MICHAEL GREEN’S WINE NOTES #239

When several wines are all of good quality it is, I think, more difficult to identify them in a blind tasting, in which you are given descriptions of the wines but do not know the order in which they are being served. Quality seems to obscure the differences in various types of wine.

However, the members of our private tasting group made no mistake with one of the six red wines which I offered for tasting when they met at my house recently. This was a distinctly superior French wine from the oldest vineyard in Bordeaux, the only non-South African wine on the list. The local wines included some famous Cape names and they were greeted with enthusiasm and appreciation, but when I served wine number four there was a concerted shout of “Bordeaux”, and of course they were right.

This wine was Chateau Pape Clement of 1996, from a vineyard in Bordeaux dating back to 1300. The first owner was Bernard de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux, who became Pope Clement V, hence the name of the wine. After a period of neglect caused by the expansion of the suburbs of the city of Bordeaux and by World War 2, the estate was revitalised in 1949, and it is now regarded as one of the most important vineyards in Bordeaux. The vineyard covers 32 hectares.

The wine in our tasting was two-thirds cabernet sauvignon, one-third merlot. It had worn very well in the 14 years since it was made. Its main features were aromas of apples and apricots, with ripe, concentrated fruit on the palate and a long apple and lemon finish. Alcohol content was 13 percent, quite high for a French wine.

I couldn’t give a price paid for this particular bottle when I acquired it several years ago, but the 2002 vintage of the Chateau Pape Clement is listed by Harrods of London at £150 a bottle, about R1,650, so it is an expensive luxury. In our blind tasting the 1996 vintage achieved the highest average score (from eight tasters) that any of us could remember: 19 points out of 20. And we have been meeting for about 30 years for the gruelling task of tasting wines.

The other wines all scored well, too, and there was very little difference in the points given to them. Second place was occupied jointly by Meerlust Rubicon 2004 and Post House Penny Black 2006. Meerlust Rubicon is perhaps South Africa’s most famous red wine. It comes from a farm at Stellenbosch that has been owned by the Myburgh family since 1757.

Rubicon has been made since 1984. This 2004 vintage is 63 percent cabernet sauvignon, 27 percent merlot and 12 percent cabernet franc (the classic Bordeaux blend). The wine has a deep ruby colour, a bouquet of plum and black cherry, and an intense dark, fruity palate. It is 14 percent alcohol and it is awarded four a half stars (out of five) in the Platter’s Wine Guide. Its price is about R250 a bottle.

The Post House Penny Black is a relative newcomer. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz and petit verdot. It is a dark, inky black colour and it has a bouquet of blackcurrant, chocolate and pepper, and a fruity, lingering finish. It is 15 percent alcohol. It comes from a farm, Post House, between Somerset and Stellenbosch. The homestead used to be a post office for a nearby missionary community, hence the name of the farm and of this wine (named after the first stamp ever printed). Price: R120.

The other wines tasted were:

Barista Pinotage 2009, from the Val de Vie cellar at Paarl. This is marketed as a “coffee pinotage”, barista being the Italian term for an expert blender of coffee. There are indeed coffee and chocolate aromas, with hints of mulberry, plum, and maraschino cherries. Price: R55.

Zonnebloem Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, a celebrated name in South Africa for 70 years. Zonnebloem cabernet was chosen for the wine list of the royal train when the British royal family visited South Africa in 1947. This wine, from Stellenbosch, had features of raspberry, scrub, tobacco and a touch of tannin. R60.

Jean Taillefert 2001, named after the first (1691) owner of the Laborie farm at Paarl. The wine, which is made by the Laborie cellar, is 100 percent shiraz. The tasters’ comments included: chocolate, black cherry, fruity, hints of cinnamon and pepper, long aftertaste. About R200.

An extravagant tasting, but we don’t hold them very often. – Michael Green