Tag Archives: South Africa

Marks & Spencer, Daniel’s Drift, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, 2018, South Africa

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South Africa produces a lot of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay and this Daniel’s Drift from Marks & Spencer is pretty typical. At £7 a bottle (£5 on offer) or part of the M&S meal deal this is an easy drinking white wine.

Its light in colour, fresh and crisp on the nose with smells of ripe melon, apple and hints of citrus. There’s more in the flavour with grass, gooseberry and more lemon coming through. It’s a dry wine table wine with goes well with a supermarket meal or on a summer afternoon sitting in the garden.

Decanter gave it a bronze medal at the 2019 awards with 87 points which on reflection and most of the bottle is spot on and great if you can get it at £5 a bottle.

Marks & Spencer, Daniel's Drift, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, 2018, South Africa

Marks & Spencer, Daniel’s Drift, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, 2018, South Africa

Rustenberg, Chenin Blanc 2018, Stellenbosch, South Africa

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South African Chenin Blanc has a decent reputation of being consistently good quality and good value. This is no exception.

This is the second vintage of Chenin Blanc produced by Rustenberg and they are doing things right. There are aromas of pear and pineapple with wood on the nose with follow through in the taste but are added to with lemon, lime and lychee. This is a crisp, dry white that at £10 a bottle is good on taste and value.

Rustenberg, Chenin Blanc 2018, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Rustenberg, Chenin Blanc 2018, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Klein Street, Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

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New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is easy to spot, loads of gooseberry and in your face.

French Sauvignon Blanc is more subtle and this is where this one from South Africa sits. There’s citrus notes with hints of gooseberry on the nose. When you taste it there’s flavours of green apple, citrus, floral hints and a crispness. The acidity is high and there is a cleanliness on the finish that makes this pretty good. The finish is a little short which is a shame.

I liked this wine and at about £7 a bottle its good value. For the summer this will be a great BBQ wine, open, pour and drink.

Klein Street, Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

Klein Street, Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa more

 

 

Grillhouse, Shiraz Pinotage 2017, Western Cape, South Africa

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From the minute you pour this wine and see the deep purple colour and then smell the black fruit, vanilla, spice and smokey notes you get the impression that this is an impressive wine.

Its a pretty rich tasting wine with loads of black fruits, blackcurrants, plum but also redcurrant. There spice and smoothness with a little dryness that compliments the whole package.

This is a very good wine and at £11 a bottle pretty decent value.

Grillhouse, Shiraz Pinotage 2017, Western Cape, South Africa

Grillhouse, Shiraz Pinotage 2017, Western Cape, South Africa

 

The Grinder Blue Moose, Cab Sav and Shiraz 2017, South Africa

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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

The Grinder Blue Moose, Cab Sav and Shiraz 2017, South Africa

Glenelly, Lady May 2010, South Africa

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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.

  • Glenelly, Lady May 2010, South Africa

    Glenelly, Lady May 2010, South Africa LP

Yellowwood Mountain, reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

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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

Yellowwood Mountain, reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

Hartenberg, unoaked Chardonnay, South Africa

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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.
Hartenberg, unoaked Chardonnay, South Africa

Hartenberg, unoaked Chardonnay, South Africa

Idiom Pinotage 2015 900 series, Stellenbosch, South Africa

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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

Idiom Pinotage 2015 900 series, Stellenbosch, South Africa