The True Brilliance of Winemaker Duncan Savage Revealed in His Savage White Blend 2015…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

On the eve of the imminent arrival of the 2016 Savage White Blend in the UK, I had the opportunity to present the iconic 2015 White Blend to 25 management consultants at the offices of Boston Consulting Group last night. It went down a storm. In fact, it was so good I bought another bottle to drink at home tonight with my Sicilian style herbed pork caponata. 


Savage White Blend 2015, WO Western Cape, 14 Abv.

There is no doubt that Duncan Savage is one of the best white wine winemakers in South Africa. His track record speaks for itself. Taming Sauvignon Blanc and more so, Semillon, from cool climate sites on the peninsula, has revealed the real potential of these varietals in a blend to a whole new generation of winemakers and consumers. The 2015 however, was one of Duncan’s most anticipated releases with the vintage lauded as possibly the best ever in SA for red and white wines. This Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon based blend incorporates small amounts of Clairette Blanche and Chenin Blanc this vintage. This slightly bigger blend perhaps explains the wines broader aromatic profile. There is still the dusty lemon and herb spice, yellow grapefruit and lime peel freshness, but also extra notes of white pear, white pepper, white crunchy peaches and green apple zest. Once again, the pithy minerality of crushed gravel underpins both the nose and palate and there’s an almost German, Pfalz-like strawberries and vanilla ice cream exotism in play. The palate is bold, intense and concentrated with pithy gravelly notes balanced by massive fruit concentration and length. The vintage’s sublime quality is indeed standing up to be counted! Duncan has perfectly captured the essence of 2015’s greatness. But the wine remains classical, measured, restrained and fresh and finally unlocks its hallmark lemon and pineapple pastille fruit character on the long, intense finish. This is a truly grand expression, a wine that will demand its place in your cellar. Could this be Duncan’s greatest white expression to date? Drink now to 2028+ 

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


The Monday Morning Fog Clears in London to Reveal Another Delicious Wine From Mullineux Family Wines…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Fog Monster wines from Amador County, California (Sierra Foothills) is another boutique project from Andrea and Chris Mullineux of Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines. Andrea, originally from California, together with husband Chris, have been sourcing unique vineyard parcels in the Sierra Foothills, where the vineyards are exposed to interesting Californian climatic conditions.


In the case of coastal California, the offshore marine layer is typically propelled inland by a pressure gradient which develops as a result of intense heating inland, blanketing coastal communities in cooler air which, if saturated, also contains fog. The fog often lingers until the heat of the sun becomes strong enough to evaporate it, often lasting into the afternoon.


I have not tasted this wine for several years, even though I have several bottles hidden in my cellar, but today it stood out as a real revelation, brimming with characterful energy and freshness. Made from Chenin Blanc from the Story Vineyard (un-grafted rootstocks at 1900 feet), the wine is essentially esoteric in nature, but certainly delicious with broad appeal.

Fog Monster Chenin Blanc 2012, Amador County, California, 12 Abv.

Rich Sauternes yellow colour, the aromatics are initially tight and broody, showing pithy mineraly lemon zest and peach stone fruit. Complexity grows rapidly in the glass where apple puree, orange blossom, and dried Sauternes-like notes of orange peel and lemon / peach tea infusions develop. The mouthfeel is so cool, taught, and tight knit, bristling with wound spring tension and core freshness on a most seductive, textured, lengthy finish. Beautiful weight, fine balance and incredible precision. A really lovely natural leaning, minimal intervention wine. 

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

The Ageability of South African White Wines ~ Tasting Meerlust Chardonnay 2006…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been meaning to organise a grand blind South African aged wine challenge in London with Wine Advocate journalist Neal Martin for some years. But life just seems to get busier and busier and time shorter and shorter for both Neal and myself. Profiling aged South African whites is a tricky endeavour, but when you pick the right wines, the results can be a revelation. But of course, the “right wines” are hard to come by, even in South Africa itself.


I had this bottle of Meerlust Chardonnay 2006, bought on release, on my cellar rack for many years and while I thought it would probably be stoically solid, I had no idea how impressive it would actually be on opening. Well, today it was accidentally opened in error by my wife after I was out at rugby practice with my son all afternoon. But, once opened, I certainly decided to indulge and revel in its sublime youthful brilliance. 


The Burgundians often seem annoyed when buyers ask them about their opinion on premox in white Burgundy, in quite the same way many South African producers used to roll their eyes at continual questions over the burnt rubber characteristics perceived in some wines. But it’s only when you taste a wine like this Meerlust 2006 that your blood really starts to boil at the many white Burgundy failures tasted oxidised at only 6 to 8 years old. 


Meerlust Chardonnay 2006, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5 Abv.

Deep golden yellow lemon colour, there is wonderful clarity and rich allure here. The nose is opulent and complex showing buttered sweet corn, lemon marmalade and salted caramel popcorn. So vital, youthful, vibrant, taught and fresh, showing almost no tertiary development at all. Incredible at 11 years old. As the wine opens, subtle notes of dried basil and thyme herbal spice develop mixed with sweet chalk and wet slate notes. The palate reveals amazing tension, maritime salinity, lemon zest and chalky granitic pithy depth. Wow, so tight and citric with youthful breadth and depth. It’s wines like this that make premoxed white Burgundy inexcusable at any price point. This wine could hardly be more fresh, complex or youthful at 11 years old. A real revelation. Absolutely delicious… for a South African benchmark wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Reintroducing the Wines of Azay-le-Rideau Near Chinon in the Loire…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In 2013, longtime friends Nicolas Grosbois and Philippe Mesnier purchased 12 hectares of vines in Azay-le-Rideau, an excellent, though relatively unknown terroir a few kilometers east of Chinon. They immediately began farming all the vines organically, and set about on an ambitious project to reintroduce the wines of Azay-le-Rideau. Traditionally, Azay le Rideau is famous for white wines made from Chenin Blanc, and rosé wines made from Grolleau and Gamay.


Most of the vineyards are located in Azay-le-Rideau on the lieu-dit  “Hauts Baigneux”. The domaine also owns a two hectare plot in Saché, close to the former studio of Alexander Calder, the famous American artist. This great flint-heavy terroir produces the two top cuvées of the domaine: Le Clos des Brancs and Blanc Chenin. In addition to resurrecting the tradition of great wines from these vineyards, the domaine produces excellent reds, and a small amount of white and rosé Petillant Naturel.


The wines of Domaine des Hauts Baigneux are all produced with natural yeast, and bottled with minimal intervention. The cuvées Les Chenes and Les Pentes are delicious vins de soif that showcase the best of Loire Valley. The sparkling wines are fantastic bottles of everyday bubbles, and the single vineyard Chenin Blancs are a testament to the towering quality of this terroir.

Nicolas Grosbois & Philippe Mesnier Grolleau 2016, Domaine des Hauts Baigneux, Vin de France, 12.5 Abv.

Rich, dark fruited, lifted and spicy with hints of incense, candle wax, pot pourri spice and exotic lavender and garrigue herbal notes. Palate is direct and crisp, crunchy and fresh with vibrant cranberry, raspberry and dark sour plum. Plenty of spicy, grippy, wet chalk complexity, this really is an energetic, intense expression offering very enjoyable drinkability. Zero added sulphur and only 600 bottles produced in this, the maiden vintage. 

(Wine safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting the Gregarious High Quality Value Red Blend from Welbedacht’s Meerkat Wines Range… 

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

One thing having large vineyard holdings affords you is fruit selection. The Schalk Burger & Sons Welbedacht farm in Wellington in the Western Cape is a classic example of this. I’ve always enjoyed the premium wines of Schalk Burger Snr, especially the Cricket Pitch red blend and the Bohemian Syrah. But tasting today with Schalk Burger Snr and his UK shipper, it was the modest £9.99 Meerkat Burrow Blend 2015 that came up trumps.


Other than Schalk fulfilling his long term ambition to include the word “Gregarious” on the front label, he has also succeeded in creating an exceptionally delicious, quality focused, unpretentious red. 


I can often be heard complaining that South Africa does not have quite enough value reds of high quality that are suitably priced or positioned for independent merchants. But this is a very impressive creation that ticks so many boxes and keeps you coming back for another sip, and another! 


Schalk Burger & Sons Meerkat Burrow Red Blend 2015, Wellington, 14.5 Abv.

The nose is seductively wild, with black forest berries, oodles of bramble berry spice, black currant compote, and a sweet, cedary, vanilla pod dusting. Key to the palate is its light weight opulence, succulent texture, fleshy breadth and a juicy long mulberry fruited finish. I can’t remember what grapes go into this blend, and I suspect it changes every year anyway, but the 2015 is thoroughly delicious and impressively well made. For me, 10/10 in the drinkability stakes, this is a perfect BBQ red that will add much cheer and enjoyment to any social occasion. 

(Wine Safari Score: 88+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

UK Shipper: The Sporting Wine Club

http://www.thesportingwineclub.com

The Wait is Over ~ The Iconic Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Finally Released…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Silver Oak Cellars is a superb family-owned, California icon winery dedicated to producing only premium Cabernet Sauvignon. Silver Oak was established in 1972 by Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer and is currently operated by Ray’s sons David Duncan, who serves as the President and CEO, and his brother, Tim Duncan, who serves as Executive Vice President. 


Silver Oak has two wineries… one in Oakville in the Napa Valley and one in Geyserville in the Alexander Valley. The Duncan Family also established Twomey Cellars in 1999, named after Ray Duncan’s mother, where they produce Pinot Noir, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Twomey has its own wineries in Calistoga and Healdsburg. 

Journalist and wine commentator Joe Wadsack tasting the 2013 Alexander Valley Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2013 vintage was certainly one of the most memorable vintages ever produced in California, already garnering some of the highest scores from the likes of Robert Parker, Jeb Dunnick, and Antonio Galloni. So it’s no surprise that I was thrilled to taste the 2013 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon today with Vivian Gay, the Export Director of Silver Oak. Unfortunately, the Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is still resting in bottle and will only be released in February 2018. 


Silver Oak 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, 13.9 Abv.

Dark inky black, a seductive, alluring 95% Cabernet Sauvignon wine aged in US oak, 50% new, 50% used. Another 2 years in bottle following an unusual phenomenon these days. But this epic vintage shows a sublime saline, maritime nose, with black berry, cassis, graphite, cherry kirsch, and tart sour plum. Wow, what aromatic complexity. Delicious bay leaf, oregano, tobacco leaf intermixed with saline cassis, salty black plum, and delicious, creamy cedar oak spice. The palate is piercing and precise, intense, concentrated and so finely tuned like a formula 1 sports car. The tannins are dense, powerful and grippy but never lose their elegance. The finish reveals dry chalky notes, sweet tobacco leaf and a long, long, lingering earthy, brambly black currant finish. Been waiting for this release for years, and now finally tasting it, makes me weak at the knees! A profound Cabernet expression. 

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

Luis Pato Masterclass – Tasting the Rebel Winemaker’s Iconic Wines from Bairrada…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

A great privilege today attending a fascinating masterclass tasting with the great Bairrada master, and original rebel, Luis Pato. The wines have come a long way since his first hobby winemaking  vintage in 1980, before releasing his first official vintage in 1984. 


But Luis Pato is certainly a pioneer in the true sense of the word, who has single handedly put Bairrada and its indigenous Baga varietal on the global fine wine map. Known as the Baga rebel, Luis has relished his freedom as a wine making maverick, making and breaking many rules over the past 35 years in the quest to produce the very best wines the Bairrada terroirs can deliver. 


Luis is also one of the founding members of Baga Friends, a small quality-led group formed to promote Baga more widely, a grape which has been established in Bairrada for more than 800 years. 


Tasting Notes from the Masterclass:


Vinha Pan 2013, Bairrada, 13 Abv.

Powerful aromatics that bust forth with roses, parma violets, cherry blossom and exotic pot pourri spice nuances. A really deep core of red cherries, red plum confit, sweet bramble berries and delicious wild strawberries. Delicate mineralite of dusty granite and graphite complexity. Palate is beautifully textured, fruit forward and plush, with vibrant tart acids, cherry sherbet, sweet red currant and tart red plums. Impressive intensity, focus and length. A really delicious expression. 

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Pan 2015, Bairrada (Barrel Sample)

Dusty mineral spicy nose with plenty of red and black cherry fruits, foresty spice, bramble berry and hedge row complexity. Real power and intensity, layers of graphite and wood spice spar with sweet, tart red fruits and beautifully lifted violet perfume notes. Palate shows massive concentration and a more taught linear character, with slightly youthful angular acids and greater mid-palate powdery tannin tension than the 2013. Going to need time in bottle, but should blossom into one of the great Vinha Pan expressions.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Barrosa 2013, Bairrada, 13 Abv.

Made from grapes from multiple ripeness pickings, using 3 to 4 bunches per vine, the 2013 has its archetypal eucalyptus, spearmint leaf and sweet cassis nose reminiscent of a cool vintage Australian red. Beautiful layers of bramble berry, frais de bois and stalk spice abound. The palate is vibrant, intense, with wonderful sweet / sour plum notes, boiled cassis bon bons, maritime salinity, black forest berries and chalky mineral tannins. So suave, accessible and deliciously vibrant and fresh, this is drinkable now but will certainly develop additional foresty complexity over the next decade. 

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Barrosa 2015, Bairrada (Barrel Sample)

Another big bold wine from a superb vintage in the Bairrada. Rich, opulent depth of fruit resonates from the glass, showing a slightly more oldy worldy, black fruited expression with more graphite minerality, stalky spice, and cassis salinity, while never losing the underlying spearmint, eucalyptus, boiled cassis bon bon notes. The palate decouples slightly from the nose, delivering a delicious, opulent, fleshy mouthful of cherry cola and exotic fruit perfection. Hard to see how this wine can be more complete and harmonious. Give this 5 years and drink over the next 20+. True class.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Pan 2011, Bairrada, 13 Abv.

Lovely complex aromatics with lifted exotic notes of boot polish, polished mahogany, and sweet earthy brambley forest berry fruit nuances. Developing earthy, savoury, stewed red fruit compote notes, touch of earth and tannery leather and dusty, stalky spice. Palate is fresh, taught, and structured with more masculine tannins, cherry sherbet bon bon notes and a drying, spicy, graphite grip on the finish. A more severe, classic vintage as Luis says, that he feels can age for up to 30 years plus. Nevertheless, beautiful balance, intensity and great potential for the future.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Barrosa 2009, Bairrada, 13 Abv.

A dark, rich, broody nose with dense, dark back fruits, raisined black currant, savoury black berry and raisined red cherries. The wine suggests a lot on the nose, but reveals little. The palate too shows great restraint, dusty chalky minerality, dense, sleek ripe tannins with great textural power. The wine has delicious acidity, ripe sweet fleshy tannins and a mouth filing, power packed, well honed masculine physique. A thoroughly beguiling wine with plenty of intrigue but also great development potential.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Pan 1998, Bairrada, 13.5 Abv.

A more difficult year in Portugal, with cool weather until September, with the grapes limping to ripeness. The nose does show the cool, herbaceous, dusty minerality more reminiscent of Pinot Noir from Burgundy or cool climate Willamette Valley, Oregon. So youthful, the wine shows wonderful ageworthy notes of paprika, camphor, sappy spice, black berry, and chalky minerality. Delicious subtle savoury hints more evident on the palate, dampened by fresh herbaceous notes, subtle tea leaf and sweet red current fruits on the finish. A vibrant, youthful wine that is masterfully complex and balanced from a challenging vintage. No rush to drink this up.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Pan 1996 En Magnum, Bairrada, 13.5 Abv.

Beautifully plush, deep, broody nose with earthy cassis, black plum, garrigue, dried pot pourri, sour plum and bramble berry hints. Beautifully lifted, sweet fruited, fleshy, with a multitude of youthful black fruit flavours from a vintage supposed to be much more difficult than even 1998 due to intermittent rains. This is a very accomplished wine that transcends vintage conditions and serves to elevate the winemaking greatness of Luis Pato himself. The finish is fleshy, cool, suave and so elegant, with ample freshness, sweet tannins, and fine powdery grip. So youthful, thoroughly delicious now.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Barrosa 1998, Bairrada, 13.5 Abv.

Darker fruited, more savoury expression evident in this 1998 expression. There are hints of savoury red berry confit, diesel rag, tart cherry, sappy black berry and developing sweet tannery leather hints. More developed aromatically, the palate is fleshy and savoury, with stewed strawberries, garrigue, vermouth botanical notes and subtle sappy spicy tannins on the finish. Quite picante and chalky, this is ready to drink now.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Vinha Barrosa 1996 En Magnum, Bairrada, 13.5 Abv.

The 1996 differential with the 1998, are less pronounced than with the Vinha Pan cuvée. Served from magnum, this wine certainly shows fine herbal lift, medicinal notes, sweet tobacco, and earthy complex forest berries. The palate is sweet fruited, fleshy and broad, dense and slightly exotic, with mint, cassis boiled sweets, strawberry and sweet earthy leather notes with sappy, mineral complexity. Drinking well now, there is a real sweet pocket on the finish. Another accomplished wine from a challenging vintage.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)



Great White Burgundy Continues to Offer Unbeatable Drinking Pleasure ~ Tasting Faiveley Bienvenue Batard Montrachet Grand Cru… 

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The Faiveley Bienvenue Batard Montrachet Grand Cru is made from a 0.5 hectare plot of vines planted in 1980. The area was a quarry until the 12th century but the wine only started to achieve fame in the 17th century thanks to the Cistercian Abbey of Maizieres and the Lords of Chagny. The Faiveley family purchased the plot in 2008 along with another 0.5 hectares of Batard Montrachet Grand Cru right next door. 


A wonderful east facing exposition, the vines are grown on fine brown soils over hard limestone. Vinification lasts 4 weeks and takes place in French oak barrels, 50 to 60 percent of which are new each year. The lees is regularly stirred while the wines are aged for 18 months before bottling.


Domaine Faiveley Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2011, Burgundy, 13 Abv.

Going on six years old, this Grand Cru white is super fine, showing an intense nose of white citrus, acacia, lime peel, lemon zest, and custard pie. Subtle new oak spice and lovely vanilla pod allure with just a slight suggestion of bottle development starting adding an earthy wet chalk, mineral nuance. The palate is bristling with flavour in a super concentrated expression brimming with brûléed lemons, baked brioche, toffee apple, lemon confit and tart yellow grapefruit marmalade and a creamy, pithy, long candied citrus finish. Super power, beautifully vibrant acids and such energy. Drink this beauty now or keep for another 3 to 8 years. A majestic beauty.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Is There a Silver Lining in the 2013 Bordeaux Vintage Cloud? Tasting Tertre Roteboeuf 2013…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Is there ever a modern vintage from a premium global wine region that can be written off as totally unsaleable!? When you think of the 2013 Bordeaux harvest, it is not exactly a vintage many collectors and connoisseurs can envisage buying and cellaring. Indeed, the 2013 vintage was one of the coldest and wettest growing seasons in the past 40 years. 


In a normal vintage, Bordeaux would be expected to produce 5.5 million hectoliters of red wine. In 2013, this figure was closer to 3.9 million hectolitres, one of the lowest yields since 1970. But was the quality of the wines produced so horrendously below par as wine critics have made out? Personally, I remember returning from Bordeaux after tasting the En-primeur 2013 wines thinking what a delicious, elegant, light, fresh, “bistro vintage” this was going to be and how easy the wines would be to sell if the Bordelais priced them low “to move”. 


But of course, the Bordelais never do what is expected and the 2013 pricing was unreasonably high, out of touch generally, and the wines remained predictably unsold. Fast forward 4 years and it’s a sorry tale hearing of the large, unsold, unsaleable mountains of 2013 Bordeaux clogging up the balance sheets of negociants and Chateaux alike.


So when the opportunity arose for me to drink a bottle of 2013 Tertre Roteboeuf Grand Cru St Emilion, I approached the prospect with a fair amount of circumspection. What should I expect?

Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf St Emilion Grand Cru, 13.5 Abv.

The 2013 has a seductively perfumed nose that shows a wonderfully expressive bouquet of red cherries, red plums, red salty liquorice stick, cedar oak spice and sweet jasmine blossom. The typical Tertre Roteboeuf tasting note always alludes to the wine’s Burgundian characteristics. But with the 2013 Grand Vin, there is not only the pretty fragrant aromatics, but also the lighter, more ethereal texture more reminiscent of a Cotes de Nuits Burgundy than St Emilion Grand Cru. The palate shows beautiful balance and great depth of flavour with nuances of raisined cranberries, strawberry confit, dried figs, earthy red currant and pithy, spicy, picante tannins. Acids are fresh, slightly angular, taught and vibrant, lifting the palate concentration and highlighting its front palate opulence and immediacy before finishing with slightly peppery, spicy, chalky tannin drip. A very pretty wine, yet there is no frivolity in evidence, only focused, elegant, precise winemaking. Drink now to 2027+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Seductive Power of Appellation Margaux ~ Tasting the Over-Performing Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudieres…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

End September sees the Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois Trade Tasting return to London. Last year’s tasting was described by the Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin as a very fertile hunting ground for great value, affordable quality, drinking red Bordeaux. 


If the region of Bordeaux is to retain its admired status as the most collectable wine by connoisseur’s, it is crucial that smaller, lesser classifications are bought and drunk by regular consumers. The love affair with Bordeaux has to start somewhere, and for many wine enthusiasts, it starts with drinking tantalising Cru Bourgeois wines. So tonight I’m getting into training for the tasting by drinking a delicious bottle of appellation Margaux Cru Bourgeois. 


Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere 2012 Margaux, 13 Abv.

A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, this is an absolute cracker from the Margaux appellation. Sweet red plum and blueberry fragrance lift effortlessly out of the glass. Violets, jasmine, dried mint leaf, pot pourri herbs and seductive musk notes add massive complexity. There is also plenty of rich earthy cassis and lush red cherry exotism to excite even the most reluctant Bordeaux connoisseur. Palate concentration is very impressive yet you never lose sight of the wine’s Margaux’esque elegance, allure, perfume and seductive beauty. Creamy, powdery tannins are the order of the day making this a top notch Margaux that is both precise and pretty, yet deceptively powerful and intense. True to the vintage, there is ample accessible upfront fruit, fine balance and harmony and bright pure freshness. This is a fantastic offering that cannot fail to excite. Drink now to 2030.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)