CWG 2015 report
In August I tasted blind, through the complete range of this year Cape Winemakers Guild Auction wines, using MC 100 Points scoring method.
MCC Sparkling
Wines
Graham Beck Wines CWG Pieter Ferreira Non Plus
Ultra MCC Brut, Western Cape 2008
Color still
youthful, pale straw, Chardonnay austerity, delicately ripe, lime, lemon and
toasted almonds note, pure, structured and fresh, broad texture, plush with a
nutty mid palate, Pinot fruit on texture, saline, smoky farewell, persistent.
Drink: 2018 until 2026+
480 bottles produced |
92 Points MC
Silverthorn Wines CWG John Loubser Big Dog MCC
Brut 2010
Austere,
unshowy, but wait for the palate, this is an exceptionally pure offering with
bright citrus burst on the lean texture, need time to fill up, subtle notes of
matchstick, requires patience.
Drink: 2019
– 2028+
Chardonnay
60% - Pinot Noir 40%
366 bottles produced |
92 Points MC
Villiera CWG Jeff Grier Meteor MCC,
Stellenbosch 2008
Blend
dominated by Chardonnay, showing citrus, lime and orange note, ripe profile
with good purity, fine development and depth, resulting from 5 years on lees ,
bready, flinty, chalky complexity, plush, honeyed, rich style with generous
dosage of 7g/l, yet structured, fresh, elegant, persistent length
Chardonnay,
Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier
Drink: 2015
- 2021
780 bottles produced |
91 Points MC
White Blends
and Other’s
AA Badenhorst Family Wines CWG Adi Badenhorst
Graniet-Berg 2013
Clear, pale
straw, oxidative style, yet clean, good purity, apple, peach and citrus, touch
of floral camomile note, profiling reminds me of a cross between Spanish and
Portuguese white, structured and rich with phenolic broadness, generous mouth
feels, alcohol noticeable though, full style.
Drink: 2015
- 2022
75%
Swartland Roussanne & 25% Voor Paardeberg Grenache Blanc
300 bottles produced |
90 Points MC
Cape Point Vineyards CWG Duncan Savage Auction
White 2014
Pale straw
with yellow reflections, delicately pure, spicy grassy Semillon character
dominant, lemon, cling peach, does not have the intensity of previous vintages,
reflective of 2014, lean profile with fresh and elegant juicy note, saline.
Sauvignon
Blanc 51% - Semillon 49%
Drink: 2015
- 2021
360 bottles produced |
91 Points MC
Lanner Hill CWG Nicky Versfeld Darling Semillon
Double Barrel White 2014
Pale green,
oxidative style with fragrant peach, papaya, unusual cheesecake and yoghurt
notes, subtle citrus, tangerine, touch of oak, spicy musk, juicy, plush and
generous, structured and rich, full style with substantial fruit.
Drink: 2015
- 2018
480 bottles produced |
92 Points MC
Mullineux CWG Andrea Mullineux ‘The Gris’
Swartland Semillon 2014
Pale green,
Old World profile, subtle citrus, unusually Chablis like, perfume, complex
gravelly note, lead pencil and wet sea shells, nutty mid palate, structured,
need time to fill up
Drink: 2015
- 2020
498 bottles produced |
90 Points MC
Sijnn CWG David Trafford !Uri, Malgas 2014
Southern
Rhone profiling with seductive fragrant ripe Viognier evident, stone fruit,
dried pears, orange, papaya and lemon, floral Muscat note, musk, sweet oak,
good purity, graphite, light smoke, juicy and generous texture, unusually
tannic, (not phenolic ) for a white wine, mealy.
Drink: 2015
- 2018
Viognier
55% - Chenin Blanc 35% - Roussanne 10%
282 bottles produced |
88 Points MC
Chardonnay
Ataraxia CWG Kevin Grant Under The Gavel
Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Chardonnay 2014
Pale straw,
unshowy, subtle and pure, confident style, perfect oaking, savory lemon and
orange peel notes, structured bright freshness, lots of energy, racy, linear,
saline texture, precise and crystalline, tight, need time, perfect showcase.
Drink: 2019
– 2021+
366 bottles produced |
93 Points MC
Bouchard Finlayson CWG Peter Finlayson Auction
Reserve Estate Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay 2012
Good purity
of fruit, citrus and orange segments, flinty, smoky, matchstick, kind of
Meursault like aromatics, fresh and elegant texture, subtle oaking, at peak
now, persistent length
Drink: 2015
- 2016
1140 bottles produced
| 91 Points MC
Jordan CWG Gary Jordan Stellenbosch Chardonnay
Auction Selection 2014
Straw,
oxidative, good purity and appley, lots of citrus and ripe apples, peaches and
apricot, broad texture and rich, honeyed mid palate. Seductive now.
Drink: 2015
– 2017+
924 bottles produced |
89 Points MC
Paul Cluver CWG Andries Burger The Wagon Trail
Elgin Chardonnay 2014
Pale
bright, crystalline, delicately fragrant, ripe tangerine and citrus notes,
touch of oak, racy lots of energy, juicy and engaging, generous offerings,
structured broad and spicy, flinty, persistent length
Drink: 2015
- 2024
540 bottles produced |
93 Points MC
Waterford Estate CWG Kevin Arnold Stellenbosch
Chardonnay Auction Selection 2011
Pale straw,
advanced color, Burgundian, leaning towards Meursault profiling, lifted, very
ripe, touch of botrytis, citrus, lemony, peach and apricot, hazelnut, floral,
jasmine, oaky, grilled nuts, flinty, fresh, elegant, spicy, long, peaking now.
Drink: 2015
– 2018+
480 bottles produced |
91 Points MC
Chenin Blanc
Miles Mossop CWG Saskia-Jo Swartland Chenin
Blanc 2014
Bright pale
straw, expressive and ripe, grassy, citrus, peach, mint and fennel, subtle,
kind of Burgundy meet Loire in profile, some pyrazines, structured, bright and
racy yet plush, spicy.
Drink: 2015
– 2020
85% Chenin
Blanc – 15% Clairette Blanche
540 bottles produced |
92 Points MC
Mullineux CWG Andrea Mullineux Trifecta
Swartland Chenin Blanc 2013
Pale straw,
oxidative, Manzanilla note, confident style, ripe apples, juicy yet lean
structure, nutty, white hazelnuts, racy energy, savory, textured and broad,
layered, complete, salivating saline, long length.
Drink: 2015
- 2021
420 bottles produced |
93 Points MC
Sauvignon
Blanc
Bartho Eksteen CWG Vloekskoot Bo Hemel-en-Aarde
Valley Sauvignon Blanc Wooded 2014
Fragrant
peach notes, ripe and generous, toasty oak, touch of musk spice, judicious
profile straddling between New Zealand’s pyrazine style with France flinty
character and South African opulence, the structure is crisp and lean, racy,
linear, nuttiness derived from the oak maturation, racy freshness, persistent
length.
Drink: 2015
- 2026
450 bottles produced |
93 Points MC
De Grendel CWG Charles Hopkins Coastal Region
Wooded Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Fragrant,
ripe, pure expressive style, delicate with kelp notes, subtle touch of oak,
structured mouth feels with pithy grapefruit, elegant, racy and spicy, orange
tang
Drink: 2015
- 2018
306 bottles produced |
92 Points MC
Louis Nel CWG “A Thousand Kisses Deep”
Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Pale green
reflections, crystalline, pure, delicate, green apple note, spicy pears,
saline, good energy.
Drink: 2015
- 2016
480 bottles produced |
90 Points MC
Nitida CWG Bernhard Veller Durbanville
Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Twenty Eight 2014
Expressive,
pure, ripe Sauvignon with fine combination of stone fruit and pungent pyrazine,
kind of New Zealand’s style grassiness, nettles, green kiwi, passion fruit and
citrus, juicy, plush savory texture with a spicy farewell, saline, faintest
touch of oak, persistent length.
Drink: 2015
- 2019
300 bottles produced |
91 Points MC
Sweet
AA Badenhorst Family Wines CWG Adi Badenhorst
‘Geel-Kapel” Swartland Muscat de Frontignan 2013
Since I was
tasting the line up blind, it was obvious this advance color offering with it’s
hazy and cloudy gold hue was an unstable and not clean wine.
Oxidative,
stemmy with beer yeast note, kind of IPA style craft beer, notes of orange
peel, floral, rose buds, musk, high alcohol evident, lean, yeasty and nutty on
texture, tannic, phenolic, flat, individual style, this is a highly
controversial wine, IMHO, not worthy being on the auction, considering the very
high standards of sound winemaking that have generally prevails over the last 3
decades.
By offering
a wine like this the CWG have potentially open a back door, for possible
mediocrity in the future! Simply put,
cloudy and unstable wine, does not have it’s place at that level of precision.
I have
looked at every possible angle, I just can’t place this wine anywhere, there is
simply no benchmark anywhere in the world that it can relate to.
I am all
for naturalness in wine, more especially from a viticultural perspective but
when one is paying an average price of R 352 per bottle over the last 11 years,
this is a gamble, not worthy of investing in!
This kind
of offering is dangerous and does not do justice to Swartland as a region, guys
have to be careful, not to cast doubt in consumer’s mind.
Generous 79
for those who thinks it’s acceptable to drink funky wine, but a solid 59 points
for its unstable faulty conditions.
360 bottles produced |
59 / 79 Points MC
Boplaas CWG Carel Nel Ouma Cloete Calitzdorp
Viognier Straw Wine 2013
Advanced
color, gold yellow, with touches of botrytis, raisin, dried peach and apricot,
sweet but not cloying, honeyed, cashmere texture, elegant, could do with
brighter acidity, fine effort nevertheless, it will age because of the
relatively high residuals.
Drink: 2015
– 2030+
798 bottles produced |
89 Points MC
