Western Cape Vineyards

Hamilton Russell Vineyards

Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay 2018

Paul J
9.7

Double blind wine tasting. 3 Whites and 3 Reds:

1. ‘18 Hamilton Russell Chard - WOTN across both whites and reds - complex, refined, fruit integrated with honey, oak, butter, cream, camomile.

2. ‘20 Hartenberg The Eleanor Chard - big wine that could use a few years. Nice fruit and lovely acidity. Mix between a White Burg and Rhone Blend.

3. ‘22 Far Niente Chard - potential, very young, not the best QPR. Reminded me of young Paul Hobbs single vineyard Chards.


1. ‘12 Giacomo Fenocchio 90 di Riserva Barolo - aged showed through nicely, but still lively with dark cherries and ample tannins.

2. ‘20 Vilafonte - decanted, but young and an absolutely massive wine. Black fruit, chewy, with decent sweetness.

3. ‘02 Origin Red Blend - nose of black tar and cigars. Zero fruit and big tar, tobacco, and bbq flavors. Bigger wine than I was expecting.

Great night with great friends!
— 17 days ago

Brooke Weaver Jakubowski
with Brooke
Tom, Severn and 4 others liked this

Jean-Luc Colombo

Cape Bleue Rosé Blend

Loved the strawberry scent but not a sweet wine. Can taste the smoothness of the Syrah grapes — 18 days ago

Moss Wood

Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Generally one of the best Cabernets in Margaret River and therefore Australia. Very dark Ruby in colour. Cassis and blackberry, ripe and rich. I would never pick this as Margaret River in a blind tasting. Where are the herbal notes? But still recognisable as a quality Cabernet. The 2009 Moss Wood was given a poor score of only 84 points by Huon Hooke who is one of Australia’s leading wine scribes. He said “over ripe fruit is the problem “. I have always rated Huon’s reviews and have been a long time subscriber to his website and always will be but I don’t believe he got this right. On 4th July 2012 he said “I can’t see this ageing well” and gave a drinking window of 2012 to 2018. Well tonight at 15 years of age it is drinking very well. James Halliday gave the wine 95 points. — 2 months ago

Tom, David and 18 others liked this
Travis W

Travis W Influencer Badge

Thanks for the note Bob. I've got a few in the cellar of this vintage. Are they good to hold for awhile longer? Cheers
Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald Influencer Badge

Drinking well now Travis. Could go on for a few more years I would say.
Travis W

Travis W Influencer Badge

Thanks Bob. 😊👍

Meerlust

Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016

Great structure and so balanced 🤤 Dark fruit with hints of leather and tobacco. Built to this crescendo in the finish. Incredible — 13 days ago

Tammy de Weerd
with Tammy
Jan, Ted and 2 others liked this

Leeuwin Estate

Art Series Margaret River Riesling 2020

Pale straw . Lemon and lime with some petrol hints ,green herbs , white flower notes as well . Light bodied with high acidity , green apple , lime and grapefruit . Very fresh , high acidity , leaves the palate very fresh , lively . Touch of fresh green herbs on the ok length finish . Would prefer to leave this 2 or 3 years , just to fill out a little more in the bottle and will last well a further 10 or so . — 14 days ago

Tom, Bob and 5 others liked this

Leeuwin Estate

Art Series Margaret River Chardonnay 2016

Unscrewed and poured; no formal notes. These friggen Chardonnays from Margaret River. I’ve been blinded on them too many times to count and I never call it right. Instead, I always seem to call a high acid grape like Riesling of Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit is sometimes tropical, always with citrus and sometimes is shows green apple and always with awesome minerals. Acid is squarely in the high category. They are lovely wines that just seem to throw me for a loop. If Chablis, the Mosel and Sancerre had a love child. Drink now and through 2036 easy. A fabulous pairing with lamb massaman, larb and papaya salad. How can they hide the 100% new French oak so well?! — 2 months ago

Jeroen, Ira and 10 others liked this

Sadie Family

Palladius Swartland White Blend 2018

Such a treat. Really yummy — 2 days ago

Shay, Daniel and 2 others liked this

Klein Constantia

Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Muscat à Petits Grains 2019

Candied apricots, hazelnuts, brûléed oranges. — a month ago

Best's

Bin No 1 Great Western Shiraz 2019

Meaty, charcuterie notes together with black and blue fruits. The palate is rich and savoury - full bodied on the earthy spectrum with ripe plum. Bests are an under the radar Gem in the Grampians. It should be a regular purchase particularly at the price. An average price of around $30. — 2 months ago

Aaron, Tom and 19 others liked this

Mulderbosch

Faithful Hound Merlot Blend 2019

Really, an earthy nose here... Cherry, yes... But in a way that I'd characterize as savory black forest cake if it was made of compost instead of sweet chocolate... On the palate, the dominant note I think would be graphite, but with the fuzzy tannins in there, it's not in a precise sense... A dull pencil in need of sharpening? At this point I'd probably need to also describe some green here... Green pepper? Tomato plant? Going back to the nose, I get the aroma now too... Gardening... This wine isn't lightweight... A sausage dish is I think where I'd go as far as pairing as there's some acidity here that could be useful for taming fat. We had this one paired with a flank steak, but really I might go to a fattier cowboy steak next time. The longer I enjoy this wine, the longer the finish seems to get... These tannins are a heck of a drug... With every sip, I actually want to savor more and more... A viscious cycle... — 2 months ago

Anita Beishuizen
with Anita