Ian Robinson Author's Blog: Robinson's Ramblings #5

Circle of 8

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Part 1 (of I don't know how many... )

I'm mad about wine.

In the early nineties big John Booth shared a bottle of 1974 Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon with us. We were impressed with the wine. He later invited me to join the Circle of 8. I wonder if it was the Cab that did it or my irreresistable charm?

The event was to take place at each person's home once a year, so, there were eight events as there were eight men. We arrived at the host's home about seven, bearing eight, small tasting glasses (see pic below), and a fine bottle of wine or sparkling.

Immediately we walked through the front door, we were surrounded by the aromas of the delectable fare. I wondered what we were going to eat later?

We'd set up our six tasting glasses on the dining table and headed back to the lounge. There was a bottle of something, usually a Champagne or another equivalent from another region of the world. Before going to the dining room, we lounged around (or stood), sipping the effervescent and lively Champagne or sparkling or bubbly (I couldn't find a word that does the superb bottle justice).

Only wine made in the region Champagne is allowed to be named 'Champagne', not any other sparkling wine. There are many from all areas around the world, you get Methode Cap Classique* from South Africa. More about that in future Robinson's Ramblings and at the end of this article.

So, one bottle down. No, two, actually.

The glass below is 15.5 cm/6.1 inches high. If you wish, you can see technical details on here: http://winefolly.com/?s=tasting+glasses

Our host invited us to head to the dining room. We had a selection of mild cheeses and sliced French loaf and water to drink between the tasters of wine.

We had eight bottles of wine for the tasting, which took about two hours. We were taking it (sort of) seriously. More details about the tasting under the pic.

Another eight bottles down.

We ended up with a Special Late Harvest, Port or a Tokaji. Something to ease the dessert down (it didn't need easing). We usually drank almost all the bottles. (Tokaji or Tokay is the name of the wines from the Tokaj wine region in Hungary or the adjoining Tokaj wine region in Slovakia. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wine which has a long history in this region.)

That made it eleven bottles of wine in the evening.

The menu and the magnificent wines from our anniversary tasting. Petrus, Lafite, Filhot, Vega-Sicilia, Faustino, Nederburg, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc, Rioja Alta Vino Alberdi and Dom Perignon.

We drank on 24 May 1999, the following:

Started with a Magnum of Champagne Cuvee Dom Perignon Non Vintage.

And then we went onto the main event. The order where they were placed (bearing in mind, there were wines between twenty to thirty years old!).

1970 Cháteau Lafite placed 1^st (19.5 / 20 )

1966 Vega-Sicilia placed 2nd

1980 Cháteau Haut Brion placed 3rd

1970 Cháteau Petrus placed 4th

1974 Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon placed 5th
(Gunther Brozel, Nederburg's wine maker, said this wine would last well into the new Millennium).
1979 Cheval Blanc placed 6th

1991 Rioja Faustino Gran Reserva placed 7th

1976 Rioja Alta Vino Alberdi placed 8th

197? Cháteau Filhot Sauternes unknown vintage

Above: left to right, back: me, Richard, John, John, Arthur, Brian, Ian, Izzy, Peter.

I know there were nine wines, there's a reason for this. John Fannin flew up from Cape Town for the once-a-year anniversary event.

The guys had started the tasting in the seventies. I see the menu says 200th Tasting. That was in 1999, so that makes my estimation correct.

The late Arthur Taschner kept records meticulously. We had to follow a twenty point scoring system (the other main one is the 100 point sytem). 'Tasting' was conducted on the following basis (total points for category): sight (3): aroma (7); taste (10).

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This from 'Wine Folly'.

'Wine Folly' has a thorough tasting guide and it recommends tasting red wine.

You'll find it here: http://winefolly.com/tutorial/how-to-taste-red-wine/

And here: http://winefolly.com/review/write-excellent-wine-tasting-notes/

"Why red wine? It’s better to learn how to taste with a red wine. This is because red wines have more obvious traits (such as tannin) that are easier to pick up on.

How do I taste all the nuances in wine?

Is your friend picking up ‘freshly wetted concrete’, ‘mulberries’, and ‘nuances of black panda candy’ in wine and you’re just feeling a wet warming sensation in your throat? While some of these wine descriptions are B.S. (and your friend should be slapped for rubbing them into your face), you might not be taking advantage of all the tools available to you. You might actually be an awesome taster and you just haven’t unlocked your skills.

Your tools are, of course, your senses:

EYES what the color tells you about wine
NOSE what smell tells you about wine
TASTE how to pick out flavors in wine
FEEL what is texture in wine?

They go into more detail and there's this:

Build Your Tastebud Repertoire

If you haven’t ever tasted a raw black currant (cassis) or bit into a gooseberry then you might try expanding your palate by tasting new fruits and vegetables. You never know what flavor you’ll find next in your glass.

With thanks to the Wine Folly crew, among who is:

Madeline Puckette
Content Director & Host

"I develop Wine Folly’s content as well as all the illustrations and infographics on the site. I’m a certified sommelier with Court of Masters Sommelier and author of NYT
Bestselling book: Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. You can read more about me."

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This from Wikipaedia:

Vertical and horizontal wine tastings are wine tasting events that are arranged to highlight differences between similar wines.

In a vertical tasting, different vintages of the same wine type from the same winery are tasted. This emphasizes differences between various vintages.

In a horizontal tasting, the wines are all from the same vintage but are from different wineries. Keeping wine variety or type and wine region the same helps emphasize differences in winery styles.

Vertical and horizontal wine tastings with thanks to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_tasting

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See below the piece that I did for a website that made the case for producing wine in the shadow of the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. They rise majestically to over 3,000 metres/10,000 feet, looking down in the east on KwaZulu-Natal.

Wine of Origin KZN?

02 February 2006 - by - Ian Robinson

Ian Robinson looks at the fledgling industry and considers its chances of success.

The vine is said to withstand – and even enjoy – some rough treatment. But is it willing to make itself at home in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)? Is it up to the savage electrical storms that flash across meadows silhouetting straining and twisting trees, or summer afternoon hail storms that rip and shred flora with truckloads of miniature golf balls? Or torrential rains in late summer (just before harvest-time) and vicious frost that attacks young buds when they should be nurtured by the warmth of early spring sunshine?

Yes, it is. Because surprisingly, this weather is mentioned often in reports on some of the world’s great wine areas - like: The wettest ripening months for a century – Languedoc; Sporadic outbreaks of rot - Portugal; Summer temperatures soaring to 40° with rain shortly before harvest – Argentina; 80mm of rain in 30 hours nearby plays havoc with harvest – Hunter Valley; Vineyards badly hit by hail – Provence; A very wet summer – Loire; Damp humid weather early September – Champagne; Hailstorms, rainy weather – Piedmont; Summer storms destroy 50% of some crops – Riverina, Australia; Vineyards lose 20 – 30% of crop to frost – Curico, Chile.

Researching the suitability for viniculture of the KZN Midlands has taken me to similar terroir at Mudgee near Hunter Valley north of Sydney. It has a lot in common with the Midlands. At around 33° south it is close to our latitude, unlike many other areas that are around 40°. Rainfall and temperature patterns are similar. An hour or two away are Newcastle and Sydney with subtropical beaches and good surfing. At 500m Mudgee is still significantly above sea level, and, like the Midlands (1000 – 1500m), cold enough in winter to ensure the vine’s dormant phase. Their industry is over 100 years old with about 3000 hectares under vines. Are its wines any good? Without doubt, yes. Full bodied, bold reds have put Mudgee on the map. Rosemount Estate’s 2001 Hill of Gold Shiraz ranked 57 in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 of 2003, scoring 90 out of 100 as “A vibrant wine with crisp blackberry, plum and vaguely leafy-herbal flavours that persist beautifully on the finish”. There is also no shortage of 80+ pointer Cabernets, Semillons and Chardonnays from the area.

So, could the Midlands become a Mudgee? Two milestones have already been passed here: the first wines have been made and the province is recognized as a wine producing area in terms of SA’s Wine of Origin Scheme. There are about 30 hectares under vines in KZN – 20 hectares near Greytown including established Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Riesling. In 2005 another 10 hectares were planted as far apart as Oribi Flats in KZN’s south and Nottingham Road, Rosetta, Dargle and Winterton in the Midlands.

The Stables at Nottingham Road will release their first efforts in March (made from Greytown grapes) and look forward to harvesting their own Shiraz, Pinotage, Chardonnay and Viognier, planted last spring and thriving. 'The (2005) wine is very good and is currently being bottled,' say winemakers Judy and Tiny van Niekerk. 'This year’s should be better - the quality of the grapes is better and we have gained a lot of experience after last year.'

Rob Osborne, head of horticultural research at Cedara and running a programme exploring viniculture in the region, sees two main but not insurmountable challenges. 'There has been downy mildew, but this can be controlled by careful monitoring and spraying. What requires more control is the plant vigour in this region because soils are more fertile with flourishing vine and weed growth. Trellising and training of vines may have to be adapted and the canopy trimmed more frequently with more dropping of fruit to obtain concentrated flavours.'

Altitude may present other problems. Nottingham Road at around 1500 metres is prone to late spring frost that can decimate new growth – but then other places also have that problem. It is early days so Osborne is cautious. 'The first indications are promising and The Stables Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz blend is impressive, however, it is too soon to say that KZN will become a thriving wine industry.' Certainly there is the opportunity to produce local flavour boutique wines that can be sold from estates, adding value to the local Midlands Meander tourism offering.

For doubters there may be a clue to the future in Rosetta – the quiet little village near Nottingham Road. The vine and the rose are good companions (the rosebush is an early warning system of pests) and roses proliferate the area. So perhaps KZN’s wine growers, like the Voortrekkers that crossed the Drakensberg long ago, have discovered another promised land.

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*"Methode Cap Classique or MCC denotes a South African sparkling wine made by the traditional Champagne method. Sauvignon blanc and Chenin blanc have been the traditional Cap Classique grapes but the use of Chardonnay and Pinot noir have been on the increase. Sparkling wine is also made according to the Charmat method and red sparkling Pinotage can also be found. Methode Cap Classique tends to be very fruity due to the high temperatures of the South African Wine lands." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparkling_wine

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Here's a taster of both the books:

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