Filed under: Wine & Food | Tags: apartheid, berries, Boekenhoutskloof, earthiness, finish, gamey, garnacha, Las Rocas, mourvedre, nose, red wine, smoke, South Africa, spice, Syrah, The Wolftrap, Vine Improvement Programme, viognier, viticulture, wine, winemakers, winetasting
The Wolftrap
The Wolftrap, from Boekenhoutskloof (that’s the vineyard in South Africa), is a red blend consisting of 68% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, and 2% Viognier. Picked it up on a whim. Just perused the wine aisle at Whole Foods and found an intriguing wine for under $10, of which there are many.
I am not very familiar with South African wine … on New Year’s we drank a South African sparkler … outside of that, I don’t know that I’ve encountered another South African wine. So, I conducted a bit of research …
South African winemaking dates back to 1659 and has experienced a rather varied worldwide interest since. South Africa’s current production puts it in the top ten wine producing countries in the world, though this wasn’t always the case. Before the end of apartheid throughout much of the 20th century, South African wine received little attention worldwide.
“Its isolation was further deepened by boycotts of South African products in protest of the country’s system of Apartheid. It wasn’t till the late 1980s and 1990s when Apartheid was ended and the world’s export market opened up that South African wines began to experience a renaissance”
Once the export market opened up, the renaissance experienced in the South African winemaking was helped along by the Vine Improvement Programme. This program(me) was brought into existence in order to bring up the standards of South African wine by bringing a better understanding of the viticultural arts, if you will, to the winemakers. This has spurred the winemakers to strive toward a more “international style” of wine, that would find fans on a global scale. In some cases, winemakers from France, Spain, and California were flown in, bringing with them new techniques and styles to the already unique style of South African wine. Today, as I mentioned earlier, South Africa is in the top ten of wine producing nations in the world. It should be an exciting world of wine to delve into … okay, enough cheesiness …
The Wolftrap
Traditionally, many South African wines have been characterized by very rustic flavors, and The Wolftrap certainly hits on the rustic side. It is a very substantial wine; full and heavy, with a touch of gameyness (Some describe it as meaty. I don’t like the sound of meaty) to it, which I didn’t find unappealing at all. Loads of spice and smoke throughout. There is a subtle floral quality I picked up on that was soon washed away by heavy berry influence (blackberry, strawberry). With all of these heavy flavors (the smoke, spice, gameyness), the subtleties remain intact, interestingly enough, which added to the surprising balance achieved in this red blend. If you like big, red blends full of spice, smoke, dark berries, this wine is for you … just be prepared for the gamey aspect, it could be a turnoff to some.
Up next, I think I will (finally) write about one of my long time favorites: Las Rocas Garnacha
Las Rocas Garnacha
Filed under: Travel, Wine & Food | Tags: 2006, acidic, appellation, Baltimore, Carignan, cat amongst the pigeons, chardonnay, Chateau du Donjon, dark cherry, depth, effervescent, finish, France, Grenache, harsh, heat, Languedoc, Minerve, minervois, nose, oak, party, raspberry, red wine, spice, Syrah, varietal, vineyard, white pepper, white wine, wine, wine and cheese
So i went with the unknown upstart: Château du Donjon 2006 Minervois
Château du Donjon 2006 Minervois
i’d no previous knowledge of the minervois appellation and actually found it quite difficult to track down much information on it. here is what i did find …
The Minervois name comes from the village of Minerve, a scenic village located in the south of France in the Languedoc region. Here is a map for visual reference:
Minervois wines are exclusively red wines “and are produced from Carignan (which can account for no more than 40% of the blend), Grenache, Lladoner Pelut, Mourvedre, and Syrah grapes”. This particular Minervois from Château du Donjon is made from Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan.
A couple more interesting things to know …
Carignan had become the most widely grown grape varietal in France by 1988, but in an effort to drive the quality of wine up, the European Union started a vine pull program. This program offered cash subsidies to vineyard owners provided they pull up their vines. Though this vine pull program didn’t target only owners of Carignan vines, it had its largest effect on the varietal, dropping from 167,000 planted hectares in ’88 to 95,000 hectares in 2000. Merlot is now the most widely planted grape in France.
On to business …
We consumed the entire bottle of this Minervois in one evening, so there is no second day to talk about.
First Pour: Not surprisingly, right out of the bottle, the first sip was acidic, effervescent, and a bit harsh. The notes that did come through were dark cherry and some spice. The finish seemed to linger forever.
Second Pour: A full glass this time, after letting it breathe for 20-40 minutes. As expected, the effervescence disappeared along with most of the harsh acidity. Replacing these characteristics was a wonderful balance of cherry and a bit of raspberry and white pepper. Some of the initial heat from the first pour lingered, but i felt added depth rather than making this an unpleasant wine.
Last Glass: Little nose, lots of finish. Plenty of oak and white pepper. Cherry and even a little plum coming through … the heat that i thought added depth to the second pour, was, for the most part, absent from this final glass. The wine had mellowed a bit too much for my liking.
Overall: Showed promise, but lost too much of its mystique by the final pour. I would rate it as a slightly above average everyday table red. As with most wine, i would be curious to see what a year of cellaring would do. Probably won’t buy again, not because i didn’t enjoy it, but just because there are a lot more wines to try and a handful of wines that i know i love for around the same price (i paid around $13).
Coming up … a white???
that’s right … i traveled “home” to Baltimore last week and had a little wine and cheese party where i managed to find a white wine i truly enjoyed.
2008 Cat Amongst the Pigeons Unwooded Chardonnay
The breakdown of the tasting experience will not be as in depth because of the nature of the party … i didn’t have the same amount of time with the wine that i normally do … with that said, i think what i will actually do is pick my favorite red from the night as well and just talk about the white i loved, and the red i loved.
Stay tuned …
Filed under: Wine & Food | Tags: Argentina, Bodega Renacer, Bordeaux, breathe, Cahors, Chile, cranberry, currant, earth, Final, finish, fruity, grapes, green, heat, Malbec, mid palate, notes, Punto, Punto Final, varietals, wine
2008 Punto Final is a Malbec from Argentina.
Malbec is an interesting varietal because it was first grown in the Bordeaux and Cahors regions of France, but because of a devastating frost in 1956, 75% of the vines were destroyed. Though some were replanted, the grape dropped in popularity in Bordeaux but stayed fairly popular in Cahors, where it is primarily used in blends.
Malbec was introduced to Argentina in 1868 and since then, it has really come into its own. The Argentinian Malbec produces “a softer, less tannic-driven variety than the wines of Cahors.” It is said that the Malbec in South America (it is also grown in Chile) has virtually nothing in common with its European sibling. As a varietal, Malbec has become almost synonymous with Argentinian wine. This is no surprise as evidenced by the abundance of Malbecs to be found on the shelves of wine shoppes worldwide. They are fruit-full wines, packed with full bodied punch, and one can usually do well for under $20. I picked up this bottle of Punto Final from Whole Foods for around $11.
First pour: Harsh and overwhelmingly fruity, but promising. A shit ton of dark fruits with a finish rife with minerals, green earth, and acid. Virtually nothing on the mid-palate.
Day One: Perhaps i was a bit congested, or perhaps Punto Final needed some more time to open up, but the notes on the mid-palate explode in this wine after letting it breathe a bit. Still very fruity and sweet … cherry, some cranberry, currant, almost raisinlike. The mid-palate reveals pronounced earthiness. Berries linger, but with notes of tobacco and green earth. Finish is hot and woodsy. Had part of a glass with some spicy chili and the heat of the chili was intensified by the heat of the wine. Preferred it by itself.
Day Two: Had a guest on Day One, so the bottle didn’t make it past first day intact …
Overall: I am curious about this one. On the fence a bit. Would maybe buy it again and keep it on hand for a year or so, since it is so young, and see what happens, but definitely a good Malbec.
Coming up — A couple options … i picked up a bottle of Château du Donjon 2006 Minervois today. That is on the table along with a bottle of the intense and delicious Bogle Phantom, and a bottle of the old standby of Las Rocas Garnacha.
Château du Donjon 2006 Minervois
Bogle Phantom
Las Rocas
Will I go for something tried and true? or go with the upstart unknown??? Stay tuned!
Filed under: Wine & Food | Tags: blend, breathe, Cabernet Sauvignon, cherry, Corvidae, finish, Merlot, nose, plum, red wine, Rook, Syrah, tannins, WA state, Washington, wine
Rook is a red wine blend from Washington state consisting of 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 57% Merlot, 26% Syrah. each of these grapes adds some of its own character to this tasty blend. now, i’m not a sommelier or wine connoisseur, nor will i pretend to be, so i won’t throw out a lot of the wine tasting jargon, but will instead speak/write simply.
i purchased this wine several weeks ago from whole foods for around $12. i just got around to opening it on Tuesday night (1/5).
when opening a wine, i usually like to pour a sip into my glass to swirl and drink right away, just to get an idea of what lies ahead of me. but i also do this to refine my palate; tasting the usually harsh first pour and comparing/contrasting it with the second pour, which i usually taste after about 20-30 minutes.
First Day: Scotty and i both felt that straight out of the bottle, the Rook was heavy and sweet with dark fruit with a rather harsh acidic finish. after about 30 minutes, the second pour was strikingly more mellow. more character was exposed as the sweetness gave way to some nice spice and the finish revealed medium tannins and mild oak.
Second Day: poured the last two glasses a couple of hours ago. the wine had mellowed even more. the sweetness was dulled a bit more and i felt as though i was able to discern more specific notes of cherry and dark plum, giving way to some mellowed spice and dark chocolaty bitterness. the oak held fast in the finish.
Overall: i found the Rook to be enjoyable. an easy drinking wine that is pretty typical as far as WA state blends go. would definitely go for another bottle … perhaps with some food next time. giving it time to breathe was the best way to go. enjoy it on the second day.
Coming up next — 2008 Bodega Renacer Malbec Punto Final
