MICHAEL GREEN’S WINE NOTES #259

Warm weather persuaded me to present some cool white wines when our private tasting group met at my home recently.

I offered the tasters six different types of Cape white wines and I tried to find a good example of each. The tasting was, as usual, blind - the tasters were given the names and descriptions of the wines, but not the order in which they were poured - and in theory the task of identification should not have been too difficult. In fact, however, it is always quite difficult when you don’t see the label, and only one taster, Annette Hoyer, identified all six wines correctly.

In the scoring the marks awarded to the six wines were much the same, and the first place went by a fraction to a blended wine, the quaintly named Jordan Chameleon 2011 from a Stellenbosch cellar owned by a family who made their fortune from shoes.

This wine is a blend of sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, the grassy sauvignon balanced by the citrus features of the chardonnay. Creamy, with fig and lime flavours. Price: about R50.

The other wines tasted were:

Ken Forrester Reserve Chenin Blanc 2010, from the Helderberg area near Somerset West. Ken Forrester is a chenin specialist, and this wine is a fine example, with vanilla flavours, hints of honey, and what the Platter wine guide describes as “an ensemble of polished apricot tints”. R75.

Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 2011. The first, 1986, vintage of this wine won the award for the best white wine of that year. The 2011 vintage which we tasted had the typical gooseberry and green fig flavours and scents of sauvignon blanc, with a prominent mineral texture. R100.

Anura Chardonnay 2010. From Anura Vineyards, a family winery at Paarl. Bright and fruity, peach, apricot and pineapple flavours. R60.

Hartenberg Weisser Riesling 2008. From a distinguished estate at Stellenbosch. Just dry, spicy nose, delicate fruity flavour. R60.

Terra del Capo Pinot Grigio 2010. Made by Anthonij Rupert Wines, Franschhoek, from pinot grigio, a grape widely grown in Italy and in Alsace in the north of France. Fresh Granny Smith apple, light nut character, earthy, minerally hints. R55.

With one exception, the Pinot Grigio, the alcohol content of all these wines ranged from 13,5 percent to 14,5 percent. Gone are the days, it seems, when white wines were regarded as being lighter than reds. – Michael Green