20-21 August 2009 MACAU

2006 Quinta do Crasto; Riserva Old Vines (Douro, Portugal)
Deep dense dark full bodied wine, brooding layers of flavours but already delivering substance. Promising to reward the patient winophiles with access to cellars but If drinking now, please allow to breathe before approaching. Wine Spectator 92 points; "Aromas and flavors of kirsch, chocolate and dark plum are the hallmarks of this sumptuous Portuguese red. Very silky tannins and zesty acidity carry the long, sandalwood- and cherry-filled finish. Drink now through 2014". 2005 vintage landed 3rd spot on winespectators top 100 wines!! 2006 feels a bit more international in style.

2006 Sacred Hill; Whitecliff Merlot (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand) MOP110 (RM50)
Soft, medium to light bodied red wine. Made for early drinking and appearing past its best at a young 3 years old. Maybe some heat damage as well so did not show well.

OFF-DRY WHITE; NV (non-vintage) Casal Garcia; Vinho Verde Branco (Vinho Verde, Portugal) MOP59 (RM27)
Petulant (lightly sparkling/bubbly), fruity, pale yellow and delicious. Great foodwine or apertif at the price. Drink with sashimi, mussels, clams, lobster, linguini aglio olio or just to get happy. 10% alcohol with barely perceptible sweetness.

SPARKLING; NV Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin; Brut -orange label (Champagne, France) MOP418 (RM188)
Persistent fine and large mouse (bubbles). Pale yellow with notes of yeast, wafer biscuits and apples. IN my taste, a tad more refined but less colourful than Moet & Chandon's Brut Imperial

2006 Niepoort; Vertente (Douro, Portugal)
Dark and dense but already soft and accessible on the palate. Wine Spectator 93 points; "This has a seductively creamy aroma, with luscious flavors of raspberry, red licorice, dark plum and red cherry. Very fresh, lively and well-balanced, with a lip-smacking, spicy finish. Drink now through 2013"

19 August 2009

1995 Kanonkop Paul Sauer (Stellenbosch, S.Africa)
Balanced, youthful, full bodied and layered but somewhat lacking the complexity and minerality that would put it in the league of a great Bordeaux.

1994 (, Bordeaux, France)

18 August 2009

2007 Bellevue; Sauvignon Blanc (Stellenbosch, S.Africa)
Dominated by its bracing acidity which overpowered the more pleasant fruit notes. Definitely an off vintage for this usually mouthwatering wine.

1995 Calvet; Reserve (Bordeaux, France)
Dry, oak standing out, way passed its prime, used mostly for cooking but developed a hint of interesting secondary notes after an hour.

2003 Kanu; Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa)
Delicious vanillin notes from oak with nice smokey and plum notes both on nose and palate. Medium bodied wine. Lost some of the fruit intensity it showed in its youth which gave better balance with its oak derived nuances.

2000 Hartenberg; Shiraz (Stellenbosch, South Africa) approx.RM50, now more pricey!!
9 years old, my last of over a dozen bottles. Alas, the final bottle though I must say it was an incredible journey; experiencing this great wine over is useful life. Initially (2003-2005) robust and bursting with fruit whilst hinting a propensity to age. Then(2006/7) glorious in balance with delicious fruit and structure, assailing me with pleasure way above the price paid. Finally(2008/9) a mellow wine, weary, with subdued fruit, but a testimony to better times (nice words for "somewhat over the hill"). Still lovely texture with soft tannins. Some fine sediment at bottom. Truly a great find at that price.

2000 Slaley; Hunting Family Shiraz (Stellenbosch, South Africa) approx. R125 (RM60 -7 years ago)
Rewind approx. 7 years to a tasting at the Slaley cellar and a dark brooding wine, recalcitrant in nature and refusing to reveal its entirety. Like someone you meet and know has so much to offer but doesnt have the time to share. You buy, knowing its not the right time. So you wait, and wait till this person opens up and gives to you. The 3 previos bottles I opened of the 6 bottles I owned have been shy, making me wonder if this was money spent wisely. Finally this, the 4th bottle, has bared its soul to me. Dense, complex, long, layered; it slowly wound itself over my senses, rewarding the long and often questioned investment. Its sediment crusted on the bottom of the well stored bottle. A dear bottle shared with the dearest of persons, my father. Joy beyond compare!!

5-11 August 2009

TAWNY PORT; De Krans; Cape Tawny Port (South Africa)
Complex fruitcake and raisin notes pervade this delightful drop with firm acidity providing the backbone.

2005 Haute Cabriere; Pinot Noir (Franschhoek, South Africa) R122 (RM54)
Delightfully persistent pinot cherry palate accompanied by a hint of green notes that add a pleasingly savory dimension to this lovely, balanced pinot. Great value, good on its own or with food.

ROSE; 2008 Backsberg; Rose (South Africa) R36 (RM16)
Pleasant aromatics greet the nose but the palate, while good for easy drinking, is for me a bit too sweet, full bodied and lacking acidity to provide freshness. I say this knowing well that many others would find this wine delightful.

2004 Stellenzicht; Cellarmaster's Release Shiraz (South Africa) R100 (RM44)
Intense plum and cassis notes interwoven with delightful oak notes. Whilst it must be a high scoring wine, I found its appeal rather superficial.

DRY WHITE; 2007(or2008) Springfield; Wild Yeast Chardonnay (Robertson, South Africa) R104 (RM46) - NO PICTURE
A well made chardonnay with a delightful citrus and apricot nose thats leads into a wonderfuly balanced palate with good acidity and incredible length for this price bracket. Went very well with the seafood risotto I had at dinner.

3 August 2009

WHITE; 2008 La Motte; Sauvignon Blanc (Franschhoek {the spelling is correct, just dont ask me how to pronounce it}, South Africa) R55 (RM24)
Very pale straw (almost clear) with apple green hues. Passion fruit and grassy notes with a pleasant touch 0f herbaceousness follow through from nose to palate. Mild sweetness (residual sugar?) pronounced with absence of brisk acidity expected of a sauvignon blanc. Easy drinking and good value.

WHITE PORT; Boplaas; Cape White Port (Calitzdorp, South Africa) R49 (RM22)
Honeyed notes dominate this otherwise non-descript fortified wine. Balanced, simple and a decent aperitif.

1&2 August 2009 (South Africa)

2007 Bellevue Estate (Morkel); Malbec (Stellenbosch, South Africa) R78 (RM34)
Initialy showing oak notes and rather firm tannin. Dark stone fruit (black cherries, plum) slowly emerge from this tight wine. Whilst reluctance to open could be attributed to youth as well as temperature (was about 12 degrees C in Johannesburg at time of consumption; open air, at barbecue, locally referred to as a braai), this wine is less approachable than its predecessors.

RUBY PORT; Boplaas; Cape Ruby (Calitzdorp, South Africa) R49 (RM22)
17% alcohol not apparent on this reasonably complex, drinkable, fortified wine. Very easy to drink with great balance between firm tannins, fruit, sweetness and acidity from master S.A. port maker; Carel Nel (&team). There was barely a third left in this bottle and only 2 happy culprits to finger. Now loOks like less than a quarter left - all this writing makes me thirsty. Tasted great over next 2 evenings as tannins softened out beautifully and no oxidation evident. Beautiful pair to camembert cheese.

31 July 2009 (South Africa)

OFF-DRY WHITE; 2007 Zonnebloem; Viognier (South Africa) R40 (RM18)
Simple floral nose precedes easy drinking wine with good acidity and barely a hint of its residual sugar. Used a third to make a most wonderful mussel in white wine sauce but for some funny reason there was only a quarter left in the bottle when it came time to serve with dinner.

OFF-DRY WHITE; 2008 Vergelegen Vin de Florence (South Africa) R40 (RM18)
Medium bodied simple white wine made mainly from semillon, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc and muscat d'Alexandrie. Used in creamy sauce to make splendid crab dinner. Again noted discrepancy between amount used in sauce and balance in bottle when dinner was served. Fortunately this wasn't noticed as dirty fingers prevented significant wine drinking attempts during the meal.

24-27 July 2009

2001 Bellevue; Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM70?
One word: JUICY. Add wine metaphoria and you get; smokey plum and leather notes encase a plush cassis driven palate (both on nose and palate).

1999 Robert Mondavi; Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, California) Euro 30 (RM150)
Well structured and rich cassis with nice sprinkling of secondary notes. Drink now.

2001 Morgenhof: Estate (Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM150
My kinda wine. Elegant, structured, brilliantly layered, savory, complex, OK length.

2004 Chateau La Prade; Bordeaux Cotes de Francs (France) about RM80
I remember this wine having seen better days. Musnt ask too much of a Bordeaux at this price. Nicely balanced and structured but the fruit was tired. Confirmed when tasted same bottle next day. Drink yesterday.

2003 Darioush; Shiraz (Napa Valley, California) USD64 (RM355)
Woww! What a package. Plush, rich, layered, textured, long, intense, complex, juicy, tasty, restrained. Worth every cent. Pic of winery visited exactly 3 years ago.

22 July 2009

2004 Mulderbosch; Faithful Hound (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM?
All 5 bordeaux varietals but wine, whilst balanced is unimpressive.

2001 Santa Rita; Medalla Real (Maipo, Chile) RM?
Cooked (heat damage) with owerpowering oxidisation notes which reduces in intensity to allow the luscious cassis notes to peek out enough to make it drinkable, though I suspect we sold out our good taste for the alcohol content.

2003 Kanu; Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM?
Lovely vanilla and plum notes take front stage on this uncomplicated wine.

2005 De Trafford; Blueprint Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM140
Have no recollection of what this wine tasted like thanks to the effect of the first 3. Tasted next day and found an open, berry driven wine with reasonable complexity. Given that it lasted through to 2nd day with a quarter of the bottle left, I envisage this wine will keep well till 2012 at least (but why wait).

1995 Produttori del Barbaresco; Asili Barbaresco Riserva (Piedmonte, Italy) Not Commercially Available
Bottle 8830 out of 13,240 bottles produced. 14 years old and still going strong. Perfumed nose leades into a well structured, if somewhat beefy wine with fruit just starting to tire and tannins standing slightly prominent. Drank well 4 hours after opening. Well made.

1999 Parusso: Barolo Mariondino (Piedmonte, Italy) Not Commercially Available
Enticingly textured 10 year old. Mocha and stone fruit notes in a silky concoction, slowly gaining in intensity and complexity over the 5 hours it took to kill this bottle. Helped me understand why people always prefer aged barolos. The wine took to the parmesan and other cheeses like a labrador to water. Picture of me tasting wines at this vineyard.

19 July 2009

2005 Anne Gros; Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits (Burgundy, France) s$72 (RM180)
Initially dispalying good pinot cherry fruit on a nicely textured palate. Unfortunately the fruit fades off rather soon leaving a wine suitable only with red wine friendly food. Tasted next day with same conclusion.

17 July 2009

DRY WHITE: 2008 Ruffino; Orvieto Classico DOC (Italy) RM51
mmmmmmmmmmm, a white whine. mmmmmmmmmmm, not much more. Tad bitter ending

DRY WHITE: 2007 Ruffino; Borgo Conventi Pinot Grigio DOC Isonzo del Fruili (Italy) RM75
oaked pinot grigio (trying to make a chardonnay?). Tad bubble-gummy aromatic notes. Lacks "crispicity" that makes apinot grigio a pinot grigio

2004 Ruffino; Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva Ducale Oro (Tuscany, Italy) RM137
Perfumed on nose, juicy and pleasant on palate

2004 Ruffino; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG Lodola Nuova Riserva (Tuscany, Italy) RM149
Structured and balanced with a hint of spice. Rich yet elegant. Good, GOOD length. My kinda wine at this price.

14 July 2009

OFF-DRY WHITE; 2007 Houghtons; Late Picked Verdelho (Swan, Western Australia) RM70
Pleasantly sweet, simple fruit driven wine with delicate, balanced sweet and citrus flavours. Lady pleaser.

2006 Morande; Carmenere Reserva (Maipo Valley, Chile) RM75
Mocha notes dominate its berry scented nose. Attractive, but unfortunately does not indicate what you get on the palate which is somewhat tannic and lacking in fruit

2001 Isole e Olena; Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy) RM195
8 years old and peaked for drinking. Well structured with adequate fruit. A winner with food but should have been broached earlier if to be consumed without food.

2000 Rust en Vrede; Estate (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) not commercially available
Cabernet Sauvignon, shiraz & merlot in a bold and beautiful South African style. Powerful, but no overwhelming. Complex with good length and balance.

13 July 2009

95 Castelli Martinozzi Brunello di Montalcino (Italy -Tuscany) Not Commercially Available
14 years old!! Lovely secondary notes precede a well structured palate with still enough fruit to keep most of us happy. Kudos to the 80 year old wine maker.

2005 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Chateauneuf-du-Pape (France -Rhone) RM108 -half bottle
A beautifuuly textured wine with good complexity slowly revealing its fruit in the glass

SPARKLING WINE, ROSE: NV(non vintage) Marguet Champagne Grand Rose Brut (Champagne, France) R385 (RM169)
-fine and persistent mousse (bubbles) initially easily overflowing glass. sweet apple notes & other complex stuff on nose that follows into palate make this an outstanding champagne, easily enjoyed by all but wine snobs (a class of people who only drink expensive wines because they think they are better but usually cant tell the difference if their lives depended on it).
5 YUMMMYs.

2004 Danie de Wet Naissance Cabernet Sauvignon (Robertson, S.Africa) R70 (RM31)
-the chardonnay master making serious reds? had to taste this!!
-drinking juicily straight out of the glass, this wine quickly evolves into a deep and classy cabernet sauvignon, brooding its way through my palate. Good complexity with some layering of flavours. Decent length ,judiciuous use of oak. mmmmmmmmmm.......

2006 Laborie Merlot (S.Africa) R60 (RM26)
-a more astringent style of merlot, I'd probably drink this only with food.

4 July 2009

2004 Vriesenhof Euthopio (S.Africa) R65 (RM28.6)
-Interesting, aromatic banana essence component in nose. A medium bodied fruit driven wine, a definite crowd pleaser and with some complexity. Pinotage with some merlot, shiraz and cabernet franc.

2006 Raka Figurehead (S.Africa) R90 (RM40)
-Initially closed an short. Then some stink on the nose (brett.?). Then it blooms with fruit bursting forth with serious intensity and good length. Nice restraint on pinotage component. I liked the striptease. Drink slowly or keep 5 years. Blend comprising pinotage and all 5 bordeaux varietals.

2007 Reyneke ('raynecker') Cornerstone R87 (RM38)
-organic wine (no artificial fertilisers or pesticides except copper sulphate and usually lower sulfur content)
- plater(popular S.African wine handbook) 4star red blend comprising cabernet sauvignon, merlot & shiraz
-delightful expression of fruit (plum & cherries) from this richly textured, serious organic wine (many of the organic wines I have tasted to-date, tasted organic (for lack of a better usable word). Drink now or keep for up to 6 years. Good with food or on its own.

2003 De Toren Diversity Delta R40 (RM17.60 cough, ...cough ... stumbled on a good find here -must go buy remaining bottles)
-initial bottle stink of this 6 year old wine gave way to a well made red wine that went great with steak (yummm....). Good fruit, balanced, decent length -probably made from fruit harvested from young vines before they come of age and are used for the world class 'Fusion V". merlot 26%, cab.sauv.24%, cabernet franc 19% petit verdot 18% and malbec 13% alcohol 13.5% (if you have the time, and the mind, add them up and see if it makes 100%)

2006 Rhebokskloof Syrah (S.Africa, Paarl) around R130 (RM57 -this wine supplied by Du Toit Hoffman from the vineyard) -Initially restrained, this wine evolves in the glass to a long, almost intense, elegant wine with plum notes dominating and hints of vanilla masking the 14.5% alcohol content. Could have had more complexity or layering of flavours but a decent drop for the money and went well with the lamb cutlets we had at dinner.

2007 Raka Sangiovese (S.Africa -Klein Rivier) R70 (RM31) -lighter colored than most south african reds -tasting reveals firm yet balanced tannins (further maceration to extract colour would probably result in a wine too tannic) with restrained fruit slowly bursting forth. A match made in heaven for the eisbein (german roasted pork knuckle) I was having at lunch given its serious acidity (not an acidic wine). This platter (popular S.African wine handbook) 3star wine delivered more than it promised leaving this wine lover with a smile on his face and an almost empty bottle. 11 hrs later - fruit gone leading me to conclude that this is not one for more than 5 years in the cellar. Stellar food wine though.

21 - 23 June 2009

Sipping a Boplaas 2006 Cape Vintage Port and trying (hard) to recall the wines I enjoyed with Doc (best friend who also insists I use capital letters in my blog) in Rwanda between 21st and 23rd June.

nv Paolo Scavino Vino de Tavola Rosso (Piedmonte, Italy) R95 (RM41) -pleasant cherry fruit over somewhat dryish tannin. food friendly too but noted bottle variation -earlier bottled showed less fruit.

2006 (I think) Rijks (pronounced reeks) Pinotage (S.Africa) R143 (RM63) -somewhat lighter and less complex than previously tasted vintages but enjoyable all the same

2006 Raka shiraz (S.Africa) about R80 (RM35) -plush but simple

2005 (I think) Raka quinary (S.Africa) about R80 (RM35) -nice structure and complexity

2007 Rietvallei Estate Red Muscadel (S.Africa) R60 (RM26) -sweet fortified, lady friendly. chuck in some crushed ice for a great sundowner. From memory, somewhat lower in acidity compared to 2002 vintage but complaints should not to be entertained at that price.

2007 Spier Chenin Blanc (S.Africa) about R70 (RM31) -did not live up to expectation -an icon fallen from grace? -hopefully just a glitch in a single vintage -lacks depth with attempted cover up using oak (my opinion)

29.6.2009
2006 Boplaas Cape Vintage Port (S.Africa) about R70 (RM31) -well balanced but still youthful and shy, this Platter (popular S.African wine handbook) 5star fortified is a fine example of a S.African port (more subtle and less complex than the Portuguese, and one fifth the price). While I find the 2006 more elegant, I think I preferred the 2005 and 4 which I thought had more caracter. Retasted next day; drinking much better with expressive and long palate showing some layering of flavours as well as softer tannins.

19 June 2009

yesterday's wines:
06 Quoin Rock merlot, S.Africa -the plush fruit coupled with almost lavish use of oak masked the 15% alcohol of this great wine. R200 (RM88) at restaurant overlooking beautiful african bushland ..........................almost heaven
06 Boplaas shiraz, S.Africa. R60 (RM26). elegant, southern rhone-like, slowly revealing white pepper notes. great food wine at unbeatable price
06 Hamilton Russel pinot noir, Hemel-en-arde, S.Africa -oxidised notes probably from heat damage
06 Durbanville Hills merlot, Paarl, S.Africa great for price

In Johannesburg, South Africa. 2005 d. comte georges de vogue chambolle musigny (village) accompanied wild mushroom risotto and 2 great friends for lunch. Also present was a 2000 chateau de pibarnon from bandol. venue/restaurant -thomas maxwell.

dark and oppulent, the burgundy unleashed its heady wrath on us unsuspecting wine-buffs. The bandol was slower to open and took 2 hours in a decanter before revealing its entire breadth and complexity with lovely plum notes and structure typical for a mouverdre based wine.

Dinner was a 2005 domaine du pegau, cuvee reservee CdP with some lovely fillet steak. Lovely balance and complexity, slowly revealing its richness and white pepper nuances.