Tasting Mount Arbora and Antebellum wines has to be one of
most inspiring tasting I had to date this year.
Krige Visser of Mount Abora introduce me to the 4 wines
below in a non blind tasting presentation of what they are up too at MeerhofPrivate Cellar in Swartland, and what I liked about the wines, are the fact
they are made to be enjoyed and paired with food, i.e they are low in alcohol by general South African standards (as an example when was the last time you had a South African Shiraz / Syrah at 12.5% abv ?), yet no sign of stemmy greenness, in fact
they are packed with flavor, with the bonus of having high natural acid, the
wines have cut, one would often found in Mosel or Clare Valley Riesling, Santorini
Assyrtiko from Greece, Chenin Blanc from Savennieres, Loire, or Austrian Gruner
Veltliner.
Linear in structure, in fact the wines are more reminescent
of “moderate to cool climate offerings” than what one would expect from the hot
climate district of Swartland, respect to this chap for thinking outside the
box and deliver something that is exciting, super table friendly and above all very
well price for a Swartland wine of origin (credit also goes to Leeuwenkuil
Family Vineyards (sold under Lion’s Lair in America) for their friendly pricing
strategy) that not only make it great candidates for wine lists offerings, that
will results in good stock movement and vintage rotations and introduce more great
Swartland wines to local diners and their hard earned Rand.
Ignore the sexy wines below at your own peril, exciting
stuff indeed.
Individual tastings notes to follow.
Antebellum Naturally
Fermented Coastal Region Chenin Blanc 2012 92+ Points
Mount Abora Koggelbos
Naturally Fermented Swartland Chenin Blanc 2011 91+ Points
Mount Abora Saffraan
Swartland Cinsaut 2012 92+ Points
Antebellum Naturally
Fermented Swartland Syrah 2012 92 Points
