South Africa

When Greg told me that this month's wine club would be tasting South African wines, I thought it sounded strange and exotic. After all, when I think of wine, I don't think of South Africa. So I did some research and found that in fact, wine is an important part of South Africa's economy and the country produces 3.1% of the world's wine. Most of the grapes are grown on the coast where the range of soil types and moderate climate allows for a variety of grapes to develop character and complexity. White wines make up 55% of those made in the region. Greg brought two of these, Westerland Unwooded Chardonnay and Westerland Celebration. He also brought Headbutt Vintners Reserve for our private tasting. Of the three, I liked Celebration the best because it was sweet and easy to drink. As a novice wine consumer, I do not think South African wine stands out from wines of other countries, but it's worth trying some for the experience.

-Melissa

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Westerland Celebration

This white blend is really, really light. It's got a nose sort of like pinot grigio, which is deceptive as the wine itself is relatively dry and might have spent some time in wood. Not too complex but not undrinkable, either.

Headbutt White

I can only think of one wine I have ever had that was lighter in taste than this (Oroyo is made specifically to pair with and not overpower the subtle flavors of sushi). If I'm looking for a complex white to dive into and meditate, this isn't it. If I'm looking for a wine I can drink three bottles of without getting dry-mouth or a sweet-wine tummy-ache. Yeah, not great.

Westerland Unwooded Chardonnay

I now realize that that funky flavor I always attributed to too much oak in bad chardonnay is actually just bad chardonnay. Thank you for helping me realize this, Westerland.

Headbutt Red

There is something seriously funky in there. The nose is dominated by the merlot - the fruity jam rises above anything else. Again, the nose is deceptive. The actual taste is filled out with cinsaut and pinotage, both of which are a tad funky.

Westerland Shiraz

Not as jammy as I'd expected. Much more subdued than, say, an Australian Shiraz. In the same price range as a decent shiraz, say, Rosemount's Hill of Gold Shiraz. If the price dropped a couple of bucks, I'm sure it would taste a lot better.

Westerland Pinotage

Pinotage is a uniquely South African blend of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, usually blended with Cabernet. It's fairly extracted and intense in flavor. But it really is funky. Pretty sure it's the funky in that funky Headbutt Red blend. Everyone should try this once or maybe twice. But that's it.

A Couple of Beers.

Boulevard Zon

I have always loved Boulevard Wheat. It's good; it's mellow; it's smooth. It's great with an orange. Then I tried imported German wheats. They blew my mind. Wheat seems sort of ... simple in comparison.

Zon is a much more flavorful contribution from Boulevard. This Belgian style white has a tiny bit of orange peel, and some of that underlying spice found in a German (or Belgian) wheat. Blue Moon is the only Belgian White Beer that I've had, and this is much more complex than that. Zon isn't perfect, though. It's got a sort of hollowed-out beer alcohol flavor under everything else, towards the end of my sip. But the spice in the finish comes in and covers it up again and then I smile.

A quick note; Leinie's Sunset Wheat

Tried this one a few weeks ago. This wheat beer also crosses beyond anything its company has done so far. So far, Leinenkugel's has come out with Honey Weiss and Berry Weiss (I haven't had their Oktoberfest), and neither has the complexities to live up to the expectations that other craft breweries have set. And this is really good! It's got the German wheat spice, only it also has the seemingly trademark bitterness that comes with all Leinenkugel's beer.

Sea Dog Bluepaw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale

A friend working the counter at another liquor store in my chain suggested this beer. I'm jealous of their massive amount of cold beer space. So he says "Try this one. It's our best seller. It's light like But Light but it's got this nose just like fresh blueberries! It's great!" And then he added a line that I always add, "Come back and let me know what you thought." It made me cringe.

Yes, this beer is sort of cool. It really smells like blueberries. Fresh, fresh blueberries. And it tastes like beer with a pretty healthy hint of blueberries. Fresh, fresh blueberries.

Blueberries!

And that's it. My friend was right about Bluepaw being as light as Bud Light. In fact there are no flavors that identify this beer as a "wheat ale." The blueberries are neat, but there's nothing else there. Boring assed beer. Where's the wheat? Where's the ale? My advice: try this beer. One bottle, mixed in a mix-and-match six pack with five Kronenbourgs. Or five Zons.

Scotch Scotch Scotch

We had a Scotch tasting at the store.

Chivas Regal 12 Year Old
Chivas Regal 18 Year Old
Abelour 10 Year Old Single Malt
The Glenlivet 15 Year French Oak Reserve
Isle of Jura Superstition Blend

The Glenlivet 21 Year Old Archive

The Superstition was by far the most unique; it's full of peat and smoky body. Of course the 21 was the smoothest of the bunch. Not a bad one in the whole bunch.

A night at Spezia, part 1 of 2 (hopefully)

Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée

Oh my goodness this sparkling wine is awesome. Seriously. Gloria Ferrer Carneros is my new target for what sparkling anything should taste like. It’s not bone dry – I’ve never seen the point in that – but it’s not syrupy sweet, either. A great balance of fruit and dry pull. The bubbles settle very quickly in the glass but explode on the palate. The really surprising thing about Gloria the Cuvée is that it will sell for less than sixty dollars. Yeah.

Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay

As often as I can, I pronounce my lack of faith in chardonnay. It’s either over-oaked and underdeveloped or overly fruity and equally simplistic. This is the exception. It’s got just enough oak to add that vanilla-spice intensity without covering up the supportive fruits underneath. And a really complex finish that lingers and makes you wonder what it is you’re tasting.

Monchhof "Slate" Riesling Spatlese

Not syrupy in the least, which is pleasant for something this sweet. Other than that, I was a lot less impressed with this spatlese than everyone else. It lacked complexity and was overpriced. And the bottle wasn’t attractive enough to sell. Nothing wrong with the wine, but it just didn’t capture me.

Sterling "Three Palms" Merlot

A decent merlot. Dry enough, but sort of thin for what I was expecting. Then again, it’s merlot. Not as much jam as I was hoping. Not terrible.

Chateau Meyney 1998

You’d think a ‘98 Bordeaux would be all ready to go, but this guy was just too fresh, partly given away by the still lingering ruby color and underripe fruit. The tannins had almost all aged off exposing greenish fruit that could use a little more time in the sun.

Fetish Wines "The Watcher"

This $20 Barossa shiraz can compete with the Two Hands Shiraz that sells from five to twenty-five dollars more. So juicy and intense – drink this if you ever get the chance. Shiraz is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Also, the haiku on the back of the bottle has one too many syllables in the last line.

More Wines

am - Sokol Blosser

Evolution

Meditrina

Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris

Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir

pm - Class 6 of 6 at NWS: Cab Day

Tables Creek Mourvedre

Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel

Clos Du Bois Dry Creek Zinfandel

Girard Napa Cabernet Franc

Ferrari-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon

Trinchero Founders Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

Trinchero Main Street Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Mentevina Zinfandel Port

A lot of these wines were really good. I don't really have any room for any of them, and I don't know how quickly they'd sell. But they're pretty darned good.

These wines kick ass. New stuff from Philip Shaw. You know, the guy who made Shiraz for Rosemount and ended up spreading the grape through America? So the publicity from Cumulus Wines goes. He did the Hill of Gold Shiraz. He did the Show Reserve Cab (I think?). And then he left Fosters/Beringer/Southcorp. He's got a new line of Aussies out and available in limited quantities. And we tried them.

Rolling Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon

For the price, the two Rolling wines are sort of a mass consumption wine. They're softer than I expected.

The semillon in this blend really cuts out the usual overly citrus bite in (cheaper) sauv blanc, which I find really cool. The nose was floral with a softness like pears or baked apple. My tasting notes say "lively palate." What that means to me is that there is an alcohol burn, but it takes place in the nose instead of the roof or back of the mouth. I think that's neat. Neat!

Rolling Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot

Again, this wine was a lot softer than I first expected. The merlot really cut down the tannins in the cab. The result isn't bad, really, it's just the softer wine you'd expect from Australia at about $10. There's fruit here. It's not bad but I had a tough time picking out specifics. The finish was pretty quick, too.

Climbing Chardonnay

Despite my bitchy criticism of excessive oaking and chardonnays in general, I can say that both the Climbing wines we tried really were a deal. We were asking $13 for both of these, and I really think they compare to pricier bottles from better-known labels.

I'm tired of chardonnay. 30% of the juice has seen something like six months in French Oak, so it's got just enough wood and vanilla to seem like chardonnay. I could smell it, and I could taste it. Honestly, it tasted like chardonnay. It was the only wine I poured out without finishing.

As an afterthought, I realize that I never have anything good to say about chards, ever. I guess it's part of my palate that I need to work on.

Climbing Shiraz

The shiraz has seen even more wood than the chard - 100% of it in French, actually. But the shiraz grape just isn't as delicate, and Shaw knows how to do shiraz. I get lots of jam, seemingly deeper and darker colors (?) on my tonuge. The fruit is heavy but not saggy. Right? I think this just almost compares with the Show Reserve, and is right there in price.

Philip Shaw No. 19 Sauvignon Blanc

The sauv blanc got the gold in my book. It's really fantastic. It's brisk and vibrant and doesn't bite too much. Citrus fruits, more than just grapefruit, with a sort of light green vegetal sense as well.

Philip Shaw No. 17 Merlot Blend

The blend here is pretty simple - 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Cabernet Franc. Take that, Claret producers! I can sense that this wine will be good someday, but is a disappointment now in 2006. The notes say it will last up to 15 years (and with a screw-ca...er...Stelvin Closure!). I don't know if it will really take that long to develop, but a few years sure wouldn't hurt it. The familiar cabernet tannins aren't too strong, leaving room for the thinner dryness from the cab franc and merlot. The fruit was nice and dark and rich, leaning more toward the plums and cherries of merlot but supported a little by something weightier.

Anyway, it was a nice night. Not a real disappointment in the bunch, and that's really all we can ask.

Freemark Abbey Napa Cabernet

Freemark Abbey Cabernet

Napa Valley, 2001

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Roommate and I both got new Riedel glasses. We're nerds. So to celebrate, I opened up that bottle of Concannon Petite Syrah that I'd been holding on to. Damn thing was corked. That's a shame, too, because it hurt me to pour that inky purple juice down the drain. And now the sink's stained.

So John says he'll just open a bottle of Freemark Abbey Cab instead. Okay.

Pretend this label says something about 2001.

This wine is really, really good. It's really what to expect in a cab; maybe a little softer and a little more jammy than you'd expect. Full nose of fruit; sipping was intense but followed with balanced light tannins. The finish lingered so long I woke up tasting the stuff.

It was totally ready to go - I told him not to hold onto his other bottle too much longer. He's also got a bottle of their Sycamore Cab. Note to self: be around when that gets opened.

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The other useful lesson of the night came in the comparison of the new crystal with the old little glass goblets we had been using before. There were noticeable differences in the taste of the wine in the two glasses. The little glass guys (which have been washed in the dishwasher) actually added a bitter overtone to the wine. Soap, probably? Anyway, we really think we're cool now.