Blends set trends on the cape
Part of the Cape Wine experience is the chance to attend seminars on various South African wine topics. In one interesting tasting on emerging trends, several Cape wine masters guided attendees through a selection of wines they thought represented where the industry is heading.
It consisted of three distinct tastings: white blends, red blends and dessert wines.
Blends are trendy, it seems, and with good reason. When a winemaker has the luxury of blending distinct varieties, they can produce a better, more balanced wine.
In the case of the Cape whites, they use certain grapes for body and roundness (Chardonnay, Semillon), others for crisp acid and fruit (Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc), and some mainly for aromatics (Viognier, although it has good body to go along with its apricot and honeysuckle notes).
The whites we tasted were all dry, with good body and balanced acid. Some featured a touch of oak for complexity and length.
My favourite was the Strandveld Adamastor 2007, a 50/50 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend, with elegant use of oak in the Bordeaux model.
NB Liquor does not carry any wines reflecting this premium white blend trend, but I expect we'll see them before long.
The closest would be the 2007 Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend at $14.36, which is in the warehouse but not in stores yet.
The red blend portion of the seminar was four bold wines based on the Syrah/Shiraz grape. Waterford Estate's 2005 Mediterranean Blend fills out the recipe with Mouvedre, Petit Verdot and Barbera, while Ken Forrester's 2005 Gypsy is a straight 80/20 Shiraz/Grenache mix, with lots of berry fruit, firm tannins and alcoholic warmth.
Fairview's 2007 Caldera is an oaky/berry sweet 26 per cent Shiraz, 26 per cent Mouvedre, and 48 per cent Grenache melange, while the Idiom SMV 2006 is a classic Rhone blend of Shiraz/Mouvedre/Viognier.
The 4 per cent Viognier is supposed to add a delicate floral element to Rhône blends, but in this case it is lost in the cloves, coffee, caramel and spicy toasty oak notes, partly due to the use of American oak.
Although these wines aren't sold in New Brunswick, we do have several "Cape" blends that are tasty, balanced food wines.
Unlike the trendy blends above, traditional Cape Blends tend to have Pinotage in the mix. An old standard is the berry-laden yet still Old World style KWV Roodeberg, $16.29, which incorporates several grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and, I believe, Ruby Cabernet (Carignan crossed with Cabernet Sauvignon), in a secret blend.
On safari last week, I met the KWV rep for North America, and he wouldn't tell me the exact blend. He did, however, give me a sample of delicious Roodeberg white, a new concoction that I hope to see here in New Brunswick within the year.
Other reasonably priced blends that go well with grilled meats are Goats do Roam ($12.99, Pinotage/Syrah/Cinsault) and Graham Beck's 2004 Railroad Red ($15.49, Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz).
Cheers!