Tag Archives: South Africa

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Ken Forrester ‘Petit’ Pinotage 2008 Stellenboch

Leave a comment

kenforresterpinotage_snapshot

Producer: Ken Forrester

Grapes: 100% Pinotage. A cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, resembling neither, it was created in the 1920s in South Africa by Stellenbosch University professor A. I. Perold. Here’s a good overview of the grape and it’s history.

Appellation: Stellenbosch (W.O. or Wine of Origin, South Africa)

Vineyards: Southeast-facing slopes.

Winemaking: Pressed off the skins early to avoid the heavy tannins sometimes associated with this grape.

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $9.99 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: Serious blue cheese attacks on the nose – like a really pungent Cabrales. The fruit aromas are plummy with an ashy note. On the palate it is nice and juicy with a good silkiness for a $10 wine. Good red fruit. I’m really enjoying this.

Overall impression: An affordable introduction to Pinotage. It’s definitely got the funky Pinotage character, but there’s plenty of juicy fruit to please. ‘n goeie wyn B

Free association:

cabrales

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/obis/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Shades of Africa 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon South Africa

1 Comment

Shades of AfricaI can’t really find anything about this wine online (and the label is no help either), so I won’t be doing a full post on this one. It’s a very young cab from South Africa — that’s all I know.

Nose is all over the place: chocolate milk one minute, wild berries the next, ashy, “thorny” according to my wife (I read that as sort of green and underbrushy), “grapey” according to my 3-year old. In the mouth it’s pretty rustic, with more funky overripe berries, meaty/gamey flavors and some drying tannins. Overall it’s pretty awkward and it tastes cheap (it was: $9), like if you ordered the house red at an Indian restaurant and they looked at you like “Really?”

Grade: C-/D+

Update: I looked back at the label and found a couple of things I missed before. First, it’s 14.0% a.b.v. Second, it’s from the Western Cape region within South Africa’s “Wine of Origin” system, which apparently is kind of a catch-all appellation that covers the majority of SA vineyards.

Also, I added the photo above.  Why do these South African producers  (see Sebeka) use such obvious “Africa” imagery in their label designs? You don’t see French producers putting white flags on their bottles. (Sorry – couldn’t resist the joke!)