Super White wines of 2011 went up against Superquaffers on Wednesday night in Sea Point with pretty awesome results. Members of our social wine club, The Bald & The Beautiful, comprising of myself, Corlien Morris of Wine Concepts, wine writer Christian Eedes and sommelier James Pietersen, were presented with a mixed line-up of “superquaffers” and “super whites”. Since the tasting was conducted blind (labels out of sight) no-one could be influenced by previous ratings or prejudice. Rated purely on sensory appeal, the quaffers did exceptionally well – beating even some of the top-rated wines in the country.
Those who like a bargain would like to know straight off the bat that the second highest scoring wine of the night was the (R40-a-bottle) Wolftrap White 2010. Rated as Platter’s Superquaffer of the Year in the 2012 edition, this wine from Franschhoek property Boekenhoutskloof did its title justice with an overall score of 17 / 20 (which is 4 Stars, and therefore a wine of distinction). Another top superquaffer was Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc 2011, with some members, myself included, guessing it a Super White. Overall score for this wine (which trades for about R35) was 15.75 (rounded to 16).
The top-rated wine of the night was Morgenzon Chenin Blanc 2009, with an overall score of 17.5, or 4½ Stars.
A humbling exercise, it is unfortunate that some great wines – the KWV Grenache Blanc 2010 being a case in point with its 5 Star rating in Platter’s 2012 and one of my top wines of 2011 – didn’t fare as well as expected. Rated an overall score of 15.75 (or rounded 16), members were divided on the merits of the wine. It showed a rich lanolin character, and while the palate was immaculately intact, the reductive character ultimately resulted in it being scored down.
Here’s the full list of wines as tasted in line-up and scored:
Morgenzon Chenin Blanc 2009 – JT score: 17.5/20. Overall score: 17.5/20
Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc 2011 – JT score 16/20. Overall score: 15.75/20
What! Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – JT score 14/20. Overall score: 14.75/20
KWV Grenache Blanc 2010 – JT score 15/20. Overall score: 15.75/20
David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – JT score 16/20. Overall score: 16/20
Tokara Director’s Reserve 2010 – JT score 15.5/20. Overall score 16.5/20
The Wolftrap White 2010 – JT score 17.5/20. Overall score 17/20
Strandveld Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – JT score 14/20. Overall score 15.88/20
De Grendel Pinot Gris 2010 – JT score 14/20. Overall score 15.38/20
David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – JT score 16/20. Overall score: 16.38/20
Ah – nice to discover this (even only now) after the demise of this blog on Winemag’s website! Here’s me writing on a cold thread.
I agree that The Wolftrap is great value. The KWV has changed a lot since release (almost a Riesling character now), but the fruit and structure is still there, so I think it has an exciting future.
J-T, you didn’t like the Strandveld much (I do). Too much pyrazines, or did something else bother you?
Kwispie! Nice to have you back. Fully agree with you on the Riesling character on the KWV. Intriguing rather than weird I’d say. On the Strandveld: I think it is a style – asparagus, green peppers – which has served its purpose, but that stylistically it is time to encourage wine drinkers to explore ‘sunny’ Sauvignon Blancs (for lack of a better descriptor). You are not entirely incorrect in attributing this observation to a personal preference of mine, however I think it is the duty of us active wine bunch to dictate fashion too – and I think green peppers are so last year.