Over the past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to taste a selection of fabulous white wines – all of which you should look out for this summer.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I find nothing more dull than reading other people’s tasting notes. So instead I have tried to give you a snapshot of my impressions so that you can decide whether the wine appeals to you or not.
Most of the wines are a Sauvignon Blanc – people clearly know my penchant for this varietal. But I did have a rather pleasant encounter with a Riesling as well.
Four Paws Sauvignon Blanc 2007 & 2008
The 2007 is the current vintage from Four Paws and drinking extremely well. Give the 2008 a few more months to settle into its flavour and it will be delightful. The 2007 offers green peppers, elderberry and tropical fruits, balanced with a slight flintiness. Crisp and elegant.
If you like your wines fruity yet with a crisp acid, this is the wine for you. Not overpowering, like some of its contemporaries, the 2007 would go well with food or alone. Seafood or chicken would be a winning combination, but the wine stood up well to a mild curry too.
The alcohol level is 14% – so tread carefully.
Springfield’s Special Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Next up is the latest offering from one of my all time favourite Sauvignon Blanc producers. After being a staunch fan of the Life from Stone Sauvignon from Springfield, I started shifting to the Special Cuvee towards the end of last season. Less in your face, with well-integrated flintiness and minerality, the grapes that make this wine come from an especially rocky, calcerous part of the estate. They are harvested at night in the cool from this prime spot, and the wine is made with minimal interference.
I love the minerality you find in many Robertson wines, and if you want to get your head around the concept of terroir – start here. It’s amazing how wines from different parts of the same estate can have such different characteristics.
At 12.5% this is a relatively light wine by South African standards, and would go brilliantly with seafood such as grilled sole or sushi.
Spier Private Collection Sauvignon Blanc 2008
I was very surprised to find myself enjoying this wine – as typically I am not a fan of the fruitiness of warm climate Sauvignons. However, some of the grapes for this Spier wine are sourced from the Tygerberg region which gets the benefit of cool sea breezes, so perhaps this has toned down the fruit flavours.
Classic Sauvignon freshly cut grass combines with fig and gooseberry. Ideal with picnics, chicken dishes and pasta in my view. 13.5% alcohol.
Frostline 2007
Finally I got my hands on a bottle of Frostline 2007 – a Riesling made by Graham Knox from Stormhoek fame, and Flagstone’s Bruce Jack. The range of wine is called Extreme Vineyards and Graham and Bruce seem to be having fun making wines on the edge.
In this case the grapes are harvested from the highest vineyards in South Africa, in the Outeniqua mountains. This means the grapes are exposed to frost – which is ideal for Riesling which originates in Germany. Classic Riesling apple flavours lead this tight, crisp and fresh wine. I’d drink it by the bucketload with seafood and especially prawns. Again, at 14%, not shy on the alcohol front.
