In Britain, no longer is there a stark choice between the cheap stuff from the giant cooperative KWV and the good but expensive wines from the likes of Kanoncop. Indeed, the current choice of different labels and producers, mostly based on favourite varietals has never been greater. There are still a few disappointments, however, but after tasting many different brands, we offer some recommendations that we hope you will enjoy.
Those who doubt that good marketing has a role to play should take a look at the window displays in some of the Victoria Wine Cellars shops. Lost Horizons is a new blended brand marketed in very distinctive Bristol Blue bottles with the now trendy wide lipped top complete with matching blue wax over the cork. The spiel on the back label is sheer hype: "probably the most profound red wine in the world" - sack that copy writer! The wine inside comes from the Paarl region, and the white is a blend of Sauvignon and Chardonnay from the 1996 vintage. The Chardonnay has definitely added a touch of softness to the sharper Sauvignon fruit and the result is really quite a pleasantly different sensation. The red is a classic blend of 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with plenty of easy quaffing fruit that demands little from the palate. (Victoria Wines: Stg 4.79 white, Stg 4.49 Red.)
Rather subtler, but also quite alluring to the eye is the new Plaisir de Merle brand from Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery. The heartland of their estates goes back to 1687 with vines planted as early as 1764. It's this sense of history which makes South African growers baulk at being included in the category of New World producers, just because they happen to be located in the Southern Hemisphere. Majestic Wine Warehouses stock both the two premium whites. There's an elegant Sauvignon Blanc with good but restrained fruit, (no cat's pee, thankfully) selling just now for 7.79 until May 13th after which it goes up by one pound. The Chardonnay (7.99) has well defined but good quality oaky overtones and a nice buttery finish. Majestic also stocked the Cabernet Sauvignon, but I'm told that stocks are almost gone, but you can get it for 9.99 at Tesco, now Britain's leading supermarket chain and which has a very good range of South African wines. There's 5% merlot blended in, and the wine is aged in small French oak barrels. You will enjoy the very attractive blackcurrant fruit backed up by good structure.
It seems to me that Pinotage needs very careful handling. The best ones like the 1993s from Cape Levant and Kanonkop are exceptionally fruity and very hard to get hold of. Probably your only chance is if you fly first class with South African Airways! It was coutesy of SAA that I tasted the Simonsig 1994 which goes even deeper with a structure that demands longer aging. Mayor Sworder 020 8686 1155 have a limited allocation of the Kanonkop Estate 1995 for 12.21 a bottle. Majestic has a nice one from Meerendal Estate 1994 (5.79 until 13 May then 6.49) with a spicy almost shiraz style of nose and struck me as being very definitely a food wine, good with winter casseroles or summer barbecues. The Saxenburg Estate Pinotage 1995 from Berry Bothers & Rudd for Stg 7.75, showed quality as well as being juicy and forward.
Merlot seems to have taken over from Cabernet Sauvignon as the world's favourite red, both on its own and as the supporting partner in various blends with all and sundry including Pinotage. Tesco has a nice example of a 59% to 41% Cabernet/Merlot blend on the Oak Village label from the 1996 vintage for 4.99. Classic claret blends are producing some really impressive results. My favourite was Glen Carlou Le Trois 1994 - a classic claret style, a bit reminiscent of those top Californian contenders, with plenty of gamey flesh and and a subtle underpinning of structure that's there but not agressive. The wine is made by one of the fathers of South African winemaking, Walter Finlayson. You can get it at Berry Bothers & Rudd for Stg 10.50, and you can even order it over the internet!
Hugh Ryman is even popping up in South Africa these days and Safeway Supermarkets have his 1995 Jacana Cabernet/Merlot, Stg 7.99 from Devon Crest Farm in Stellenbosch. But there were no hints of dairy produce according to my tasting notes which praised the serious classic claret style and lovely balance of fruit and tannin. Don't overlook Tesco's excellent Jennsberg Cabernet/Merlot blend which also has an impressive pedigree. The 1995 vintage was the sixtieth and last of Sydney Back, another grand old man of SA wine who died last September. There's a lovely fleshy nose and a classy finish. I for one will raise my glass to one of the wine world's heroes, and at 4.99 a bottle it's a real bargain.
There's a lot of straight Merlot around, and I enjoyed the Jacana Merlot 1995 6.99 from Fuller's with its light but attractive fruit. If you could pay a little more you'd be rewarded with the lovely plummy fruit of the Saxenburg Merlot 1995 from Berry Brothers at Stg 8.35. Tesco's Diemersdal Merlot 1996 5.99, is also dark in colour with a fair weight of fruit, and I liked the Shiraz from the same stable at the price. Another Shiraz that grabbed my palate was another offering from the Saxenburg Estate, their 1995 private collection Shiraz was spicy, upfront New World stuff, and retails for Stg 9.65 also at Berry Brothers.
If you have tasted any of the wines mentioned in our reviews, please let us have your comments:
dine@dine-online.co.uk
Dine Online Copyright Clifton Media Associates 1997, All rights reserved.