WineX Cape Town - Night One Review
September 11, 2008
WineX Cape town happened last night and I dedicated my entire evening tasting to white wines - a feat I somehow managed to pull off.
Tonight, like a spartan, I’m going back for the red wines.
I tasted some great wines last night and it is evident that South Africa’s white blends (from all regions) as well as the Sauvignon Blanc coming out of the Constantia vallley are world beaters.
Generally at these big shows, I try and find one wine that beats them all - last night this proved difficult because there were many contenders.
In the end though the Steenberg Magna Carte 2007 won my vote:
Beautifully balanced, gentle acidity, dense flavours, lingering finish.
The shows itself was a little boring and I noticed that there weren’t as many producers on display as there usually are - an ominant sign for the organisers indeed.
There were some welcomed lighter moments at the show though:
Under the Influence’s stand went from this:
To:
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but the show desperately needs some inspiration.
Posted in Events
September 12th, 2008 at 10:58 am
despite the wacky marketing antics, i thought it was a great show.
a highlight for me was bruwer raats’ latest chenin blanc — class act.
what else? i found idiom’s merlot most-tasty. from a marketing point of view, i think bruce jack’s indy riesling effort is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
great to see him as part of pfützner’s just riesling venture. i hear there’s a sommelier school in the works too. =)
September 15th, 2008 at 8:41 am
It would be great to hear your thoughts on SA’s top white blends. I think this is a category in which SA is performing particularly well – Sadie’s Palladius being a case in point. Any recommendations?
September 15th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
@lorenzo = Bruwer Raats makes fantastic wine - the Cab Franc is sublime. Yip i found the just riesling very interesting - I’m a huge fan of riesling so I’m def going to keep my eye on that. i wish more producers in south africa had the marketing mind of Bruce Jack - they could learn a thing or two from him.
@ericaL = i will do my best to taste a whole lot of blends for a post. i dont like sav blanc that much but when blended with semillion i love it. perhaps i should dedicate a months theme to white blends and so on..
September 16th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Sauvignon Blanc is meant to have some Semillon thrown in to give it some fatness and flavour as far as I am concerned.
Eben Sadie’s Palladius has a hefty price tag but its limited production from pockets of bush vines give the wine a wonderful intensity. A Cru white blend tasting is in order - Under the Influence can help with the wines… Jorg will just have to conduct it!
September 16th, 2008 at 10:39 am
alright lets set it up - open invite . lets see how many people are keen!
the first Cru tasting in conjunction with UTI at the roundhouse!