2008 Kanonkop Pinotage

We don't drink much South African wine...we don't drink much Pinotage, I decided to splurge on a reputable one.

A thick blackberry syrup kinda nose along with that famous burnt rubber smell - I drank this blind and the nose gave it away.

Interesting...a unique wine, more of that blackberry syrup on the palate, not much oak or tannin, but loads of acid, stone fruit, peachy, plummy, that whole thing, all with some chocolatey notes as well....

You guessed it, blackberry on the finish, as it fades some spicy qualities - mint, mostly - lingers. Not bad.

An interesting wine. Retail out here was $32, so that's certainly nothing to sneeze at, but if you want to try a nice version of this varietal, it may be worth your while.

Score: 89

2008 Mulderbosch South Africa Rose

The weather's a bear and rose is a surefire way to beat the heat. I'm perusing the shop and grab a French rose, our default, and as I walk around I stumble upon the South African wine section. It's been a while since we've had a South African wine (as far as I can tell it's been three years), so this is the first in several wines we'll be having in the near future to reacquaint ourselves with the region.

Some minerality on the nose, which isn't all that common in roses.

The slightest bit of sugar - barely noticeable, but it's there - and a good punch of acid. Strawberry mostly dominates here with some nice spicy notes. There's an interesting lemon/lime sorta thing - almost like it has a dash of 7-Up or something mixed in.

Some interesting spicy things come through on the finish - white pepper perhaps, something more exotic that I can't quite place my finger on - almost a lavender quality.

For ten bucks, I have no complaints here.

Wine: 7
Value: Yep

2004 Juno Shiraz

This was given to me by a friend of mine and I figured I'd pop it open. Will it be better than one of the worst movies I've ever seen which shares its name? Let's find out.

I smell all sorts of black pepper, oak, and smoke in this.

Plum, black cherry, blackberry – all sorts of black fruit – with black pepper, oak, and spice.

The finish has some alcohol burn and some lingering raspberry.

Day one of this was a Friday, we didn't get to the bottle until Monday – that's three days versus or normal one – how does it hold up?

Spice and blackberry on the nose.

Interesting – dried raspberries, figs, and prune, the spice has disappeared and there's virtually no tannin, or oak for that matter though there is some smoke smokiness.

A bit of black pepper is creeping through on the finish as well as some prune and fig.

No complaints at all – a solid bottle and one I'd gladly snag on my own.

2005 Goats Do Roam Red

This label has picked up some wider distribution in recent months. I remember trying this at a tasting a few months back, but don’t recall much about it....I think I need to start making better notes at tastings. This one was $8 at Trader Joe’s and is from South Africa.

One would think this would be a Cotes du Rhone blend with the punny label, but it’s actually Shiraz, Cinsault, Grenache, Gamay, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot...not quite a Cotes blend.

The nose is fruit filled, blueberries mainly, with a bit of oak.

More blueberry on the palate, this is definitely fruit forward, with light oak and mild tannins.

The fruit on the finish fades quickly but some oak lingers.

Strongly recommended. We’re drinking this by itself and it’s excellent, but I’d certainly call this food friendly and would work well with almost anything. Go for it.

2005 Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap

This South African wine is a blend of Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre, and Viognier. South Africa is a great country to investigate if you’re a fan of wine...places like South Africa, Chile, Argentina, and even Spain have some outstanding bargains. This one cost me $10.

There’s no doubt here, this is a food wine. Big, bold, jammy, spicy, acidic and with medium tannins it begs for big, flavorful food.

Alcohol and earth on the nose.

The palate is fruity and spicy–ripe blackberries, plums, a bit of cherry, some cinammon, and black pepper, all with bit of earth

Firmly acidic in an unusual way....the 5% Viognier (a white grape) may be the source of that, but it may also be the terrior. It's difficult to describe, but most wine has a very nice blended taste to it...the acid and fruit just work together...with this they just seem seperate. Imagine the difference between a blended squash soup--everything just works together. Now think about a salad with a balsalmic dressing--everything compliments each other but by contrast. This has that contrast feel to it, but don't get me wrong--it works.

If you like big red wine I’d recommend it, especially at this price. At $10, you can’t get anything with this depth from the US or even Australia.

2005 Cederberg Bukettraube

Bukettraube is an somewhat unusual varietal the pretty much only comes out of South Africa. At $15 a bottle, it came with a strong recommendation, so I decided to pick up a bottle and give it a shot.

Fran and I both sipped our wines at about the same time and our reaction were pretty much the same—we wrinkled our brows and both let out a “huh.”

This tastes like a funky blend...a bit Gewurtztraminer, a bit Sauvignon Blanc, a bit Riesling, and perhaps a hint of Chardonnay.

There’s plenty of interesting spicy flavors going on, a fair amount of tropical fruit (pineapple, apricots), lots of grapefruit, and just a bit of cream on the finish, a bit of sweetness and a lot of acid...it’s unusual but more in the combination rather than the individual flavors.

If you’re a fan of whites, especially the non-oaked varietals, I’d say this is worth a shot