Wine Tastings
| Style | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | South Africa |
| Grape | Merlot |
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Excelsior Merlot
£10.50
This delicious Merlot comes from the Robertson region, 100km east of Cape Town; Classic plum and blackberry flavours and a lovely smooth finish. Yum!
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Chenin Blanc, Beaumont Wines
This farm, known as Compagnes Drift, was an outpost for the Dutch East India Company until the middle of the 18th Century. Jayne and her late husband, Raoul, liberated themselves from the co-operative system in 1994, electing to refurbish their rustic cellar (last used forty years before), to produce and bottle under their own label.This version of Chenin is light and fresh (unoaked), but with real flavour and personality. A great alternative to Sauvignon and more food-friendly.Highly versatile with food, great with all salady things as well as more robust fish, chicken and pork dishes.
Zinfandel ‘Heritage’, De Loach
De Loach was founded in 1973 by San Francisco Firefighter Cecil De Loach. The estate was later taken over by Burgundian Jean-Charles Boisset, who has converted all their vineyards to organic and bodynamic practices.
This wine is unusual in that it presents great Californian wine at a sensible price, usually there is the mass-produced stuff at the bottom end of the market and then a big jump to the premium £30+ end. This is a great wine at a great price. Medium/full-bodied with loads of juicy bramble fruit and smooth, velvety tannins. A crowd-pleaser and a great pizza or BBQ wine.
The Liberator Syrah
Over the past 25 years, Richard Kelley MW (aka The Liberator!) has become one of the most respected authorities on South African wine in the UK and beyond. Between 1995 and 2002, he lived and worked in the Cape, witnessing the renaissance of the post-apartheid wine industry. Throughout this fruitful period, he established a healthy rapport with the great and the good of the local wine scene, affording him access to their distinguished cellars. These wines are often some of the most interesting, and best value, wines to come out of South Africa.Ask Richard which wine The Francophile Syrah most resembles and he’d probably compare it to a young Crozes-Hermitage. Full of vibrant red-black fruit and with an aromatic nose reminiscent of Saint-Joseph lilies, the result is a thrilling young red that is free of the constraints and manipulated flavour profile that come with barrel-ageing. This is a very pure and naked example of the Syrah grape.Great value and a good wine to go with most meaty dishes.
Trinity Hill Hawkes Bay Syrah
Founded in 1993 by winemaker John Hancock together with Robert and Robyn Wilson, owners of The Bleeding Heart and The Don in London, Trinity Hill has become a byword for quality and consistency. Winemaker Warren Gibson has been with Trinity Hill since 1997. He is also in charge of the 80 hectares of vineyard owned by Trinity Hill and knows Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels exceptionally well. The wines reflect this. Warren and his team make wines that show the best of what Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels can produce. The wines have an elegance, balance, drinkability and precision of flavour that makes them a joy to drink.
Caprichos Old Vine Garnacha, Bodegas Esteban Martin
The region of Carinena is producing some of the best value wines around and this old vine (35 years old) Garnacha (same as Grenache) is a great case in point. Unoaked and full of juicy, lip-smacking red fruit flavours; a great party wine and a storecupboard essential - versatile enough to go with most things when you just need a good glass of red!
Chateauneuf-du-Pape ‘Les Safres’, Le Clos du Caillou’
The much-lauded Le Clos du Caillou produces classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines that just keep getting better, year-on-year. The domaine is situated on the edge of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and is unique in that, in 1936, the owner (who was then away at a hunting retreat) refused to allow the experts who were drawing up the boundaries of the appellation to visit his domaine. Thus, it was not included in the delimited area and remains to this day an enclave within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The domaine practices biodynamic farming techniques and was certified "Agriculture Biologique" in 2010 and "Vin Biologique" in 2012. Their trademark style lies in full-bodied wines with rich red fruit flavours, velvety texture and fine tannins.Les Safres is 95% Grenache with the rest Mourvedre, Cinsault & Vaccarese. Not too heavy for a Chateauneuf but great intensity of pure spicy dark fruit. Really impressive.
