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.