2113 Wine Club 1/22/14 South Africa

Originally established as a point between Europe and the Indies to restock on provisions, South Africa has a rich and rocky history with wine. Going through periods of success and overproduction, resulting in a rocky market for South African wines throughout the years. It was only when apartheid was lifted that South African wines began to show up in america. 

http://www.southernwines.com/

2013 Douglas Gren Sauvignon Blanc

This is a great, refreshing example of Sauvignon Blanc from the Western Cape of South Africa. It is my wine of the week!



"For over 70 years, we have sourced and selected grapes to best express our South African wineland origins. It was already in 1942 that Douglas Green was convinced that the quality and character of the varied vineyards of the Western Cape should not be confined, but rather combined to express the best of each region." - http://www.douglasgreenwines.com/


This wine is pale gold with a tinge of green, plenty of pineapple and gooseberry on the nose, the palate is crisp and dry with a plethora of tropical fruits, finishing with a nice abrupt acidity.


Pair with basil & goat cheese stuffed chicken breast. Ready to drink.

2008 Bellingham Chenin Blanc


Chenin Blanc is South Africa's most widely planted white grape. Bellingham treats it well. These grapes are from the Western Cape of South Africa.

"The Bellingham winemaking approach is one of minimal intervention. Time-honoured methods are combined with measured technological expertise to create great value premium wines true to variety and origin. Time and attention is asserted to every stage of production with a particular emphasis on mouth-feel and preserving the natural fruit character. Subtle barrel maturation that enhances the structure and complexity of our wines without overpowering the inherent varietal ensures vibrancy and broad appeal in both our red and white wines." - http://www.bellinghamwines.com/
Pale straw color, citrus and white flowers on the nose, hint of honey. Crisp and fresh, medium plus body, nice and fruity. True Chenin Blanc.

Pair with roasted chicken. Ready to drink.

2013 Stellar Organics Pinotage

The first thing I have to mention is that all Stellar Organics wines are 100% organic and fair trade. Pinotage is the most widely grown red grape in South Africa. However I chose this wine prematurely, excited for the new vintage, and this wine is too young and falls flat of its predecessors.

"Stellar Winery, South Africa's largest producer of fine organic wines, processes organically-grown grapes for the South African and export markets. The grapes are drawn from farms in the Lower Olifants River Valley, part of the Namaqualand area of the Western Cape. This is an area famous for its spring flowers and is also the only semi-arid Biosphere hotspot in the world." - http://www.stellarorganics.com/

Plum in color, cherry and vanilla on the nose, following on the palate. Slightly wooded and slightly tannic. Altogether unimpressive. Young.

Pair with stews, heavy pasta. Give it a few years.









2013 Stellar Organics Cabernet Sauvignon

Like the Pinotage, I pulled this Cab Sauv a bit early, however the youth on this wine is not as much a hinderance as a tease of what aging will bring.

Dark red in color, forest floor, a bit of bell pepper, spice on the nose. Warm wooden vanilla on the palate, smooth tanins, nice finish.

Pair with lamb chops, pepper corn steak. Ready to drink, but will age well.

2113 Wine Club 1/15/14 Bordeaux, France

http://www.bordeaux.com/

2011 Chateaux Bellevue - Entre-Deux-Mers

This blend of Sauvignon and Semillion grapes is from the Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux, France.

This is one of the most interesting and complex whites I have come across in a while. Its nuances are so powerful and numerous that every sip is a different experience. It has a powerfully funky nose, one of my club members said "It's like drinking wine and cheese together straight out of the glass." I absolutely love it and it is a tie for the wine of the week this week.

On the more technical side, the winery provides that the wine has notes of peaches and mangoes, with yellow fruit and a crisp body. I agree, but there is so much more underneath.

Pair with pears, asparagus, creamy pasta dishes, sushi.




2012 Paul Mas Picpoul De Pinet

88 Points and Best Buy from Wine & Spirits

Although from Southern France, I couldn't pass up brining this wine in to compare the differences in wine from Bordeaux and wines from Southern France.

This wine is briney, warm and smooth. Crisp, with a nose of apples and citrus. Palate is citrusy with the minerality as the leading character in this wine, smooth, long finish.

Pair with oysters.








2010 Chateau Bellevue Bordeaux Superieur

After being so impressed with the Entre-Deux-Mers I had to bring in the Bordeaux Superior. I must say right out of the gate, I was not impressed overall. While the wine expresses some of the expected traits of a Bordeaux Superior, a structured core, dry tannins, and a spicy nose, this wine delivers on all those points, then it just stops. The finish is nonexistent on this wine.

Disappointed but not heart broken. I would still drink this wine with a heavy steak.

Would like to try other vintages.








2011 Chateau Les Pasquets Rouge Bordeaux

This wine is a beauty! Off the nose a beautiful aroma of black and red fruits with a touch of spice and berry. The palate on this wine is phenomenal, full bodied and smooth, robust fruit with a finish of strawberry jam.

This wine will only get more complex, and I suspect more delicious, with age!

Pair with duck, heavy pasta dishes

2113 Wine Club 1/8/14 - Chile

(http://life.nationalpost.com/)

This week our focus turned to the Southern Hemisphere, Chile in particular. Chile came onto the wine scene in the sixteenth century with the introduction of European grapes brought by Spanish missionaries to sustain wine production for Catholic mass. By the early 1800's French influence on the wine region began producing wonderfully complex wines. Chile is the only wine region in the world to have never seen an outbreak of Phylloxera, so while the vineyards of Europe were being decimated by the parasite, Chile was able to help preserve the world of wine from extinction.

 2012 Anderra Sauvignon Blanc

100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the Curico and Maule Valleys in Chile.

This is a playful youthful wine. It has a wonderful citrus nose, with a hint of grass. The palate is refreshing with a crisp acidity with a long finish of minerality.

Pair with cheese, salads, and sushi. Drink now.

"Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s vision was to produce Chilean wines that would meet his exacting quality standards while exemplifying the unique character and terroir of the region. Anderra combines the distinguishing feature of Chilean topography, the ANDes Mountains, with the exceptional terroir of Maipo Valley (tiERRA means “land” in Spanish) to create wines with distinct personality." - Anderra

2011 Haras Estate Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay

Fresh and floral with nice body. The nose is citrus with white flowers, the palate is a robust and juicy acidity with pineapple and orange peel.

Pair with chicken, strong cheeses, pasta. Drink now.

"A partnership between the Matte family of Chile and the Antinori family of Italy, Haras produces a variety of exceptional wines from its 1480-acre estate and winery in Chile's Upper Maipo Valley. Home to a legendary thoroughbred breeding farm, Haras is committed to creating an ideal environment for both wine grapes and young horses, and is a leader among South American wineries in implementing sustainable and organic viticultural and winemaking practices." - Haras Estate

2012 Anderra Cabernet Sauvignon

100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes harvested from the Maule, Maipo and Rapel Valleys in Central Chile.

The Bordeaux vinification method is used in creating this vibrant wine. This wine is fruit-forward and youthful, ruby red in color, with a nose of berries and spices. The palate is full bodied with smooth tannins. A great everyday wine!

Pair with red meat, meat sauces, stew. Ready to drink.

2012 Anderra Carmenere

100% Carmenere. Carmenere is to Chile what Malbec is to Argentina, and they certainly got it right. This is my wine of the week due to its complexity and overall drinkability.

Blackberry notes open up to strawberry and cherry with a hint of spice. The palate is complex starting with warm vanilla oak and moving to a sweet fruit finish.

Pair with savory dishes, stews, ribs. Ready to drink, but I will be interested to revisit this wine in a few years.

2113 Wine Club 12/18/13 - Northern Spain

Map Courtesy of Cellar Tours (www.cellartours.com)

This week at wine club we focused on Northern Spain. Featuring a Brut Rose from Penedes, a Verdejo from Rueda, and two beautiful Rioja favorites. 

NV Poema Cava, Brut Rose (Pendes, Spain)

"Poema carefully observes the Cava DO’s stringent regulations to craft its top-quality, small-production Cavas which are crafted using the same traditional method used in Champagne. The extremely rare red grape Trepat is used to produce Cava Rosado. The grapes are grown in the Conca de Barberà region of Catalonia, whose limestone soils are ideal for this grape. A green harvest and careful selection helps to ensure that only ripe, pristine grapes are picked. Grapes are harvested manually and pressed in three different wineries close to the vineyards. Grapes are macerated for 16 to 20 hours before fermentation in stainless steel tanks for 15 days. Second fermentation takes place in the bottle according to Metodo Tradicional." - Kobrand Wine


This is a great alternative to regular Cava, or even a moderately priced champagne. Light and fresh with notes of strawberry and rose petals.






2011 Marques de Riscal, Verdjo (Rueda, Spain)

"Bodegas de los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal S.L. has 225 hectares of vineyards planted with, among other grapes, the indigenous verdejo variety. A versatile grape with a lot of character and personality, it is very well suited to the extreme conditions of the region, allowing us to produce fresh young wines or cask-fermented whites. The verdejo grape is stemmed and cooled and left to macerate in order to extract the maximum aroma from the skins and increase the smooth oiliness of the wine." 

"A bright, straw-yellow coloured wine. As you expect from a verdejo wine, on the nose it has high aromatic intensity, with tropical fruit and hints of fennel and fresh grass. In the mouth it is both syrupy smooth and refreshing, with a slightly bitter finish which is typical of the variety making it long and pleasant to drink. Overall it is a fresh, well-balanced wine."

- Marques de Riscal

2009 Rioja Vega, 100% Tempranillo (Rioja, Spain) *

From the pop to the finish this wine is everything I love about the Rioja DOC. Bright deep red cherry color, with a powerful nose of intense cherry, dried fruit, spice, and toffee. A beautiful balance on the palate, a velvety mouthfeel from the tanins and a nice structure. 

This wine is my wine of the week! Pair with MEAT!

"Rioja Vega is today one of the few wine cellars whose winemaking tradition dates back to the dawn of wine culture in this outstanding region. Those were the years when the French maestros, fleeing from the phylloxera that ravaged the vineyards in their country, chose these lands." - Rioja Vega Wineries

2012 Campo Veijo, 100% Garnacha (Rioja, Spain)

Campo Viejo is typically known for their wonderful Tempranillo wines, however they branched out to make this 100% Garnacha, and I thank them for doing so.

Immediately the aroma took me to a field full of strawberries and cherries. The bright fruit flavors paired with the medium body and smooth finish make this an extremely easy drinking wine. (Wine of the week was a hard choice this week.)

I will be interested to how this wine ages over the next couple of years!

"This bright and lively wine has vibrant red fruit flavors like strawberry, raspberry, and cherries with nuances of flowers and sweet spices. Deliciously drinkable with soft, silky, fresh intensity, this will will not disappoint. Very versatile, this wine pairs well with vegetables, meats, pastas, or your favorite appetizers." - Campo Viejo