What should I be drinking?

Ebenezer

Member
Messages
4,444
Talk to me about South African wine. I'm going to go to the local wine man and ask for some recommendations. For white, I'm a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc sort of guy and reds are Argentinian Malbecs. Will probably want fizz in white and rose too.

What are the South african equivalents? (Or is that a heretical thing to ask?)

Eb
 

Guy

Member
Messages
2,000
Eb, clearly a little budget dependent but I find Rustenberg wines excellent value (both white and red) at £12-15. Chocolate Block is a good wine at £17 in Costco when they have it or £22 in Majestic. There is a really good indie wine shop in Cheltenham that sprecialises in SA wine and will probably introduce you to some good ones. Enjoy!
Guy
 

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,833
You can’t really go wrong with SA wines as long as you stay away from the bulk supermarket wines. If you buy estate wine, the Stellenbosch region wines are top notch. Most estates have both reds and whites of various varietals. For reds, go for Shiraz, Cab Sauv, Bordeaux blends. Pinotage is SA specific. Brands Thelema ( my go-to high quality wine), Rustenburg, Rust en Vrede, but there are so many. Also some excellent Pinot Noirs (Elgin /Hemel en Aarde regions - brands Hamilton Russell or Bouchard Finlayson).

For whites, I really like the wooded Chenins, but Chardonnay and Sauv Blancs are very good too. If you’re into desert wines, the SA Noble Late Harvests will give a Sauternes a run for its money.

The John Platter wine guide is very handy and has nearly all SA wines in it with tasting notes and star grading.
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
Like Tallman said. Pinotage is SA specific. And the one they do in Aldi (of all places) is very palatable.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
Just don’t buy the cheap stuff…

It's a matter of taste, isn't it. In the main I'm not a huge fan of 'new world' (including SA) wines because they tend to the robustly simple (IMHO). There are good ones, of course. Same like there are good Australian wines and good South American ones (thinking particularly of the cooler climate Argentian Malbec) but the 'stereotypes' are not to my taste, mostly.

So vast generalisations with caveats boiling down to: drink loads, note what you like and stick with that :D

C
 

Ebenezer

Member
Messages
4,444
Thanks all - I'll have a mosy and I guess just get stuck in. My palate is not sophisticated and generally prefer new world wines so I'm hoping for good things!
Eb
 

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,833
It's a matter of taste, isn't it. In the main I'm not a huge fan of 'new world' (including SA) wines because they tend to the robustly simple (IMHO). There are good ones, of course. Same like there are good Australian wines and good South American ones (thinking particularly of the cooler climate Argentian Malbec) but the 'stereotypes' are not to my taste, mostly.

So vast generalisations with caveats boiling down to: drink loads, note what you like and stick with that :D

C
Fair enough, French / Italian wines and to some extent Spanish can be a bit more complex at the high end than new world, in your face wines with more fruit. But when I say you can’t go wrong what I mean is quality wise. SA wines are consistently good quality, there is little between vintages and producers, unlike some European wines where you can pay a lot for ****. I’ve opened up some Mouton Rothschild and from a lesser vintage and even that was not really palatable. At its best it‘ll beat almost anything of course. I don’t know if I dare say it but buying European wines can be a bit like buying a Maser without PPI ;)
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
Fair enough, French / Italian wines and to some extent Spanish can be a bit more complex at the high end than new world, in your face wines with more fruit. But when I say you can’t go wrong what I mean is quality wise. SA wines are consistently good quality, there is little between vintages and producers, unlike some European wines where you can pay a lot for ****. I’ve opened up some Mouton Rothschild and from a lesser vintage and even that was not really palatable. At its best it‘ll beat almost anything of course. I don’t know if I dare say it but buying European wines can be a bit like buying a Maser without PPI ;)

Oh yes. Some of the high end stuff is utter **** (IMHO!)

C
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
Talk to me about South African wine. I'm going to go to the local wine man and ask for some recommendations. For white, I'm a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc sort of guy and reds are Argentinian Malbecs. Will probably want fizz in white and rose too.

What are the South african equivalents? (Or is that a heretical thing to ask?)

Eb

Eb,
A friend of mine, Dan Grigg, runs a wine shop near me (www.museumwines.co.uk). He is an SA wine expert and acts as the sole UK importer for several SA vineyards. Recently won an award as best UK dealer of SA wine. Give him a call and he'll tell you what you need to know.
 

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,833
Eb,
A friend of mine, Dan Grigg, runs a wine shop near me (www.museumwines.co.uk). He is an SA wine expert and acts as the sole UK importer for several SA vineyards. Recently won an award as best UK dealer of SA wine. Give him a call and he'll tell you what you need to know.
I had a look at what he offers. Wines that I know are good and good value would include the following:

Raats Chenin
Raats-Mvemve de Compostela (top end)
Complete Stark-Conde range (voted best wine estate in SA a couple of years ago and consistently winning prizes - I know the owners, people that do things right)
If you're into Riesling the Hartenberg is a nice one - you can keep this for quite a few years if stored correctly
As mentioned above Hamilton Russell Chardonnay & Pinot Noir are amount the top in SA (price is about 33% more than what I would pay at the estate so seems reasonable).
I don't rate Lanzerac very highly, they were my neighbours for years so I know them well.

If you can get your hands on a Thelema Merlot Reserve do try it, for me one of the best in SA. The standard Merlot is also good, as is their Cab.

Good quality reds can certainly be cellared, I like to drink good reds at about 8-10 years old but the other day I had a 1994 Stellenzicht Syrah that held up very well (as it should, it beat the Penfolds Grange at the time!). Not saying the others on the site aren't any good, but these I know. Hope it helps
 

Ebenezer

Member
Messages
4,444
Thanks all - This is what I have come back with. The choice was a bit limited and but it's a start.

92719

I'm not expecting any of them to be high flyers at all although the Uva Mira is supposed to be the nicest of the 3 Sauvignons.

Eb
 

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,833
Thanks all - This is what I have come back with. The choice was a bit limited and but it's a start.

View attachment 92719

I'm not expecting any of them to be high flyers at all although the Uva Mira is supposed to be the nicest of the 3 Sauvignons.

Eb
The Uva Mira & Creation should be good, don't expect too much from the Zonnebloem. I quite like Pongracz, I don't know the Zonin but it looks like its a Prosecco so Italian.