There’s a cloak of mystery still surrounding wines from South Africa. Because the wine industry there is so young, most wine drinkers in the U.S. will draw a blank when asked about South African wine. In fact, when my tasting group, The Ladies Tasting Society, sat down last week to taste its way through eight samples, we discovered that two in our group of seven had never had a red wine from South Africa. Another three could not remember the last time they’d drank one. Only two of us had partaken within the last few months, and in my case I confess that was because I was, how should I put it, priming my pump in preparation for the tasting.
For our enounter with wines with flamboyant noses, banana notes, and wacky names, click here:
But never mind the obscurity problem. We had trouble even finding wines for the tasting. One of us went to the self-described “largest wine merchant west of the Mississippi” only to be told they didn’t carry any ZA imports. I had to hunt down my selections on the Internet (and found them, by the way, at a very obliging merchant called the Southern Hemisphere Wine Center). And when two of our eight wines turned out to be identical, no one was surprised, seeing what a limited market we were apparently working with.
The wine-hunting safari was worth it, though. We bagged a variety of drinkable reds, all of them hailing either from Stellenbosch or one of the other wine regions that lie not far outside Cape Town on Africa’s southernmost tip. None of them cost more than $30 and the average price was a very appealing $19.50. And our selections — two cabernets, one syrah (often called shiraz in ZA), two Rhone-style blends, and two pinotages — ended up reflecting nicely South Africa’s strengths in the reds department.
The best of the bunch we found interesting, in a good sense: they were marked by vivid aromas and flavors that clearly announced “syrah” or “cabernet,” but they weren’t afraid to flaunt their idiosyncrasies. They were well-made, but not so polished that they could have come from anywhere. Our favorite was an older vintage, a 2002 Kevin Arnold “Michael Ian” Shiraz, which stood out because of its expressive, smoky, peaty nose and its deep, dark fruit flavors. This memorable syrah would have tasted great with black truffles or a big pizza loaded with mushrooms and sausage.
The not-best of the bunch, though, we found either merely satisfying or clearly lacking. The 2005 Excelsior Cabernet, which pats itself on the back for having been chosen recently by Olive Garden for its house red by-the-glass, delivered a one-note, sugary performance that reminded us of Swisher Sweet cigars.
Overall, I’d have to say we found the field uneven. Perhaps the most surprising example was the wine of which we turned out to have two bottles, the 2006 Spice Route Pinotage: by sheer accident we tasted one right after the other, none of us guessed it was the same wine, and most of us in fact strongly preferred the second bottle over the first. (I gave the first bottle one star and the second two and a half stars, for example.) My guess is that one of these two pinotages must have had a rough crossing; Spice Route is a respected, fairly new partnership including Charles Back, who is like the Robert Mondavi of South Africa, only with a wacked sense of humor. In any case, the fact that we could see such variation in quality among the wines — even within the same wine — tells me that we’re still, when it comes to this region, dealing with a developing wine industry.
But since the prices for South African wine are so right, even if the quality can be so wrong, we advise you to buy and drink ZA, but to do so with care. We offer our guidance below.
Best of Tasting
2002 Kevin Arnold “Michael Ian” Shiraz, $30 ***
Dark garnet color with pink edges, followed by a flamboyant nose, showing peat, earth, and distinctive barnyard aromas. Dark fruit flavors, almost plummy, with creme de cassis, wet earth, and grilled mushroom. Complex, with a diesel note that reminded one taster of a Bandol (indeed it turns out Mr. Arnold threw a dollop of mourvedre into the mix). We got this bottle on a big sale at $18, but a more representative price for the current release is $36.
Best Value
2006 Goats do Roam “Goat-Rotie,” $17 **
The name of this syrah-mourvedre-viognier blend puns playfully on Côte-Rôtie, the great red of France’s northern Rhone. We loved it, from its medium-dark ruby color, its meaty aromas, its red and black fruit flavors, all the way to its decent, clean finish. A solid effort from the aforementioned Charles Back’s Fairview wine company.
2004 DeWaal “CT DeWaal” Pinotage 2006, $29 ***
More proof that it’s getting safer to stick your toes in the pinotage waters. This grape, a cross between pinot noir and cinsault, has proved difficult to make into wine that’s not too rustic, too simple, or just plain weird. (The tell-tale flavor of pinotage, for example, is banana.) But this bottling, produced from 45-year-old-plus vines and named after the inventor behind the grape, is a dark, seductive brew with a beautiful fruit flavors, a clean, silky mouthfeel, and lots of interesting earthy and peppery notes.
2004 Neil Ellis Cabernet Sauvignon, $22 **1/2
Another flamboyant bouquet jumps from the glass of this beautifully-priced, deeply colored cab. Smoke, briars, and rich ripe fruit introduce a plush mouthfeel, wrapped around more dark fruit flavors, and leading to a long, long, finish.
2006 Spice Route Pinotage, $19 **1/2
Tell-tale notes of banana emerge from the glass, introducing a classic pinotage, complete with a clean, juicy mouthfeel, good cherry fruit, and some licorice notes. (These notes are from the second bottle we tasted.)
2006 Black Rock Shiraz, $18 **
A bright ruby color is followed by pure aromas of fruit and vanilla. A pleasant wine, a bit one-dimensional, with a shortish finish.
2005 Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon, $9 *
This lighter-colored red has, politely speaking, a reserved nose. Some of us smelled a little pepper and some Swisher Sweet cigar. In the mouth, though, it’s pure Halls cherry lozenge. Sweet, with an unhappy finish.
