The Laughing Wolf

Saturday Wine Tasting: Kim duToit Day

I decided to dedicate today’s notes to Kim because he is now on his way to Chile, an excellent wine production region, and is from South Africa, which was the focus of yesterday’s tasting. South Africa right now is about where Australia was 20 years ago in terms of wine production and entry into the American wine market. I think it will take South Africa far less time to penetrate the market, as they are providing a range of good wines at very good prices and Americans are growing increasingly sophisticated about good wine.

At Pauli’s yesterday, we tasted six wines from Graham Beck Wines and I had a very large surprise. Actually there were several surprises, but the major one was in the number of wines I really liked and can recommend. When you do tastings, you encounter a large percentage that are at best average, with many of the remainder falling well below that. Out of the six tasted yesterday, I can recommend all six and strongly recommend three for the summer.

We started with Graham Beck Waterside White 2002, which is a blend of Chardonnay and Columbard grapes. Now, I admit that I am part of the backlash against Chardonnay because so many have become so one-dimensional, and that dimension is oak. This delightful wine shows what you can do with Chardonnay when you have balance. The nose was quite nice, with dusty flowers holding forth over fruit. This followed into the body, which has a good mouthfeel, crisp at the start going rich with tropical fruit. The finish is nice, with green pear and kiwi showing up at the sides. Not a trace of oak anywhere, and a refreshing white to sip on a hot summer afternoon, either by itself or with fruit and light cheeses.

The second wine was Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc 2003, which starts with a grassy citrus nose that has some complex undertones to it, and finishes with green berries. The sharp, crisp mouthfeel gives way to rich green fruit. The finish shows steel and mineral flavors that round out this very enjoyable wine. My one regret when trying it was that I was not able to have had it with some Persian chicken I had the other day, as I feel it would have been a perfect complement to it. This is a wine to try.

The third selection was Graham Beck BV Brut sparkling wine. Another pleasant surprise, it started with a crisp nose full of light fruit with hints of fresh bread. The crispness continued with the mouthfeel, which showcased light fruit balanced with minerals, and a good round finish.

With that, we moved into the reds and a truly wonderful wine: Graham Beck Railroad Red Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2001. While I have found a few blends to be interesting, most have not been terribly good. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that in many cases, the vinter had managed to get the worst aspects of each variety into the blend. That is clearly not the case here, with a near-perfect marriage being made. The result is a rich nose of chocolate, rich red fruit, and hits of smoke and leather. The nice mouthfeel is full of chocolate, leather, rich red berries, and hints of spice. The finish was quite nice, and I was quite taken with the complexity exhibited. This is not a wine for cellaring, but to enjoy now, either by itself or best yet with good food.

By comparison, the Graham Beck Shiraz 2001 suffered a bit but was still a very good wine. A rich nose of leather and tobacco over fruit leads to a medium mouth with a slow start. This builds to flavors of pepper, leather, chocolate and fruit as one would expect from a good Shiraz. Given that it was developed to be aged, I would love to try this same one again over time to see how it progresses.

The final wine was Graham Beck Pinno Pinotage 2002. Pinotage is an interesting varietal, invented in South Africa in 1925. This particular wine starts with a light nose that builds to tobacco with spice over lots of fruit in the base. The fruits are not just the standard reds, but also there are hints of the tropics and banana in the mix. The nice mouthfeel includes tobacco, banana, red fruit and plums, and goes into a soft finish. A very different treat for the palate.

None of these were wines I would kick out of the cellar, and I would love to add some to the cellar. The Waterside and Sauvignon Blanc would be great additions for the summer, and the Railroad Red is one I would love to have for grilling. Anyone wanting to get on my good side could do far worse than to call Pauli’s and make me a gift of any of these six. In short, if you missed this tasting, you missed a very good treat.

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