Lady May Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot

Vintage 2013 | Dark colour. Cardinal red edge. 3/4 transparant. Multi layered smell with minerality, sweet cassis, cinnamon and leather. Very concentrated, powerfull and after 48 hours also a sweet roundness. Very good Bordeaux blend with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot and 4% Peit Verdot. A wine of May de Lencquesaing. | Paired with venison steak on first day and an Asian vegan eggplant/shitake dish on second day.

The 2015 Glenelly Lady May is a very different wine to the 2013 I tried last year, this time a much more dense, structured iteration that has a lot more in common with young Bordeaux. Less flamboyant and perhaps even a little closed at the moment (indeed, it was only released this year by the estate), it requires generous decanting and even then takes some coaxing from the glass. When it emerges, it offers very classical left-bank aromas of dark cherry, blackcurrant, cedar, and graphite, with additional notes of cinnamon, Vimto and menthol. It spent two years ageing in new oak barrels. The palate is much more forthcoming, concentrated with a Port-like density and bright, saturated fruit. Totally harmonious are the tannins and acidity, and the finish really is rather long.

Once again, this is an utterly superb Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend - and with the 2015, with great ageing potential. It’s probably the closest imitation I’ve come across to date. I wouldn’t touch bottles for another five years.

95+

2010 Magnum.. wauv.. lovely Bordeaux style!!!

My first time trying this relatively new marriage of Stellenbosch and Bordeaux, the 2013 Glenelly Lady May, a wine whose creation was overseen by May de Lencquesaing of Ch. Pichon Longueville, whose dream it was ‘to craft the finest Cabernet Sauvignon blend outside France’. There are many good imitations of Bordeaux in South Africa, but this may be the finest I’ve yet come across.

The wine opens with classical aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis, singed tobacco, graphite, balsamic and an exotic edge - sort of five spice, but hard to pinpoint. The palate is very direct and forthcoming with its glossy flavours of ripe fruit, espresso, and fantastic minerality. The tannin and acidity cut through with great precision and harmony, leading to a long and mouth-puckering finish. This has the muscularity of a left bank Bordeaux and a very youthful feel, and should age exceptionally well.

I noticed that this wine showed best with my last glass on the first night, after a few hours’ decant, and better still on the second. By then, a delightful accent of sweet strawberry, violet and vanilla had emerged. This is a wine of great complexity and one I will buy by the case in future.

Velvet as can be I picture wrapping up in a purple velvet cloak (okay confession sorta-former goth I could do that right now), hiding in a cedar closet with a glass of creme de cassis, bouquet of lavender and dark music but not to dark. The more air it gets the more interesting things come out. This is the Joy Division of Stellanbosch cabs? Dark and deep yet consumer friendly. Not pop but not quite goth.

Sixth red wine at our annual DMV South African wine tasting. Medium to deep garnet red with a ruby core. Chalky nose with dark berries, sweet spices with some toasted oak. Solid acidity with medium tannins (6/10) and a medium body. Layered palate with notes of black currants, cassis, chalk and earthy notes. A bit of green bitterness in the long finish. Drink till 2020.

Herbaceous, black olive, black currant and tobacco.

pure cabernet

Tea leaf, thyme, red berries. Good powerful tannin. Merlot and cab franc cancel out the mustiness of cab sauv

Kind of reminds me of a Chinon. Smells herbaceous and has a green pepper finish. Cool ripe fruit with tight tannins, spicy notes but the smell is like overripe barnyard. Delicious.