Christmas Tasting

Vivat Bacchus
Monday 21 Dec

1. Graham Beck Brut NV
Western Cape, SA
Ripe apples. Not much in the way of yeast autolysis. Probably not spent much time on lees. A little sweet and oily, particularly on the finish. Fruit character is a little short, but not bad at all.

2. Knappstein Riesling 2008
Clare Valley, Australia
Petrol, lime and floral notes. Dry, with high acid. Green fruit. Crisp and refreshing until the end. I'd rather have a German/Austrian/Alsatian riesling any day though.

3. "Blanc de Mer" 2008, Bouchard Finlayson
Hermanus, SA
This has riesling, viognier and other stuff in it. It doesn't really work for me. The riesling dominates. The viognier doesn't really seem to add anything very good.

4. Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2008
Hermanus, SA
A very classy new world chardonnay. Apricot, melon, smoke, oak. This spends 9-months in 55% new oak barrels. Smooth and silky mouthfeel. Intense fruit on palate. Green apple on palate. Great length. Fantastic.

5. Bouchard Finlayson "Galpin Peak" Pinot Noir 2008
Walker Bay, SA
A good example of a New World Pinot Noir. Lots of red fruit - cherry, raspberry etc. Little dots of tannin. Green pepper on the palate. One of the bottles had some bret, which led to some complaints, but mine was very good. Would work well with a meaty stew.

6. Chianti Classico 2006, Isole e Olena
Tuscany, Italy
Tannin-tastic. Smells sweet. Ripe fruit (mostly red but some black). Sandpaper texture on the tongue. Mouth-puckering acid. If ever a wine needed food, this is it. It would probably still be a little unbalanced even with food though.

7. Veenwouden Classic 2005
Paarl, SA
American oak. Ripe black berries and leafy notes. The intense ripe black fruit is also there on the palate, but tomato also there too. High acid. High, drying tannin. Good.

8. Springfield "The Whole Berry" Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
South Africa
Incredibly intense palate. Ripe black berries on the nose and the palate. Very definitely a new world wine. Very drinkable in the tasting. I wonder what it's like to have a large amount of. I imagine that it could be hard to drink in large quantities. Like alcoholic ribena. Apparently this wine has undergone some carbonic maceration. Luckily it doesn't taste anything like a Beaujolais!

9. Kaapzicht Stetyler Pinotage 2006
Stellenbosch, SA
Slight rubbery smell present until the wine was swirled. Dry, leathery palate with tobacco leaf noticeable. Red berries and tomato. Rough, dry sandpaper texture from the tannin. "Dusty". Needs food but good.

10. Catherine Marshall "Myriad" 2004
Elgin, SA
This is a fortified wine. Not bad, but at the price you'd be much better with a Port since this is more expensive than a good ruby, but no better. Mind-numbingly acidic!