Six high quality and very expensive South
African cabernet sauvignons were presented by the host, Alf Sudheim, when our
private wine tasting group met at his house recently.
I was unavoidably absent, but I received
reports from various delighted participants.
The wines were all rated four and four and
a half stars (out of five) in the Platter wine guide, and they ranged in price
from R89 a bottle to a forbidding R369. The tasting was, as usual, blind (the
tasters were given descriptions of the wines but did not know the order in
which they were poured), and the scoring was uniformly high.
I was happy to see that joint first place
was occupied by the least expensive wine, the Porcupine Ridge cabernet
sauvignon 2012, which sells at about R89. A vote for the workers, this was. Porcupine
Ridge wines come from the Boekenhoutskloof Winery at Franschhoek (the grapes
for its wide range of wines come from various parts of the western Cape), and
this cabernet is described as having rich concentrated flavours of
blackcurrant, with a touch of spice, ripe and full. The guide book comments: “Over-delivers at the price”. Exactly; what
we are all looking for.
Sharing joint first place at the tasting
was the Guardian Peak Lapa 2010, which sells at R259, almost three times the
price of the Porcupine Ridge. This wine from Stellenbosch is dark and elegant,
with fruit flavours and a long, savoury finish.
Close on their heels were the Graham Beck
The Game Reserve, ruby red with blackberry fruit and hints of dried herbs,
R159; and the Springfield Methode Ancienne 2006 juicy, elegant, with a long dry
finish. As the name Ancienne suggests, this wine is made in a traditional way,
with a minimum of interference from the winemaker. Prices of this Springfield
wine seem to range from about R250 to about R400, depending on where you buy
it. Alf Sudheim quoted a price of R369.
The other wines tasted were Thelema
cabernet sauvignon 2009 from Stellenbosch, complex, fruity with some herbal
character, R229; and Graham Beck The Coffeestone cabernet 2011, intense aromas,
concentrated fruit flavours, needs time to develop in the bottle, R219.
I noted with interest that three of these
excellent wines - the two Graham Becks and the Springfield ---come from the
Robertson area. Gone are the days when self-appointed experts used to look down
their noses at wines from Robertson. – Michael Green
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