national Arts Festival Banner

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

MICHAEL GREEN’S WINE NOTES #275



After many years of being regarded as a poor relation in the Cape wine industry rosé wines now seem to be gaining in popularity and in reputation.

 About 300 rosés are listed in the latest Platter wine guide. When our private wine tasting group met at my house recently, I offered five rosés, all from well-known cellars. They represented a variety of cultivars, and they were all listed as dry.

They were all graded three or three and a half stars in Platter. Prices ranged from R40 to R60.

These were the wines tasted, with brief descriptions (supplied to the tasters) from the Platter guide.   The tasting was, as usual, blind. The tasters were not told the order in which the wines were served.

-       Durbanville Hills Merlot Rosé 2013.  Strawberry-toned, juicily smooth and bone-dry.
-       Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2013. From Stellenbosch. Colour and scents of fresh strawberries.  Nearly dry.  Tangy, juicy flavours.
-       Jordan Chameleon Dry Rosé. Stellenbosch. Merlot and shiraz give a herbal touch to dry, fresh red berries. The name comes from the Cape dwarf chameleons in the gardens at the Jordan estate.
-       Goats do Roam Rosé 2013. Fairview, Paarl. Shiraz 45%, grenache 20%, mourvedre 19%, gamay noir 16%.  Attractive cherry notes on the nose give way to a mouthful of berry fruit.  Dry and delicious. The name is a reference to Cotes du Rhone - the wines from the Rhone Valley in eastern France.  And there are goats at Fairview.
-       L’Avenir Rosé de Pinotage 2013. Stellenbosch. Lots of eye appeal in twinkling pink, and a wealth of juicy raspberries, red currants. Strawberry and watermelon aromas. Perkily fresh and dry.

The scoring of the tasters averaged about 15 points out of 20, not as high as would be expected of high quality reds but quite good for this type of wine.

And one taster, Peter Hoyer, correctly identified all five rosés. – Michael Green