The organic blend is predominantly Carménère and displays aromas of gorgeous black cherries, currants, strawberries, dark chocolate and savoury spices. It’s smooth and elegant on the palate with ripe fruits and integrated spices. Serve with a pepper-crusted steak.
This is a sturdy, workmanlike Merlot-led Bordeaux for everyday drinking. It offers typical dark plum, blackcurrant and green herbal notes with a bit of tannic backbone and appetizing, food-friendly acidity.
Clear, very pale yellow. Faint but pleasant nose of sweet peach and pear, and a bit of orange blossom. Light-bodied and light-flavoured, dry with refreshing acidity over faint lemon-lime flavours. Drink immediately.
Pale yellow and shy with short-lived bubbles. Very discreet nose, almost muted. Delicate taste, not completely dry, it becomes more interesting in the finish, which is a little more intensely flavourful (delicately fruity) and quite long. Drink now but not too cold to reveal more flavour.
A Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese blend. Deep ruby colour with a savoury nose of cherries and lead pencil; medium-bodied, dry, lean and sinewy on the palate with a rich cherry flavour that opens up after an hour or so in the decanter.
Every new vintage, I try to pick up a bottle of the great-value Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Syrah. The 2014 vintage is a deep ruby colour with a violet rim. It offers a nose of smoked meat with herbal and blackberry notes. The well-balanced and lingering flavour is rich and savoury with blackberry, dark chocolate and iodine notes. Perfect for barbecued meats.
Blend of 3 traditional Portuguese grapes. Medium-deep plum red. Nose is rustic with raspberry, smoke, plums and raisins. Lovely balance, a soft and fruity wine featuring red and black berry flavours. Easy-drinking now but will improve and develop more complexity over the next 2 years.