This entry therefore is a quick attempt at a catch up, covering both Dan and Sam's wine safari on 27th February as well as the evening hosted by Emma and Ben on 17th April that was dominated by South African wines. Given the passage of time, my recollection may be a bit hazy, but I think that I've remembered most of the wine.
February - Zoo Safari
The theme for 27th February was a Wine Safari - every bottle had a picture of an animal on the label and so, alongside the usual blind tasting experience of trying to guess grape variety and perhaps country, we also had to guess the animal. I think it is probably fair to say that the taste, aroma and indeed appearance of a wine are not much help in guessing what animal might appear on the label, although country of origin might provide a clue (there being slightly more chance of a platypus appearing on an Australian wine than a Spanish one, for example, though that does not explain why Platypus Wine Tours are in California!!!!)Dan and Sam (helpfully?) tried to inspire us by providing animal masks to wear - luckily the pictures seem not to have survived, and it soon became clear that without straws drinking wine through a mask was a losing game.
I'm just going to quickly summarise the wines and my recollection (along with the animal on the label) - perhaps others will add further comments?
Yalumba Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - Fish
A quite typical Sauvignon Blanc - easily identifiable and with quite a lot of gooseberry fruit. Pleasant enough without being exceptional.Southern Right Western Cape Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - Whale
Less obviously a Sauvignon Blanc than the Yalumba - and at one point we were discussing whether this was a Viognier - reading the winemaker's description they talk about leaning towards the Loire rather than New Zealand, which makes a lot of sense.
La Veille Ferme Blanc 2011 - Chicken
As I recall, we failed desperately to identify this wine. Given that it is a mix of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc
Ugni Blanc and Vermentino I feel that this is perhaps understandable. This was a very easy drinking wine and at £6.95 from the Wine Society feels like very good value.Casal Branco Terra de Lobos 2011 - Wolf
A fruity Portuguese red - another wine which we struggled to identify although at least some of us guessed at Cabernet Sauvignon. another good value wine given its £6.99 price point.
The Hedonist Mclaren Vale Shiraz 2011- Pig
If you like your red wines to be full on then this was a real winner (as well as being easily idenitifed as a Shiraz!) - big and bold and delicious - as the Waitrose wine site puts it "This is a delicious, silky and smooth wine with dark-fruit flavours and an intense palate that goes beautifully with red meats. Made by Walter Clappis, a renowned winemaker, The Hedonist is made from grapes grown biodynamically, without pesticides or herbicides". The £12.99 price tag is a bargain for the quality.Some Young Punks Lust Collides 2008 - Cow
The final wine of the evening turned out to be the most divisive - most of the group loved it, but I wasn't so sure - this could of course be a by-product of coming after a wine I had really liked. It is Mataro (otherwise known as Mourvedre) and again boidynamic - my understanding of the philosophy of the makers is that they are trying to mix the best of the New and Old Worlds, so perhaps this wine was just a bit refined after the full on punch of The Hedonist.
April - South Africa
Moving rapidly to our April tasting, which was dominated by wines that Ben had tried in South Africa (and in some cases brought back from there). I haven't captured every wine, but here are the ones I remember.
Bouvet Brut Saumur
As usual we started with a sparkling wine. Now clearly Saumur is not in South Africa, but bear with me since the theme will emerge. This is a good Loire sparkler - less dry than a Champagne and made from Chenin Blanc - a great aperitif and available at Majestic for about a tenner. This wine actually had quite a fruit driven taste for a dry sparkling wine. Bouvet is apparently owned by the Taittinger Champagne house.
Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Viognier Grenache Blanc 2008
This was a great Viognier (and easily identifiable as such) - with all of the peachy fruitiness you expect but also quite dry. It comes from Swartland, an up and coming region, north of the traditional Western Cape regions of Paarl and Stellenbosch that seems to get a bit more sun, giving the wines a bit more "oomph".
Badenhorst Duiker White 2012
This wine is a Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Chardonnay blend and so is slightly difficult to identify, although we did sort of guess the varieties eventually (perhaps more through luck than judgement!). Again a tenner from Majestic, this was a very smooth and rounded wine - a real winner and again from Swartland.Rust en Vrede Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
This was a really nice Cabernet Suavignon and I recall getting the classic pencil shaving (wood and graphite) smell as we tasted it. The winery is one of South Africa's oldest, having been around for over 300 years and since they know far more about this than I do, I'm just going to paste their tasting notes: "Rhubarb and aniseed aromas are backed by cedar and a hint of cocoa powder. Dark cherry aromas are also prevalent. A well structured Cabernet with beautiful grainy tannins. Full palate weight with notes of tobacco and liquorice on the finish."
The Goatfather 2006
The Goatfather was the stand out wine of the night for me. Fairview Vineyards back onto the Paarl Rock and developed the Goats do Roam brand when they were not allowed to import Cote du Rhone style wine into the EU - they now have a goat tower as you enter the vineyard. The Goatfather is an Italian inspired blend, led by Sangiovese and Barbera. This wine has a real punch (would you expect anything less from this mob?) but also lots of complexity and layers of flavour. I don't recall the "perfumed violets and hints of tomato" that the winemaker talks about, but I'm not arguing (you don't argue with the Goatfather, do you!)
