This complex wine might surprised more than one consumers for its boldness and rich flavors but it is considers a very classic style meritage in the Stellenbosch region in South Africa.
Technical Data: 45% Pinotage, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc. Aged 6 months on oak.
Description: Ruby red color. Fruity aromas of ripe black cherries layered with spice, herbs and tobacco. The wine is full-bodied and surprisingly complex, displaying a wide array of elegant flavors mingled together, from red berries and ripe cherries to spices, cedar, tobacco and toast, all and all very pleasing. Supple velvety tannins with a clean long lasting finish.
Food Pairing & Service: This wine will benefit to being open about 10 to 15 minutes prior consumption, served at room temperature. Will accompany well a chili bowl or anything with beef or pork. Will also delight you with hearty pasta dishes or a slice of pizza.
Score: 7/10.
Ageing Potential: Up to 8 years. Can definitely age but try it out now as well and you’ll like it all the same!
Price as seen on MD shelf: $14.99
A “juicy” fruit forward and easy going wine with a round palate from the Stellenbosh Region in South Africa. You just found your everyday wine meal!
Technical Data: 100% Pinotage harvested fully ripe. Cool fermented after a cold maceration on the skins and pressed off early, before the development of hard tannins. Reminder: Originally, Pinotage was a cross-breed of Pinot Noir with Cinsault, nowadays, it is considered a grape on its own.
Description: Dark plum color. Classic Pinotage nose for this wine displaying ripe plum, cedar and oaky aromas back up by chocolaty nuances. A juicy wine, easy going on the palate, medium bodied, with very subtle tannins and a delicious fruit concentration of plum, dark ripe cherries as well as a little bit of smoky flavors.
Food Pairing & Service: This “Juicy” unwooded wine can be served with a generous slice of pizza or a BBQ, ideal with Turkey as well. Perfect with almost any casual occasion!
Score: 7/10.
Price as seen on MD shelf: $12.99
An Off Dry and slightly wooded juicy White Wine from the Stellenbosh Region in South Africa.
Technical Data: 100% Chenin Blanc . 30% of the wine was fermented and matured for six months in new American and Hungarian oak and new and second fill French oak barrels. The wine was then slightly sweetened with Chenin Blanc Noble Late harvest, fined, sterile filtered and bottled.
Description: Light bright gold color. Complex nose exuding lots of fruity aromas such as ripe pineapple and white peach but also hints of lemon and lime. On the palate, the wine is luscious yet spicy. Great texture, well balanced with a good acidity. It overflows with flavors, from white peach and apricot to spice, light oak and white flowers all mingled together but yet still recognizable on their own. Long lasting finish for a delightful wine.
Food Pairing & Service: Very versatile wine, although it will accommodate a wild range of dishes, it would best accompany shellfish and grilled fish like tuna or even sardines. Consider also pairing it with lemon and herb roast chicken as well as vegetable stews. Any dish served with saffron rice will do too. Serve chilled.
Score: 8/10. Great find, stack it up for the year around!
Ageing Potential: Up to 5 – 8 years.
Price as seen on MD shelf: $15.99
A juicy and lush yet Dry Rosé Wine from the Stellenbosh Region in South Africa.
Technical Data: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes were harvested and crushed. To achieve the desired color on the free run juice, the grapes were cold-macerated. After settling in tank, the juice was racked and inoculated with yeast cultures for fermentation. After fermentation, the wine underwent lees contact, a light fining and filtration before bottling. No Wood ageing to preserve freshness of the wine.
Description: Bright and lively raspberry pink color. Strawberry, rose petal and raspberry aromas are laced together to offer a complex, lush, fruit forward yet Dry Rosé. On the palate, this is a sophisticated and “sexy” Rosé combining strawberries, raspberries and ripe cherries flavors as well as some spices inherited from the Cabernet Sauvignon own character.
Food Pairing & Service: A very versatile dry Rosé wine, easy going on the palate. Serve well chilled. It will stands very well against “modern style” cuisine, fusion cuisine, light Italian cuisine as well as some spicy Asian dishes. The ideal summer salad wine. Enjoy it with sushi and other Japanese delights as well. Great to have at a picnic or at the beach. An excellent aperitif wine as well. Serve chilled.
Score: 8/10. Great find, stack it up for the summer!
Ageing Potential: Up to 3 years.
Price as seen on MD shelf: $13.99
A juicy and lush dry red from the Stellenbosh Region in South Africa.
Technical Data: 100% Merlot. The wine was left to mature for 14 months in French oak, after which it received a light filtration prior to bottling.
Description: Bright Ruby red color. Distinctive Strawberry, Raspberry aromas underlying spice and coffee notes. Very subtle palate, smooth tannins, balanced and structured wine showing off red/black fruits flavors as well as some spice and toasty oak . Good lengthy, smooth finish.
Food Pairing & Service: A very versatile wine, very accessible to any palate. Will do wonders either way, by itself or accompanying a dish. Tomato based dishes in general or hearty food would be a great match for it, I would also consider give it a try with Moussaka or even with Shrimp Calamari, Yum! Enjoy this great food wine now through at least 2013 .
Score: 8/10. Great find!
Price as seen on MD shelf: From $17.99 to $24.99
A juicy and leathery very dry red from Western Cape Region in South Africa.
Technical Data: Cabernet Sauvignon 52%, Shiraz 32%, Merlot 16%. Ten months of French and American oak maturation. The three cultivars were vinified separately for eight months, followed by two months of blending prior to bottling.
Description: Dark ruby red dress. This wine shows initial oak, spice and pepper aromas which on the second whiff gives way to ripe dark morello cherries. Nicely balanced wine with a good structure thru and thru, supple velvety tannins and rich enticing flavors including leather, morello cherries, plum, pepper, spice and oak. Lengthy, smooth finish.
Food Pairing & Service: Bold enough to stand a steak or ribs, Yum! The wine will easily mature and soften beautifully over the next 3 to 4 coming years.
Score: 8/10. Great find for the price, don’t hesitate, try this on!
Price as seen on MD shelf: From $9.99 to $15.99
Soft and very fruity light to medium-bodied red wine from the Western Cape Region of South Africa.
Technical Data: Shiraz 89%, Cinsault 9%, Viognier 2%. The Shiraz portion was lightly wooded for softer mouth-feel. The wine was made in a fruit-forward, soft style. Cinsault was added for additional red berry fruit flavors and the Viognier softens the tannins, adds plushness and floral aromas.
Description: Light ruby red color. A fruit forward nose with quite a lot of both cherry and plummy aromas, some underlying spice notes as well. In the mouth, soft tannins, round mouth, again, lots of ripe cherries flavors here tied to blackberries, plum and some spicy toasty flavors. Do not linger.
Food Pairing & Service: A medium-bodied red that will complement a wide range of food as long as the dish it accompanies is not too heavy. It will stands very well against “modern style” cuisine, fusion cuisine, light Italian cuisine as well as some spicy Asian dishes. Great to have at a picnic or at the beach for those of you whom don’t like dry Rosés Wines. Can also be definitely sipped by itself.
Score: 5/10. Definitely too mellow for my palate but if you like strong fruit forward wines, this is the right for you.
Price as seen on MD shelf: From $8.99 to $11.99
Crisp very fruity light to medium-bodied white wine from the Western Cape Region of South Africa.
Technical Data: 95% Chenin Blanc “Steen” grapes with 5% Viognier to add more body and floral notes to this wine. Aged in Stainless steel tanks only to preserve freshness.
Description: Light gold color. Fresh and quite vibrant nose focused primarily on white peach fruits, guava and tropical fruits. Soft, round palate, with a nice acidity. Melon and tropical fruits as well as stone fruits flavors first comes in mind on the palate, but are then later in the mouth enticed with floral flavors like chamomile and a touch or hawthorn, which gives a nice and unexpected complexity for a wine at this price point. Light to medium-bodied wine. Do not last long unfortunately.
Food Pairing & Service: Recommended with light seafood or shell fish dishes, white creamy pasta or light chicken or turkey dishes, also well suited with some mild cheeses as well as salad. A good one to consider for the summer season as it is light to medium bodied. Great to have at a picnic or at the beach. Can also be definitely sipped by itself. Serve chilled.
Score: 6/10. I gave it only a 6 over 10 because it is not quite my type of Chenin Blanc, I usually like wine with a broader body…It is still a very nice one to try out if you are more into lighter bodied whites, I would say that, this one is a bit more complex than, let’s say your average Pinot Grigio, but not quite as complex as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc could be nor as complex as a Chenin Blanc is usually, this is why it scores low on my scale.
Price as seen on MD shelf: $9.99
The Iconic Goat Do Roam Red Label from the well awarded Fairview Winery. This wine is from the Coastal Region of Paarl in South Africa.
Technical Data: This wine is a blend that you could definitely call “Rhône Valley Style” even if it comes from South Africa. It is composed of 61% Syrah, 14% Cinsault, 13% Mourvèdre, 8% Grenache and 4% Carignan. The wine was lightly aged in old barrels for ten month prior bottling, no new wood were used.
Description: Bright ruby red color. A quite enticing first impression with aromas of raspberries, blackberries and ripe cherries. A whiff of pepper, cedar and a touch of oak complement quite well its complex nose. Very supple mouth, dry medium-bodied wine with velvety tannins and a good structure thru and thru. The dominant flavor is blackberry but it is laced with ripe plum, pepper, smoke and cedar. This wine is well balanced and everlasting in the palate.
Food Pairing & Service: This one will go well with hearty pasta dishes. A nice one for steak as well, and burger in general.
Score: 8/10
Price as seen on MD shelf: $13.99
A full bodied Dry Red wine, from the Agter-Paarl and Darling areas (Coastal Region) in South Africa from one of the now regularly awarded winery, Fairview.
Technical Data: The grapes are coming from 2 different areas which are both trellised, un-irrigated vineyards. Wine made off 100% Pinotage grapes. Grapes were destalked, lightly crushed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation the wine was pressed off and matured for 8 months prior to bottling. Older American oak barrels were used.
Description: Bright dark ruby color. A distinctive ripe plummy nose at first, with touch of cedar and pepper here and there, then a more subtle sweet red fruits aromas kicks in. On the palate, a full-bodied dry wine showing off ripe cherries and plum flavors tied together with smoky and cedary notes. A touch of pepper on the lingering palate. Expects some tannins but overall a very well balanced wine.
Food Pairing & Service: I would definitely have this wine with a nice BBQ, Ribs and Steaks for once. But I got to say, even if it is a very versatile wine, because it is full bodied, it would suit better red meat. Nonetheless, I could certainly see myself sipping it, while enjoying a nice homemade dish like Pasta “bolognese” or even a “Meat Lover style” Pizza.
Score: 9/10
Price as seen on MD shelf: $12.99 it’s a steal for the price, my advice, stock it up for the summer’s BBQ, I promise you, you won’t regret it!
