The Grinder was a Laithwaites wine at one point, which had been around for a while although I can’t see it listed presently. This is the first time I’ve had the Blue Moose label. Aromas of black fruits, coffee and tobacco notes. It’s dry on the taste with sour cherry and a little chocolate hint which also comes through in the smell. Made for the Canadian and Scandinavian markets it retails at under EUR9 a bottle which makes this very acceptable.
The Grinder Blue Moose, Cab Sav and Shiraz 2017, South Africa
We opened a magnum of the 2010 Lady May at a rather late Christmas dinner for some old friends. A wine thats 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot, had 24 months in new French oak may not be quite right with turkey but I don’t think the turkey minded!
Aromas of black plum, chocolate and toffee. There’s additional flavours of blackcurrant and hints of red fruit and black pepper. It has good length and rather dry on the finish, sip don’t gulp. The big issue, if I was to buy this is at £30 per standard bottle was that its over priced. £15+ is more like it.
Aromas and flavours of citrus with tropical notes and no gooseberry notes. There’s minerality and freshness and this got a silver medal from the IWSC. It’s nice but I’m not sure it’s a Silver medal, then again at £5 a bottle this might be the wine if the year if you want an easy drinking white wine.
Yellowwood Mountain, reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa
We went to this winery in 2018 and got a case of mixed wines sent back, via the distributor in Luxembourg.
There are aromas of citrus but with oak undertones. There’s extra thickness on the texture with pineapple and lychee first coming through and hints of lime and lemon.
For unoaked Chardonnay you get oak notes, it’s not bad but unexpected.
Good Chardonnay and at approximately £12 a bottle fair value.
Idiom is a family run vineyard, they have modern wine making facilities and a great restaurant which has fantastic views of the surrounding area. The food in the restaurant is really good.
Their wine is good to flipping excellent. Unfortunately the flipping excellent stuff does cost. This Pinotage is about £40 a bottle and is flipping excellent. No really, its flipping excellent. So before I go through the tasting notes it should be noted that £40 a bottle can be justified if you break it down to about £10 a glass which is what you could easily pay in a restaurant for an OK wine, this is flipping excellent, so quite cheap. Also there are only 900 bottles produced.
There’s aromas of dark fruits, plum blackcurrant, cherry. There’s spice notes and a smoothness with medium tannins and dryness that are perfectly in balance.
Pinotage may not have a great reputation but this is, well, flipping excellent. Drink with red meat or on its own in front of the fire.
Idiom Pinotage 2015 900 series, Stellenbosch, South Africa
