top ripe blackberry commonly found in Aussie wines at this price range. The DMZ has more complexity, like a Rhone, but none of the barnyard stink, that many people like. It is clean, with balance between fruit, alcohol and acidity. It worked very nicely with a delicious bowl of Bolognese. Later in the evening, when I snatched a last glass, it had developed more flavors and richness. Probably worth more than twice the price. I called in and ordered a ton more.
Something I ordered a ton of in March but it didn't come in til yesterday was the Graham Beck 2008 Pinotage, the hit of the Cape show. Alas and alack, the 2008 was lacking, really lacking, they shipped in the 2009. No more 2008! I was ticked!! So I tasted the 2009 with this group and it didn't taste bad. Many times Pinotage has an unpleasant aroma that never goes away. This one was clean, but, it was in shipping shock stage. To quote Elvis, it was all shook up. I will reserve judgement on this wine for about a month to see how it calms down. I am mildly optimistic.
The BIG hit of the night was the 2002 Sadie Family Columella. A meticulous picking of Syrah and Mourvedre grapes from the Swartland region of South Africa yields one of the country's best wines. $100.00 a bottle and worth it. You can use all the great wine buzz words to describe this wine and you still need more. I had the world famous Oregon Club sirloin cooked in a pan that is over 100 years old. The wine food pairing was better than Fred and Ginger, or even Fred and Wilma.
The 2008 DMZ Shiraz was the steal and deal. Retailing for $14.99 at the store, it has more French stylings than Aussie. It does has some fruit, but not the over the top ripe blackberry commonly found in Aussie wines at this price range. The DMZ has more complexity, like a Rhone, but none of the barnyard stink, that many people like. It is clean, with balance between fruit, alcohol and acidity. It worked very nicely with a delicious bowl of Bolognese. Later in the evening, when I snatched a last glass, it had developed more flavors and richness. Probably worth more than twice the price. I called in and ordered a ton more.
Something I ordered a ton of in March but it didn't come in til yesterday was the Graham Beck 2008 Pinotage, the hit of the Cape show. Alas and alack, the 2008 was lacking, really lacking, they shipped in the 2009. No more 2008! I was ticked!! So I tasted the 2009 with this group and it didn't taste bad. Many times Pinotage has an unpleasant aroma that never goes away. This one was clean, but, it was in shipping shock stage. To quote Elvis, it was all shook up. I will reserve judgement on this wine for about a month to see how it calms down. I am mildly optimistic.
The BIG hit of the night was the 2002 Sadie Family Columella. A meticulous picking of Syrah and Mourvedre grapes from the Swartland region of South Africa yields one of the country's best wines. $100.00 a bottle and worth it. You can use all the great wine buzz words to describe this wine and you still need more. I had the world famous Oregon Club sirloin cooked in a pan that is over 100 years old. The wine food pairing was better than Fred and Ginger, or even Fred and Wilma.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
May 6
I should have been caught up by today, but between a glitch and a hail and a thunderstorm the conspiracy won.
Namedropping time, I had lunch with Emil den Dulk of De Toren Private Cellar of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Well lunch was in Millis, the winery is in South Africa. Everyone needs a winery on a hillside with an ocean view, yeah, I had the pleasure of visiting there back in 2008. Anyway, he was in Millis to show me the latest releases of his two top wines, Z and Fusion V.
Ahhh perfection! The Z is the lesser of the two, retails for $27.99, and emulates Right Bank Bordeaux with more Cabernet Franc in the blend. You can drink it now and you will be happy, but you should wait a few years and be very happy or a few more years and be wicked very happy. Seamless is a great word to describe the wine now. The wine is closed and you know it will get better with time or you could taste past vintages and be wowed, if you can find any. Although the wine is closed, it is so balanced that you have to work to find the tannins that are in perfect balance with fruit and alcohol. This is one of those wines that people look for that are not expensive now, but will taste very expensive in a few years of proper storage.
More perfect doesn't make sense, but the De Toren Fusion V, a Left Bank Bordeaux style blend with more Cabernet Sauvignon in the classic blend of the 5 Bordeaux grapes is more better. Love bad English. More money and more than worth it at $44.99 a bottle. Think famous named Chateaux that costs 4 times as much to deliver the same quality.
Now the problem. The winery has only been around for a dozen years. I cannot taste, nor can anyone else, older wine from them. Emil was kind enough to tell me that the first vintage has still not reached its peak. I sold a ton of the 2003 and told people to wait. Recently one of these wise customers opened a bottle of the 2003 and was thouroughly impressed, but offered his opinion that it also was still going to get better. Emil also has kindly put on accurate and informative back labels to the wine. The label tells you that the wine will age well for a decade, well I see your decade and raise it a score.
These are truly world class wines at insanely reasonable, more bad English, prices. Emil is no dummy, he will be raising prices with the next vintage.
Namedropping time, I had lunch with Emil den Dulk of De Toren Private Cellar of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Well lunch was in Millis, the winery is in South Africa. Everyone needs a winery on a hillside with an ocean view, yeah, I had the pleasure of visiting there back in 2008. Anyway, he was in Millis to show me the latest releases of his two top wines, Z and Fusion V.
Ahhh perfection! The Z is the lesser of the two, retails for $27.99, and emulates Right Bank Bordeaux with more Cabernet Franc in the blend. You can drink it now and you will be happy, but you should wait a few years and be very happy or a few more years and be wicked very happy. Seamless is a great word to describe the wine now. The wine is closed and you know it will get better with time or you could taste past vintages and be wowed, if you can find any. Although the wine is closed, it is so balanced that you have to work to find the tannins that are in perfect balance with fruit and alcohol. This is one of those wines that people look for that are not expensive now, but will taste very expensive in a few years of proper storage.
More perfect doesn't make sense, but the De Toren Fusion V, a Left Bank Bordeaux style blend with more Cabernet Sauvignon in the classic blend of the 5 Bordeaux grapes is more better. Love bad English. More money and more than worth it at $44.99 a bottle. Think famous named Chateaux that costs 4 times as much to deliver the same quality.
Now the problem. The winery has only been around for a dozen years. I cannot taste, nor can anyone else, older wine from them. Emil was kind enough to tell me that the first vintage has still not reached its peak. I sold a ton of the 2003 and told people to wait. Recently one of these wise customers opened a bottle of the 2003 and was thouroughly impressed, but offered his opinion that it also was still going to get better. Emil also has kindly put on accurate and informative back labels to the wine. The label tells you that the wine will age well for a decade, well I see your decade and raise it a score.
These are truly world class wines at insanely reasonable, more bad English, prices. Emil is no dummy, he will be raising prices with the next vintage.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Passion
Think of all the hits I will get with that title.
Had dinner with one of the most passionate, good guy winemakers in the world the other night, Bruwer Raats of Raats Family Vineyards of South Africa. He makes what he likes and he makes them world class and keeps the price to quality ration extremely consumer friendly.
He loves Chenin Blanc for white wine. He loves Cabernet Franc for red wine. He makes two Chenin Blancs. An un-oaked version that retails for $14.99 has perfect balance between fruit and minerality. What does minerality taste like? Try his Chenin Blanc! This is the ideal wine for summer sipping on hot days with a variety of salads and finger foods. Take time to smell the glass when empty, the aroma of golden delicious apple in harmony with peach is amazing.
His slightly wood aged Chenin Blanc retails for $24.99. This has some additional aromas and flavors of earth and mushroom with the apple-peach minerality. It was served with a 4 different appetizer plate. Any wine that can handle rhubarb, chicken livers, Andouille sausage and spicey calamari can handle just about any dish. It fits nicely in between over the top Chardonnay and refreshingly light Sauvignon Blanc. It lets the chef get credit for his food, but the wine stands up on its own.
Raats Family Cabernet Franc is $34.99. You can drink this or, for $349.99, you can drink Cheval Blanc. At a recent "brown-bag" even, I couldn't tell them apart. So either I stink as a wine taster, or the Raats is wicked good. At the dinner, it was served with a pan seared Rib-eye steak. Awesome! The 2007 in the market now is a bit rougher around the edges. With food it was perfect. I have put a few bottles in my cellar waiting for time to smooth out the wine. The 2006 is already smooth.
Now if you do want to spend a lot of money, Raats makes a wine in partnership with his friend Mvemve, the first black winemaker college graduate. The have a wine called MR de Compostella. Rough translation, compostion of the stars. They take the 5 great grapes of Bordeaux, vinify them separately, and then create a blend based not on quantity that they bought, but on the QUALITY of each individual barrel. The final blend is never the same. Each vintage is unique. There are only 400 cases of this wine. It ages amazing. At the event we drank the 2004. It has won a bunch of awards around the world. If you can find any of them, buy them. I am sold out. I begged him for some more. Time will tell if grovelling works.
Had dinner with one of the most passionate, good guy winemakers in the world the other night, Bruwer Raats of Raats Family Vineyards of South Africa. He makes what he likes and he makes them world class and keeps the price to quality ration extremely consumer friendly.
He loves Chenin Blanc for white wine. He loves Cabernet Franc for red wine. He makes two Chenin Blancs. An un-oaked version that retails for $14.99 has perfect balance between fruit and minerality. What does minerality taste like? Try his Chenin Blanc! This is the ideal wine for summer sipping on hot days with a variety of salads and finger foods. Take time to smell the glass when empty, the aroma of golden delicious apple in harmony with peach is amazing.
His slightly wood aged Chenin Blanc retails for $24.99. This has some additional aromas and flavors of earth and mushroom with the apple-peach minerality. It was served with a 4 different appetizer plate. Any wine that can handle rhubarb, chicken livers, Andouille sausage and spicey calamari can handle just about any dish. It fits nicely in between over the top Chardonnay and refreshingly light Sauvignon Blanc. It lets the chef get credit for his food, but the wine stands up on its own.
Raats Family Cabernet Franc is $34.99. You can drink this or, for $349.99, you can drink Cheval Blanc. At a recent "brown-bag" even, I couldn't tell them apart. So either I stink as a wine taster, or the Raats is wicked good. At the dinner, it was served with a pan seared Rib-eye steak. Awesome! The 2007 in the market now is a bit rougher around the edges. With food it was perfect. I have put a few bottles in my cellar waiting for time to smooth out the wine. The 2006 is already smooth.
Now if you do want to spend a lot of money, Raats makes a wine in partnership with his friend Mvemve, the first black winemaker college graduate. The have a wine called MR de Compostella. Rough translation, compostion of the stars. They take the 5 great grapes of Bordeaux, vinify them separately, and then create a blend based not on quantity that they bought, but on the QUALITY of each individual barrel. The final blend is never the same. Each vintage is unique. There are only 400 cases of this wine. It ages amazing. At the event we drank the 2004. It has won a bunch of awards around the world. If you can find any of them, buy them. I am sold out. I begged him for some more. Time will tell if grovelling works.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Eureka!
A little over 4 years ago, one of my wine savviest customers was commuting to NYC for business. He always went to the same restaurant, and ordered the same type of wine each time. On his last visit, he asked the sommelier for something my customer had never had before. The sommelier offered him The Chocolate Block and told him he would never find it anywhere as the restaurant had it exclusively in the city. The customer we shared told the sommelier, "No problem, my wine guy in Millis will get it for me."
8 months later I found it and got it for him. I am slow, but persistant.
He was very happy.
I tasted the wine and was overjoyed! At the time, I carried two wines from South Africa. Three with The Chocolate Block. and then another and another and another and now we carry almost 100 different wines from South Africa. I believe they offer the best bang for the buck wine values found anywhere in the world today. And it's not even close.
The 2008 Chocolate Block just arrived. It was promised to me back in November 2009. It is a delicious blend of red and white grapes. It has a sensation of chocolate in a rich dry red wine. I think the 2008 needs another 6 months in the bottle to show how good it is. It was yummy, but still too young with smoked ribs and slaw, and a flan of gorgonzola with andoullie sausage and toast. It overpowered a Coq au Vin Blanc. It retails for $39.99 a bottle in the store and this year my quota was 24 bottles. First come, first served.
Eureka is also a town in California as well as the yell for a gold strike. South Africa has more gold and better wine than California. E?UREKA! dude
8 months later I found it and got it for him. I am slow, but persistant.
He was very happy.
I tasted the wine and was overjoyed! At the time, I carried two wines from South Africa. Three with The Chocolate Block. and then another and another and another and now we carry almost 100 different wines from South Africa. I believe they offer the best bang for the buck wine values found anywhere in the world today. And it's not even close.
The 2008 Chocolate Block just arrived. It was promised to me back in November 2009. It is a delicious blend of red and white grapes. It has a sensation of chocolate in a rich dry red wine. I think the 2008 needs another 6 months in the bottle to show how good it is. It was yummy, but still too young with smoked ribs and slaw, and a flan of gorgonzola with andoullie sausage and toast. It overpowered a Coq au Vin Blanc. It retails for $39.99 a bottle in the store and this year my quota was 24 bottles. First come, first served.
Eureka is also a town in California as well as the yell for a gold strike. South Africa has more gold and better wine than California. E?UREKA! dude
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Homework
I have a dog. The dog has never eaten my homework.
Tonight's homework was to taste two South African reds and write a blog on them. The wines were the Onyx 2007 Shiraz, the Guardian Peak SMG.
I had tasted the Onyx Shiraz at the previous Cape Cod Wine Tasting and it was delicious. Full, rich round smooth and darn tasty, on retaste this week I was surprised how good it was. So I retasted it again tonight. It's wicked good. A little barnyard in the nose and then just luscious flavors all the way through. AT $19.99 a bottle, I will be buying more this week. A potential big hit for summer grilling.
Guardian Peak is a sub-division of the Englebrecht-Els Empire of Wine. It's not really an empire but I wanted to use the aliteration. On my 2008 visit to South Africa, I had a planned visit to Ernie Els, yup, the golfer, winery. He makes, at least his name is on the label, a wonderful Bordeaux style blend, that I enjoy and will write about in depth later. At the end of the visit and tasting, the marketing director told me to visit their smaller winery down the hill, Guardian Peak. He made the phone call and the staff there spoiled me. What I didn't know is that they had a fabulous patio restaurant that was just opening for lunch. (Always visit the best winery in the morning, while your palate is still sharp) I asked if I could have lunch there and SNAP straight out of Goodfellas movie scene, a table was whisked from some hidden alcove and was set up at the edge of the patio with the best view of the mountains. Oh yeah, everyone was looking at who the bigshot was, little did they know it was only me. SMG is a blend of the 3 most popular grapes in a French Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache. This SMG was and is complex in aroma and flavor from the use of these big grapes, with hints of smoke, dark fruit and peppery spice. At $24.99 a bottle it is half the price of Chateauneuf and just as good, if not better.
There actually was a third wine tonight, but its story will run too long for this blog. The Chocolate Block for tomorrow night then.
Tonight's homework was to taste two South African reds and write a blog on them. The wines were the Onyx 2007 Shiraz, the Guardian Peak SMG.
I had tasted the Onyx Shiraz at the previous Cape Cod Wine Tasting and it was delicious. Full, rich round smooth and darn tasty, on retaste this week I was surprised how good it was. So I retasted it again tonight. It's wicked good. A little barnyard in the nose and then just luscious flavors all the way through. AT $19.99 a bottle, I will be buying more this week. A potential big hit for summer grilling.
Guardian Peak is a sub-division of the Englebrecht-Els Empire of Wine. It's not really an empire but I wanted to use the aliteration. On my 2008 visit to South Africa, I had a planned visit to Ernie Els, yup, the golfer, winery. He makes, at least his name is on the label, a wonderful Bordeaux style blend, that I enjoy and will write about in depth later. At the end of the visit and tasting, the marketing director told me to visit their smaller winery down the hill, Guardian Peak. He made the phone call and the staff there spoiled me. What I didn't know is that they had a fabulous patio restaurant that was just opening for lunch. (Always visit the best winery in the morning, while your palate is still sharp) I asked if I could have lunch there and SNAP straight out of Goodfellas movie scene, a table was whisked from some hidden alcove and was set up at the edge of the patio with the best view of the mountains. Oh yeah, everyone was looking at who the bigshot was, little did they know it was only me. SMG is a blend of the 3 most popular grapes in a French Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache. This SMG was and is complex in aroma and flavor from the use of these big grapes, with hints of smoke, dark fruit and peppery spice. At $24.99 a bottle it is half the price of Chateauneuf and just as good, if not better.
There actually was a third wine tonight, but its story will run too long for this blog. The Chocolate Block for tomorrow night then.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Pacifist and Delicious
For those of you old enough to remember DMZs in Vietnam and Korea, the De Morgenzon farm in South Africa has come out with two wines that are huge values. The labels, attractively made and with the letters DMZ in big BIG print are hard to miss. Both types retail for $14.99 a bottle.
The red is made from Syrah, labelled Shiraz, legal name, but the style of the wine is more French than Aussie. Linger over the glass as aromas of coriander, cinnamon, blueberry, vanilla, and back to more brown spices waft out of the glass in no particular order. The wine is not a heavyweight, but rather an elegant middleweight that will compliment the fall dinner palate perfectly. I had it with a braised lamb shank.
As fantastic as the red is the Chardonnay is even better. The use of ageing the wine in a blend of Alliers and Nevers oak barrels, the classic Burgundy style, the wine is a dead ringer for high quality Meursault but at only a third of the price. Fruit flavors and aromas in concert with balancing oak flavors can only remind you of classic French White Burgundy. Live on the East Coast? This is the wine for that special lobster dinner. I had it with an herbed pork dish.
The red is made from Syrah, labelled Shiraz, legal name, but the style of the wine is more French than Aussie. Linger over the glass as aromas of coriander, cinnamon, blueberry, vanilla, and back to more brown spices waft out of the glass in no particular order. The wine is not a heavyweight, but rather an elegant middleweight that will compliment the fall dinner palate perfectly. I had it with a braised lamb shank.
As fantastic as the red is the Chardonnay is even better. The use of ageing the wine in a blend of Alliers and Nevers oak barrels, the classic Burgundy style, the wine is a dead ringer for high quality Meursault but at only a third of the price. Fruit flavors and aromas in concert with balancing oak flavors can only remind you of classic French White Burgundy. Live on the East Coast? This is the wine for that special lobster dinner. I had it with an herbed pork dish.
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