Delaire Graff, Chardonnay, Banghoek Reserve, 2021, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Rather good is this Chardonnay from Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch. Its a solid dry chardonnay with plenty of flavour’s. Balanced acidity shows off the components with citrus, lime, lemon, pear and melon all showing up. There’s a little creaminess/butter and subtle oak in the back ground.
The downside is the £30 price mark which is a little steep but is worth trying.
Haskell II, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, 2016, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2 big grapes from Stellenbosch mean this red from Haskell II was always going to big and ballsy. Dry, rich, smooth, very smooth with black cherry and plum, leather and spice sitting in the background. It’s only problem is the price at £23 a bottle. Knock the price in half and you have a excellent wine at a decent price.
Rustenberg, John X Merriman, 2020, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec snd left in the cask for 20 months makes this red blend from Rustenberg rather good. There’s plenty of red and black fruit flavours, spice, leather, oak notes with a slightly smokey under tone lifts this above the completion. At £14 a bottle it’s not cheap but it’s very nice.
I have a soft spot for Rustenberg as the wines are generally good quality I could prices and this pretty much follows through in this Chenin Blanc. Deep lemon in color and although it’s not meant to have been aged in any Oak you do get much more richness that you might expect, I think this is partly because it’s been left on its lees for maturing. It’s dry and crisp and lots of flavor of pear and citrus possibly a little strong for my liking that said it would go very well with white meat fish and Chinese food so from that aspect a thumbs up. At about £6 a bottle it is good value.
Rustenberg Estate, Chenin Blanc, 2018, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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
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
Made from Cabernet Franc this is a very good example of what can be done with the grape. With flavours of ripe strawberries candyfloss, red fruits and a creaminess. This has a crisp, dry finish and is lovely on its own or with fish and salad. At £12 a bottle it’s keenly priced.
Delaire Graff Cabernet Franc Rose from South Africa