Red fruits and green peppers show on the nose. On the palate, the small percentage of Pinotage shows in the mix, with green pepper and rubber cutting through red and black fruits. Tobacco and cranberry come through on the mid-palate. This is an interesting wine for somebody curious about South
What's your image of South African wine? Big-boned, smoky Pinotage, highly extracted Bordeaux blends, or super-ripe oaked Chenin and Chardonnay perhaps? These were the wine styles that put post-apartheid South Africa on the international wine map. You might be surprised if you tasted Jurgen Gouws's refreshing bottles. Visitors were scratching
Never one to mince words, W. Blake Gray visited South Africa this year and in this and a companion piece on his own site, explored the effect of wind on terroir and wondered how much progress has been made in South African wine post-apartheid. South Africa makes 4.2% of the world's wine.
South Africa makes 4.2% of the world's wine. But in the U.S., its wine world is a dark continent. You see some under-$10 South African wines, but I have never seen a South African wine over $30 in a California restaurant. I'm not sure I've seen one in a store,
This wine has an interesting blend of black and red fruits, with a touch of vanilla, on the nose. There isn't a hint of the dreaded Pinotage "burnt rubber" in this wine. It gets really interesting on the palate, throwing out layers of different flavors, one after another. It starts
“Rubber” has become synonymous with Pinotage, at least partly due to the power of suggestion. But you won’t find a hint of it here, even if you try. Aging in heavily toasted oak gives the wine an aromatic nose of-read more-
“Rubber” has become synonymous with Pinotage, at least partly due to the power of suggestion. But you won’t find a hint of it here, even if you try. Aging in heavily toasted oak gives the wine an aromatic nose of-read more-
An odd, almost clashing nose of smoky bacon and blackberries, but not a lot of fruit there. At first comes across light on the palate with flabby tannins. It almost yells at you, “not home, come back later.” And you-read more-