South African Wines
How do current South African wines compare to other New World Wines?
Aug 29, 2006
Wine lovers worldwide are always looking for new trends, new styles, better quality, or just better value. Our New World Wine tasting panel recently revisited South African wines to see how they compare with current offerings from North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. The results were interesting and surprising.
We tasted a broad spectrum of South African wines, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Barbera, Pinot Noir, Pinotage, Syrah, a Rhône style blend, and Bordeaux style blends.
First, we found no poor wines at all. The last broad spectrum tasting of South African wines we did uncovered very spotty offerings, some below par, many above. So our current tasting suggests that South Africa, like most other major New World wine regions, has learned how to make creditable wine from the poorest fruit, and great wine from the best. The days of bad wine seem to have entered into the pages of history books.
Second, we found that South African wines - across the board - offered excellent value compared to comparable wines from the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Many South African wines priced around $25 would easily command $35-40 if made in other regions.
What are the winners in South African wine? Hold on to your hat for a big surprise. If you ever looked into the history of South African wine, you learned that in the 18th and 19th centuries, the world's most esteemed wine was a fortified dessert wine from the Cape. Not Chateau Lafite or Chateau Haut-Brion, also currently available. And not any wine from Sauternes. So if you knew that, you might not be surprised to learn that one of the biggest bargains in dessert wines today comes from South Africa.
We were thrilled by Slanghoek Rooi Jeripiko; 17% alc., $15/750ml. This lovely, fruity, dessert wine was reminiscent of a tawny port, but with more clear fruit characteristics and an extremely attractive price. You will be hard pressed to find a dessert wine of this class at this price point. Highly recommended.
Jerepiko (or sometimes Jerepigo) wines are made from unfermented grape juice, in this case a red Muscadelle, fortified with grape brandy.
Outstanding wines from this tasting included the 2004 Niel Ellis Sauvignon Blanc Groenekloof; 13.5% alc., $27. Neil Ellis is known for high quality South African Sauvignon Blanc, and this wine is a clear winner. Highly recommended.
Syrah has created a strong foothold in South Africa over the past decade and we enjoyed a terrific example in the 2004 Glen Carlou Syrah Paarl; 14.5% alc., $25. This is a rich, complex, and aromatic wine worth almost twice its price and highly recommended.
Perhaps the most exciting wines of this tasting were the Bordeaux style blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec (and in one case, Pinotage). We tasted the 2003 Groot Constantia Gouverneur's Reserve; 13.5% alc., $27, the 2003 Kanonkop Kadette Stellenbosch; 13.5% alc., $16, and South Africa's legendary flagship wine, 2001 Meerlust Rubicon Stellenbosch; 13.5% alc., $27.
While all these Bordeaux blends were very good, and the Kanonkop Kadette was a terrific value, the nod went to Groot Constantia, whose wine could easily pass for a real Bordeaux at less than half the price. This wine is unlike all American Bordeaux blends and much closer to the French prototype. It's lean, complex, and exceeding food friendly. Excellent nose, if a little short on the typical cigar box aromas one associates with these wines. Very highly recommended.
