I am becoming quite a fan of vertical tastings, as they really give you a chance to see how wine ages, and get to grips with the signature style – or not – of a wine label. Vertical tastings take a specific wine and look at how it has developed over various vintages, as opposed to a traditional tasting that looks at the current releases from a wine farm, or a range of producers.
Earlier this month I went along to one of the last wine tastings of the year at Caroline’s and enjoyed a vertical tasting of Morgenster wines. Cellar master Marius Lategan explained that although Morgentster has two labels: Lourens River Valley and Morgenster – neither is considered a first or second label and rather each are an alternative expression of terroir.
But to start the evening we had a taste of the recently released Tosca, from Morgenster’s new Italian range – the brainchild of Italian owner Giulio Bertrand. It’s a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and is a delightful licorice-ey concoction.
On to the vertical tasting. All were Bordeaux blends and we tasted the Lourens River Valley reds from 1999 to 2004, and the Morgenster from 2000 (the maiden vintage) to 2004.
One thing is clear – South African reds do have the capacity to age well to a well-integrated, extremely elegant wine. Maybe not to everyone’s tastes as so many of us are only used to a full-frontal fruit assault. And to make a gross generalisation, South African wines typically show a New World feistiness rather than an Old World restraint, so that is what we and our New World counterparts often look for and expect.
Marius Lategan joined Morgenster – meaning morning star – in 2000, so has personally been involved in the making of all but one of the line-up. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about the impact of the weather, the cellar and the length of time (to the day) that it took reach harvest time for each vintage.
It was extremely difficult to pin down a favourite wine – with much discussion and variety of opinion. It didn’t help that as the wines opened up, they revealed several layers of flavour and complexity.
I find other people’s wine tasting notes one of the most boring things to read, so will spare you the details. But let me recommend a tasting at Caroline’s if you want to brush up on your wine knowledge; also experience a vertical tasting if you get a chance, it’s an interesting experience. And finally take a trip out to Morgenster in Somerset West for some fine wines and olive oils.
