What I Drank Last Night

A selection of recently received Shiraz samples tasted sighted and scored according to the 20-point system: Graham Beck Chalk Board Series #4 Shiraz 2008 Wine of origin Paarl – 14% abv A well judged wine showing all the varietal character you could want. Red and black berries as well as vague smoky, meaty character on [...]

Carl Schultz of Hartenberg won a museum trophy for his Weisser Riesling 1999 while brother Rudi of Thelema collected gold for the Roussanne Vigonier 2009 from Elgin property Sutherland as well as trophies for best in class and best red wine overall for the Shiraz 2007 made from Stellenbosch grapes.

The tendency when considering local Shiraz is to see it either in terms of the “Rhône” (medium bodied with aromas and flavours of red fruit and pepper) or “Barossa” (full-bodied, concentrated black fruit). Dare I suggest that Hartenberg Shiraz is “South African”? The 2007 has intense dark fruit (usually associated with the New World) but [...]

Darling property Groote Poste enjoys a cool-climate location not far from the Atlantic Ocean and hence tends to make such excellent Sauvignon Blanc but does this also explain why the Shiraz 2008 was so ordinary? The wine showed stalky, green flavours in addition to sour plum and had a somewhat briny after-taste. According to technical [...]

A tasting of six Shiraz-led red blends on behalf of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. The line-up was compiled at random, the minimum requirement being that all included should have impressed at some point in the past. I reviewed the wines with James Pietersen, regular taster for Platter’s and beverage manager for Belthatzar and Balducci’s [...]

Two examples of Shiraz, each sitting at different ends of the stylistic spectrum. The Kloovenburg being from the warm Swartland was rich and broad, featuring plenty of dark fruit; the Zoetendal from cool Elim was more medium bodied with red fruit and pepper. Detractors of the Kloovenburg might say that it displays an over-ripe character [...]

Van Loveren in Robertson is South Africa’s largest privately owned winery processing some 4 500 tons a year, the equivalent of one million cases.  By far its biggest item is the Four Cousins Sweet Rosé, made from 60% red Muscadel and 40% grape juice with an abv of 7.5% and a residual sugar of 78g/l. [...]

Earlier this year the Swartland Revolution was announced suggesting overthrow of the existing order in favour of a new system. Those involved should be careful not to dispense with too much of the district’s history: Allesverloren situated at the foot of the Kasteelberg between Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West dates back to 1704 and in [...]

Cederberg Shiraz 2007 is a pretty dramatic glass of wine. It has a forthcoming nose of red and black berries as well as plenty of spice. The palate is sweet, rich and full with concentrated fruit and smooth tannins. It’s made in an unashamedly modern idiom: alcohol by volume 14.5%, residual sugar 3.1g/l, 15 months [...]

The worldwide surface area planted to Shiraz vines has gone from less than 10 000 hectares in the early 1980s to more than 150 000 hectares in 2007/2008, according to Lynne  Sheriff MW, speaking at the 2010 La Motte Shiraz Experience yesterday. Who’s going to buy the stuff ? is the question because as Sherriff [...]