Beware: Neethlingshof

The farm on today's agenda is Neethlingshof. I must urge caution when tasting at this farm as I was offered 3 oxidised wines (that I picked up), so make sure that the person serving you knows about the wine, and it might be a better idea to go in the afternoon of a busier day (so that you have freshly opened bottles). I, on the other hand, went early on a Monday morning, so I had wines poured for me that were opened days before. Thank Bob I spotted them well before tasting them. The farm has quite a range of wines and a large tasting room that can support groups of people at the same time.

Although they are better-known for their red wines, they also have some interesting whites. The Sauv Blanc (R40) is great value for money - with strong grassy smells, as well as fig leaf, a hint of green pepper and a crisp granny smith apple tang on the palate. They also have an off-dry Gewurztraminer (R40) amongst the whites that they serve. This wine is more complex than the price tag suggests, with litchi, rose petals and a hint of exotic spices - very floral.

I started off the range of reds with the Merlot (R55) which is a merlot worth writing about - while the fruit wasn't particularly high quality, the use of oak was exactly what I enjoy in Merlot, with vanilla, mocha and a smooth chocolate aftertaste, although dark berries did come through, the fruit was smooth and simple. This wine is perfect for sharing with friends at a social evening. The Lord Neethling range is their premium wine range and consists of 5 wines. One of these was the Cab Franc (R95), which was incredibly smooth - possibly the smoothest Cab Franc ex-cellar that I've tasted so far. Incredibly complex with cedar, black berries, vanilla, mocha, caramel, chocolate and light red berries on the palate. The second was the Cab Sauv (R95) with a powerful black currant, black berry backbone and a hint of dried pine needles and a damp earth smell. They have a rather regal blend of Cab Sauv, Franc and Merlot called the Laurentius (R95) which is a bold, serious wine, begging for some bottle maturation. This wine has a pungent dark berry smell with black berry and mulberry coming to the front, and cedar, chocolate, mint and mocha. Open in 5-10 years on a special occassion, like a romantic dinner on your wedding anniversery - where you can spend hours in peaceful contemplative company.

The final wine was the award winning Noble Late Harvest (R85) made from Weisser Reisling. The attack on the nose was led by honey, with dried apricots, peaches, a hint of saltanas and a lingering taste of citrusy orange marmalade. Great level of sweetness and acidity - really well made and well-deserving of praise.

Over the next few weeks I'll be tasting various wines from different farms again, so I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully I'll have another stack of notes in good detail that I'll be able to share with you.

Cheers!
Val

Assualt on Asara

Hey,

Having visited Asara a few weeks earlier with friends, I decided to pop round to taste all the wines properly this time. I was also fortunate enough to taste the flagship Avalon red wine (a pinotage made in an italian style, which I'll mention later). I look forward to checking out their new tasting room and hotel that they've built up, especially since reading about it in this months Wine Mag.

Asara has quite a long list of wines, so I'll be a bit selective and write about a handful of the better value and quality wines here. The Sauv Blanc (R55) was quite complex with gooseberry, fig, an overpowering green pepperiness and a slight lemon, citrusy finish. The Chardonnay Reserve (R75) is wooded just the way I like, with heavy butterscotch, almond nuttiness, toast and oranges - surprising light on the palate for such an intense wine and incredibly smooth.

The Cab Sauv (R85) had a bit of that green-ness that people have come to associate with SA Cab's, but it was very well handled - coming out as a bit of fynbos or tobacco - almost a bit tannic, but with black currant and black berries for fruit, the typical cedar, and a lovely dark chocolate finish, it actually made the wine a little more full and complete - great stuff! The Bell Tower (R150) is their Bordeaux blend (Cab driven with all 5 varietals) and showed all the smoothness that I believe Bordeaux's have to offer. This wine is certainly worth sipping with your eyes closed while feeling the warmth of a fire and the crackle of the wood on a late winter night, and will leave you with a smile on your face - I'm tempted to explain the wine, but this is one time where I don't want to ruin the experience, so I suggest getting the wine and trying it out - there is just so much to find in it. The final red was the one I've already spoke about, so I'll go onto it's description, as many of us will not be drinking R450 bottles of wine on a daily basis. The Avalon had a meatiness to it, bordering on salami or leather, with dark, sweet, rich berries, with a hint of banana and coffee on the palate - another well balanced red.

I will also attest to the quality of the dessert wines here, having enjoyed all three of them for different reasons. The Noble Late Harvest (R100) is a perfect show of fruit with tinned peachs, dried apricots and honey playing on your palate. The Spirit of Chenin (R80) is a white port that will go exceptionally well with pancakes (strangely enough), with that smooth macadamian nuttiness, cinnamon, vanilla ice-cream and chocolate powder flavours - completely delicious and a great introduction for non-wine drinkers to make their hearts melt. The last wine is the Pineau (R80) which was the wine I bought in my last trip out to Asara - spicy, chocolaty and berry berry nice (",) A perfect summer sundowner sipper.

I'll be just down the road from Asara over the next 3 days as I complete my course at Jordan (which is another farm that's on my list) so I wish the best for your weekend, and I'll get back to you in the new week, if all goes well.

A toast to your health!
Val

Can you say... Clos Malverne?

Hey Everyone,

I had such a great time at the Good Food and Wine Festival, and it was a real shame that I didn't see as many wine farms as I would've liked. Those of you who weren't there really missed out, it was such a great event, with a huge range of things to try out.

The next farm I visited was Clos Malverne, which is an idealic, romantic little farm - perfect for taking a date to and sharing a bottle on a picnic table under the trees. The Sauvignon Blanc (R58) has won many awards over the years, and well-deservedly so, as this rather robust wine was filled with green pepper, granny smith apples and fig flavours - this wine is one of their better sellers.

In the reds, the Cab Sauv/Shiraz (R55) blend (a growing trend, I've noticed) was heavily dominated by the Shiraz on the nose, with a fatty, meaty and dark peppery attack on the nose, but a smooth sensation given by the black currant flavour - well balanced, delightful wine for a weekend braai. The Shiraz (R64) had subtle meat and raspberry smells, with red currant and white pepper on the palate - obviously intended for a more delicate meat dish, like a carved roast meat or turkey. The Pinotage (R54) was recommended to me before, and I could see why - excellent value for money, with mocha, caramel smells and black berries, black currant and raison tastes, this Pinotage aims to be a bit more complex and different than the average at under average prices - great fireplace wine while you lay indoors with the rain beating on your roof. I truly wished I had the chance to taste their reserve Pinotage, and at only R84 a bottle, I probably should've bought some. Oh well, must leave something for next time.

The final wine I had here was the Auret blend of Cab, Pinotage and Merlot (R110). I also missed out the chance to taste the Cab Sauv as it was sold out - although it certainly seems to be a wine worth ageing, so if you do manage to get your hands on a bottle, make sure it sits in your cellar for at least five years. As for the award winning, flagship Auret, it scraped in as a Cape Blend with only 30% Pinotage, but their Pinotage certainly makes a fine companion to the typical Cab/Merlot blend - it had a mocha, fynbos, coffee beans smell as well as some excellent fruit, like black currants, black berries and a slight exotic spiciness - cloves by my judgement.

I hope to see many of you at the Wacky Wine Weekend, which I'm hoping to attend (the schedule is very tight at the moment) and hopefully I'll have the chance to email before than - although with all the workshops and wines I'll be tasting over the next few weeks it might not be a very coherent email.

All the best,
Val.

Hi ho Sylvanvale! Away!

Hi,

It's been a good while since I've sat behind my PC and emailed, and it certainly has been long overdue. Today's farm is Sylvanvale. Although it doesn't have much of a tasting room, as most of it is now occupied by the Restaurant staff, it certainly has a wide range of brandies, ports, and other quality liquors available to buy by the glassful. I did manage to taste quite a few of their wines, but I'll try and be highly selective and stick with those I truly enjoyed.

With winter time well on it's way, it's great to know that the red wines really did well here. The first that stood out was the Pinotage Reserve 2002 (R55). Having been in the bottle for quite some time, this is a great value wine, with prominent leather, mulberry and stewed fruits, it also had notes of raisons and green banana - still a bit astringent, certainly a wine that deserves time in the bottle. The Cab Sauv (R65) was remarkably smooth and ready to drink even though the smell had me thinking it was going to be a serious, heavy Cab - with coffee, leather and a hint of cedar, it was the black currant, plum and raspberry flavours that dissolved so deliciously on the tongue - absolutely perfect for a delicate red meat dish. The Shiraz (R60) was fruit-driven with a delicate white pepper spiciness, it was all blueberries and raspberries and certainly had that jammy quality that gives a good wine some depth.

The final wine was the Family Reserve (R85) which, sadly, did not impress me as much as it should've. It reminded me of biltong, with its dried meat and coriander smell, but ultimately the Cab Sauv prevailed in the blend, with black currant, mocha, cedar, plum and prunes.

I hope to get a chance to write again soon, although next week is almost a complete write-off for me with all the workshops that I'll be attending. Time is really tight at the moment, but have faith, my passion for wine shall overcome all! Hey, at least you still got wads of my old notes to read through in the meantime.

Val