South African Wine Tasting at Wine Watch Wine Bar

 

"When the singing's really fine, sweet as Spanish sherry wine...
They leave kisses in the wine, I found one inside of mine...
When the rhythm's really fine, rare and sweet as vintage wine"

France by the Grateful Dead

 

 

This will be the first walk around tasting at the new Wine Watch Wine Bar!!  We test drove the space last night for the Schrader event and everyone seemed to love the new venue even though there are no bottles in the wine bins yet.  We will have some bottles on the wall for this event and we will have a lot of bottle open as we unveil the Wine Watch Wine bar with the best from the last Wine Watch wine country vacation.

 

One of the most exciting places in the world of fine wine today is South Africa. There are more and more great wines from South Africa making it to our shores from this outstanding wine producing nation. There have been several producers from Bordeaux and Burgundy that have invested in property here which is a sign that there is tremendous potential here.

We kind of forgot about South Africa as for many years the best wines were not brought to the U.S. and today there is just so much great wine out there it’s hard to get around to everything.  Well, we have put South Africa back on our radar and will be showing you some new and exciting stuff from our recent trip to South Africa including the De Toren Black Lion, which is a limited production (4 Barrels of the 2014!) iconic wine that pushed the boundaries of what is possible for quality in this new old world wine producing nation.

Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be making a few small courses to accompany the tasting wines. The fee for this event is $45 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

 

 

 

South African Wine Tasting at Wine Watch Wine Bar
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
7:30 PM

 

 

 

NV Graham Beck Brut South Africa
Price: $16.50    Your Price: $14.52

(90 points) " Choose wisely and you could be happier--and better off--with sparkling wines than Champagnes on offer in the run-up to Christmas.Graham Beck Brut NV. This is classic stuff with bready, autolytic aromas, a fine mousse and distinctly savoury flavour...if you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to big-name Champagne, this is it. " Decanter

 

Graham Beck Rose Brut Sparkling South Africa NV
Price: $16.75    Your Price: $14.74

Pale silver-pink. Aromas of raspberries, cherries and a few secondary whiffs of minerality. A lively mousse but fine in the mouth, with subtle red berry flavors enlivened by bright acids. Brisk on the palate, showing hints of oyster shell and fresh lavender. Flirtatious and fun, yet elegant and structured, it's perfect for all seasons and settings.

 

 

2015 Graham Beck Chenin Blanc Game Reserve South Africa
Price: $15.00    Your Price: $13.20

Delightful aromas of sweet juicy melon, pear drop and fragrant grapefruit. On the palate expect rich rewarding flavors of ripe tropical fruit and luscious citrus. Aromatic, fruity and well rounded – an elegant wine with a soft silky texture and vibrant, fresh finish.

 

 

2013 Delaire Graff Chenin Blanc South Africa
Price: $19.75    Your Price: $17.38
Quantity in Stock: 8

Light golden wheat color. Layered expressions of citrus and tropical fruit with subtle layers of honey and almonds in the background. Balanced and superbly structured, the flavours are complimented by a delicate minerality.

 

 

NV De Toren Delicate Red South Africa
Price: $24.00    Your Price: $21.12
Quantity in Stock: 10

Redolent of roses and ripe-for-the-picking strawberries, De Toren Délicate is an elegant red blend that combines red’s seductiveness with the undeniable drinkability of white. Medium bodied and immeasurably gentle, it offers up an abundance of juicy fruit and velvety, smooth tannins that lead to a sophisticated finish. Delicious on its own as an apéritif, it’s also the perfect consort to the lingering pleasures of Spanish tapas or a platter of the finest French charcuterie.

 

 

2014 De Toren Fusion V Stellenbosch
Price: $50.00    Your Price: $44.00
Quantity in Stock: 11

This wine is a blend of five Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec. A good amount of dark currant and red cherry fruit on the nose with a very bordeaux like quality to this wine fine herbs, coffee and a nice touch of toasty oaks spice. Finish 45+ Excellent +

 

 

2013 De Toren Z Red Blend South Africa
Price: $40.00    Your Price: $35.20
Quantity in Stock: 12

This soft, approachable ruby-hued beauty is a true testament to vines lovingly reared and winemaking raised to an art form. A Right Bank-style Bordeaux blend, De Toren Z comprises a symphonic blend of five Bordeaux varietals. You’ll find it tantalizingly soft on the tongue, with a hint of aniseed, liquorice, raspberry and cranberries lending a fresh acidity to its polished finish… plus, of course, all the finesse that makes Bordeaux-style wines so prized among the world’s most enthusiast

 

 

2014 De Toren Shiraz Black Lion South Africa
Price: $295.00    Your Price: $250.75
Quantity in Stock: 4

This is truly an international wine. With the company, expression UNIQUE Sarl. registered in Luxembourg, this wine has been positioned to stand proud amongst its peers internationally.

No more than 1 200 individually numbered bottles produced each vintage. Maiden Vintage 2012, 608 bottles produced.

 

 

2014 De Toren Book XVII Red Blend South Africa
Price: $295.00    Your Price: $250.75
Quantity in Stock: 2

BOOK XVII has an opulent crème de-cassis, fruitcake and fig scented bouquet with a palate that is ostentatious. However, this full-bodied turbo-charged wine is so silky smooth and seductive in a way that its charms are impossible to resist. Recently voted as the Best Luxury Wine in South Africa, blind by panels consisting of 60 tasters in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

 

 

2014 Kanonkop Pinotage South Africa Stellenbosch
Price: $40.75    Your Price: $35.86
Quantity in Stock: 11

Hardly a note of that burnt rubber here with a good amount of dark berry fruit, molasses from 60-year old vines with a note of banana on the nose along with some smoke. Not bad for a Pinotage with a solid core of dark berry fruit and notes of burnt rubber and banana on the finish. Very Good

 

 

2010 Meerlust Pinot Noir Stellenbosch
Price: $30.50    Your Price: $25.93
Quantity in Stock: 18

Meerlust Estate has been the pride of the Myburgh family since 1756. Today, the traditional dedication to the art of winemaking continues under the guidance of Hannes Myburgh, eighth generation custodian of this seventeenth-century national monument. This is a very old world style Pinot Noir with fresh earth, dried flowers and light smoky note to the cranberry and strawberry like fruit. A zesty wine on the tongue with a good hand of spice and that dried floral note through the finish. Finish 35+ Very Good +

 

 

2010 Meerlust Rubicon Stellenbosch
Price: $32.75    Your Price: $28.82
Quantity in Stock: 18

The 2010 Rubicon is a classic vintage of this iconic Cape wine. Very deep, youthful colour, and intense almost purple hue. Very classic Rubicon nose with violets, ripe plum, cedar wood and intense spiciness. A typical liquorice note also evident on the nose. Still young and intense, promising further maturation potential. The palate is full bodied, structured but packed with fresh dark fruit and rounded, linear tannins.

 

 

2013 MR DE COMPOSTELLA Stellenbosch, Bordeaux Style Red Blend
Price: $82.50    Your Price: $70.13
Quantity in Stock: 2

A joint venture between Mzokhona Mvemve and Bruwer Raats, this is the most consistently highly rated red blend in South Africa

 

 

2013 Paul Clover Pinot Noir South Africa
Price: $20.00    Your Price: $
Quantity in Stock: 11

 

A bit of earthy funk to the nose with wild strawberry fruit and exotic spices on the nose . Smooth and silky on the tongue with bright fresh acidity and that earthy nuance from the nose through the finish, nicely balanced. Finish 40+ Very Good +

 

 

2015 Rustenberg Sauvignon Blanc Stellenbosch
Price: $15.75    Your Price: $13.86
Quantity in Stock: 9

The Rustenberg Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc is grown at some of the highest altitudes that vineyards are grown at in the  Stellenbosch region; just over 550m above  sea level, right against the  Simonsberg Mountain. The  cooling effect of altitude and the oceanic breeze blowing off False Bay and Table Bay which are both within line of sight of the vineyards, combined with the vineyards being planted on West facing slopes make this ideal for the production of a full flavoured, more tropical styled Sauvignon Blanc. Made without the influence of oak the wines are aged on their lees for further palate weight and complexity to balance out the wines' natural acidity.

VINTAGE:  The cold wet Winter of 2014 started early and ended late, which is ideal for the vineyards' dormancy; however an unseasonably  cool  Spring  resulted  in  the  vines  going  into  Summer  with  10  to  40%  less  crop  than  usual.  The remainder  of  the  season  was  warm  and  dry  resulting  in  one  of  the  earliest  harvests  on  record.  Zero  disease pressure and small crops of fantastic ripe fruit combined with high natural acids make this potentially the vintage of the decade.

 

 

2011 Sadie Family Palladius White South Africa
Price: $108.00    Your Price: $
Quantity in Stock: 1

A blend of; 33% Chenin Blanc,16% Roussanne,11% Grenache Blanc, 11% Semillon Blanc & Semillion Gris,11% Palomino,6% Viognier,6% Clairette Blanche and 6% Verdellho.

The 2011 Palladius is the first expression of our new interpretation of vinification of the Palladius vineyards. The new Palladius is the result of 24 months of ageing as opposed to the more traditional 16 – 18 months. It was found that the very special sites and fruit were quite up to a complete 24 month ageing prior to bottling.

The additional 6 months of ageing just meant higher levels of stability and clarity without the sacrifice of any of the other qualities and the character of the wine. The 2011 Palladius is the most complex, tightly packed and composed version and will be a great journey for anyone to savour. It was our smallest production in years and we also delayed the release for one year as we felt the new way of ageing was the right direction for this vintage and for future releases.

In the cellar the grapes are pressed in an old basket press and thejuice run off directly to barrel without settling. Some of the Chenin and Viognier are fermented for up to four days on the skins prior to pressing. Aging : French oak vats 600 – 1800 litre as well as 600 litre concrete eggs.

The ageing takes place for 24 months on the lees.

 

 

2013 Sadie Family Columella South Africa
Price: $135.00    Your Price: $108.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

The 2013 Columella is matured for ten months in cask with 10% new oak, and then another ten months in foudres; Eben believes this slows down the maturation. It has a very complex bouquet, mercurial on the nose, and bestowed with wild strawberry and cranberry scents, incense and a hint of marmalade that is beautifully detailed. The palate is medium-bodied, extremely refined and mineral-laden, symmetrical and standing on tip-toes on the finish -- something that this label could not do when Eben started. It is compact at the moment, but it will turn into an astonishing Swartland wine.

 

2009 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine 500ml
Price: $80.00    Your Price: $70.40

(94 Points)  The 2009 Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine had been in bottle around six weeks when I tasted it at the estate. It was harvested over three months from 25 separate batches, each bunch selected by hand and raised for six months to one year in 500-liter barrels. Matthew told me that he is looking for less time in barrel and more time in bottle before release. Then again, the 2003 is still in barrel! This is the first vintage Matthew Day has been involved with from start to finish and he sees it as a cross between the 2007 and 2008. It has an intense marmalade, dried apricot, beeswax and honeycomb scents, your quintessential Vin de Constance nose, and it seems to muster more vigor with aeration. The palate is well-balanced with a spicy tincture on the entry, slightly oxidative, with nutty notes infusing the thickly layered honeyed fruit with touches of papaya and mango toward the finish with touches of rosewater and gripe water (a children's medicine for anyone without the privilege) on the aftertaste. Another superb Vin de Constance from Matthew Day.  eRobertParker.com #215, Oct 2014

 

 

Menu

Beef Stroganoff meatballs

Duck breast tacos with fesenjun sauce

salt and pepper crispy calamari with chili-pineapple sauce

shrimp & vegetable rice paper rolls with peanut sauce

Curried Sweet potato and Vidalia Onion Samosa

 

 

A bit about the history of South Africa:

 

The early history of South African wine can be traced to the founding of a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company. Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the station and planting vineyards to produce wine and grapes in the Wijnberg (Wine mountain Area); that could be used to ward off scurvy for sailors continuing on their voyages along the spice route. In 1685, another Cape Governor, Simon van der Stel, purchased a large 1,850 acre (750 hectare) estate, founding what later became the world-renowned Constantia wine estate.  In the 19th century, South Africa fell under British rule which proved lucrative for the wine industry as South African wine flowed into the British market. This prosperity lasted until the 1860s when the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty signed by the Palmerston government and France reduced the preferential tariffs that benefited South African wine in favor of French wine exports.

Following the devastation from the phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century, many vineyards were replanted with high yielding grape varieties such as Cinsaut. By the early 1900s there was a large glut of wine, creating a wine lake effect which led some producers to pour their unsaleable wine into local rivers and streams. The depressed prices caused by this out-of-balance supply and demand dynamic prompted the South African government to fund the formation of the Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (KWV) in 1918. Initially started as a co-operative, the KWV soon grew in power and prominence, setting policies and prices for the entire South African wine industry. To deal with the wine glut the KWV restricted yields and set minimum prices, encouraging the production of brandy and fortified wines.

For much of the 20th century, the wine industry of South Africa received very little attention on the worldwide stage. Its isolation was further deepened by boycotts of South African products in protest at the country's system of Apartheid. It wasn't until the late 1980s and 1990s when Apartheid was ended and the world's export market opened up that South African wines began to experience a renaissance. With a steep learning curve, many producers in South Africa quickly adopted new viticultural and winemaking technologies. The presence of flying winemakers from abroad brought international influences and focus on well known varieties such as Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The reorganization of the powerful KWV co-operative into a private business further sparked innovation and improvement in quality. Vineyard owners had previously relied on KWV's price-fixing structure, that bought their excess grapes for distillation. Now they had to shift their focus to quality wine production in order to compete. In 1990, less than 30% of all the grapes harvested were used for wine aimed at the consumer market, with the remaining 70% being discarded, distilled into brandy or sold as table grapes and juice. By 2003 these proportions had reversed, with more than 70% of the grapes harvested that year reaching the consumer market as wine.

 

The Best Winery in South Africa?

 

The winery that impressed me the most on my recent trip to South Africa was De Toren in Stellenbosch.  De Toren is Dutch for tower and they started very recently with the 1999 vintage.  Hard to believe this this late start that they were the ones that pioneered 5 varietals Bordeaux blend and both the owner Emil Den Dulk and the managing director of the property were both on hand to greet our group at the winery when we visited showing they were eager to show us the progress that they and their country have made in the world of fine wine over the last two decades.

 

The existing vineyards they purchased had Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc planted there and they pulled these up in 1998 and replanted to Bordeaux varietals.  They were the first to make a wine with all five Bordeaux varietals.  All of the fruit for De Toren wines are from their estate vineyards in Stellenbosch but they do buy a little Shiraz from Swartland for the Black Lion.  The Atlantic Ocean gives a moderate temperature which helps to get the grapes perfect phenolic ripeness.  They are 14 kilometers from Atlantic with southern facing vines, these are the coolest 45 acres of vines in Stellenbosch. They make 10,000 cases total of the two wines. 

They use technology to make better wines by managing the vineyards meticulously all the grapes are picked by hand, sustainably farmed.  They are moving towards organic.  Airal imagery gives them the level of ripeness that they have and they pick block by block based on the images produced from a plane.  The Thermal image gives you a separation of ripeness and some are based on the soil types which uses the available nutrients in the soils.

 

The winemaker is the first one to see the bunches of grapes going on to the sorting table so he is the first line of defense to ensure that only the best grape clusters even make it to the sorting table.

Then there are a dozen other people that search for imperfect berries, leaves and other debris among the clusters so only perfect grapes go to the crush room.

This is one of the buckets that they are discarding leaves berries and other debris that would normally make it to the fermentation tanks.

They finish picking by 9am and they keep the grapes in a fridge until they are ready for Cold soaking. 
Referring to all wines are made by gravity which preserves the wines freshness.   They use a basket press after leaving the wines on the skins for a while.  The basket press allows you to get a more precise level of extraction.

Everything is done by gravity in the winery and Albie Koch, Managing Director explained how important it is to ensure that the grapes going into the De Toren wines are in the best possible shape when they are processed at the winery. 

 

They age the wines in barrel for a year, 225 liter barrels 90/10 French and American oak.  They blend after the wines have aged in the cellar after tasting the barrels numerous times weeding out the ones that don't make the cut.  They start with 15-20 different blends, tasting panel of 15 people not the same every vintage they must understand Bordeaux varietals not Pinotage and Zinfandel experts.  They always have a few consumers on the panel as they will be drinking the wines fusion 5 always a Cabernet Sauvignon predominant blend and the z is always a merlot predominant blend.  16 bunches per vine

Black lion and Book a separate wine and the concept of lowering the yields to 5-6 bunches per vine.  1200 bottles of each book 7 and black lion.  Only one layer of grapes brought in at a time not to bruise them every berry is inspected and they make 4 barrels of each the Shiraz and a Bordeaux blend.  At 2500 Rand they are the most expensive wines made in South Africa and we think that this qualifies De Toren as one of the world’s leading producers now with two iconic wines that can be cellared for decades and will be sought after by collectors around the world.  They use the results of the experiments with these two new wines to make changes to the two main wines.  Due to the demand for these wines around the world they export around 50% of their wines.

 

De Toren Delicate

This is a light style red that is made from the Malbec juice that gets drained off and Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon juice that is a year old blended into the lighter Malbec juice.  Light red berry fruit hints of spice and fresh earth.  A very smooth and easy drinking style of red this is the 6th vintage. 

 

De Toren Z 2014

Cigar box spice, fresh earth and dark cherry and currant very smooth and easy drinking a plush smooth texture with good freshness on the finish, a young wine that needs time but has all the right stuff in proportion.  Finish 45+  Excellent +

 

De Toren Fusion 5 2014

A robust nose of dark currant berry fruit sweet tobacco spice and mocha notes coming out, nice complexity.  A dense and rich wine with a long-layered finish. Finish 45+. Most excellent

 

De Toren Book 17 2012

In 2010 De Toren produced their first limited release under the expression UNIQUE banner and the label BOOK XVII. The name is based on the writings of the Roman Philosopher, Pliny the Elder. In his book 17, chapter 35, he touches on why wines from certain areas are exceptional, and it was these principles that led De Toren to this wine. BOOK XVII is represented by expression Unique, a new global collection of boutique icon wines

Wow an amazing bouquet with dark currant and cassis berry fruit layers of toasty oak spice, dark chocolate with ripe round tannin the first vintage was 2010, mocha and more very complex with layers of spice, earth and a ton of fruit lots of everything long layered finish.  This wine is still in its primary phase of development but everything is in proportion and there is a firm hand of acidity holding things in place.  Finish 50+. Most Excellent +

 

2014 De Torren Black Lion           

The grapes for this wine come from the Swartland region and these are the only ones that are purchases but they farm the vineyard to their specific low yields and they manage the vines to get the most concentration and complexity from this outstanding vineyard site.  Deep and concentrated bouquet of aromas on the nose with black cherry liqueur like fruit, toasty oak, espresso, dark spice, cedar and cigar box spice coming out as this wine opens. This wine needs time to develop but was the best overall wine in terms of quality and aging potential that I had on my trip.  Finish 50+  KILLER