A World of Wine: A wine for all seasons

Monday, 19 May 2008

A wine for all seasons

The Nederburg auction a premier annual event in the Cape, South Africa from on 19th-20th September 2008. Plan to be there!
Leading oenologist and technical consultant Duimpie Bayly, who serves on several key wine industry bodies and was one of the three panel leaders during the selection process, believes that the wines selected reflect excellent vineyard sites and cellar skills.
"I'm particularly impressed by the Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinotages, as well as the noble late harvest wines, and in my opinion the reds seem to be the result of an expression of good growing sites, appropriate clones and a greater sophistication in winemaking with a subtler hand in the cellar," comments Bayly. "Many of our winemakers have moved away from the desire to make big, bold, stand out wines and have sought finesse, elegance and refinement instead."
Joubert concludes, "The theme of this year's auction - South African Quality - will be reflected in all aspects of the two-day event, from the business focus on the Friday to the more leisurely pace that characterises the Saturday programme. We look forward to once again hosting an event that has become synonymous with quality, both from a wine and overall experience perspective."

Still on a South African note, and just to squeeze one more red in there before we move on to summer, Tuscany and lighter fare; This weekend I had the pleasure of opening a bottle of Roodeberg 2003 from KWV The two of us shared it and it was a triumph in anyone's book, but particularly for a wine which cost a mere E 16 euro.

This is what the label says:
Roodeberg, the famous red blend from KWV, still enjoys global popularity today 50 years after it was first produced. The wine noted for its consistent style and quality, is a blend of selected varietals. The red hue of the Boland mountains at sunset inspired the name, Roddeberg, meaning "red mountain".
A meduim bodied wine ruby red, Fresh and vibrant, with layers of summer berry, hints of chocolate and vanilla oak.
Serve with pasta with meat sauce, game birds, grilled vegetables, Osso Bucco( This was for the European market)

This is what I say: This wine which was 5 years in the bottle when we drank it, is not too heavily oaked but rather rounded, and full of ripe berries, and dark chocolate.
We paired it with a carpaccio of beef, a sharp fresh salad and a lovely piece of real French creamy Roquefort cheese. It was a marriage in heaven.
Roodeberg is a deep ruby and has good legs and I coundn't stop raving about it. This is what happens when you become fanatic about good wines, you talk to yourself and also innocent bystanders about it. Later I went upstairs with the last half glass in the bottle and finished that with some dark hazelnut chocolate from the Piedmont and that too was a great match.
This wine will not dissapoint if you're having some friends over for a roast, a plate of pasta, a steak, or simply a salad or cheeseboard. I'm planning to serve it at our next BBQ and winetasting.
I'm busy trying to order more as we speak, the only question is can I bear to share it?

4 comments:

AnonymousMay 19, 2008 11:36 AM
What a great Blog.
Thought of it whilst attending a wine tasing function at REPS theatre last Friday.
Robertson's and other Cape wines were on show.
I was one of the 'Swill' ladies
(rinsing out the glasses ) after each change.
There was the usual-full bodied, fruity, sweet ,dry crisp, nasal nutty, scew top, corked, but Sexy Shiraz from Darling was the favourite.
All finished off with hot soup .
Every now and then a star like this lights up the sky and keeps us here against all odds.
Lynette
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AnonymousMay 20, 2008 09:48 AM
This wine sounds like a good one to have in the cupboard, Where can I buy it? find it really hard to add wines from South Africa to my collection, I cant find them here in Italy.Is it expensive to ship? Gianni
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AnonymousMay 20, 2008 09:51 AM
great wine blog I just stumbled across I subscribed. Most just cover one region. Loved your last post on the good red wine, really good reading.
Sue in Surrey
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A World of WineMay 20, 2008 02:47 PM
To answer all your very welcome comments. Gianni just click on the link on here the picture takes you to the sa wine site thwy can ship direct to you. I find its worth it they can give you rates. All the picures link to diiferent vineyards. Go on a tour.
Lyn glad to hear you had a good winetasting, yes the darling wine (from the town of Darling) is a "newcommer" wine area in the Cape.theres a big debate raging about screwtop vs cork. Ill cover that one of these days.
We are having a winetasting this week, wish you could attend. Keep voting people! were moving up and will sound be in the top 100 thanks to you.
Sue thanks for the comments, please let us have any suggestions for wines you'd like us to review on here take part in the two polls on line. Tuscany is next.
Cin Cin! Salute! Cheers, etc.
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Do you know your vintages? The good and bad years when buying.

Here on Wine world we take the mystery out of ordering a wine. What vintage to buy and which wine goes best with what. You can order wines right here on the site from the vineyards or suppliers by clicking on the picture links.

Italy vintages
1996 Vintage
This was a good year for wine producers across most of Italy, especially from Tuscany and Piedmonte which experienced good conditions for maturation. Piemonte enjoyed a late hot summer so look out for the 1996 vintage in Piemonte.
1997 Vintage
A fabulous vintage, especially for Tuscan wines and those from Piedmonte. For Tuscany this was once in fifty year vintage. So a Chianti Classico 1997 is worth what you will pay for it. Everywhere else was, ok and 1997 was still a good vintage.
1998 Vintage
A very good year for Piemonte, so choose Barolo, or Barbera from the Piedmont, these are fabulous now and will only improve in the cellar. In 1998 Some Tuscan producers were ok others not so, and avoid the Southern regions of Campagnia and Basilicata on the heel.
1999 Vintage
A mixed year in Italy, with rain for much of the country, resulting in average wines. But, as is often the case, ok wines from Piedmont. The two exceptions were Tuscany and Campania on the southwest coast which had a good growing season leading to excellent vintages.
2000 Vintage
2000 was the year of Barolo, if you can find one, snap it up. - The season was much too hot for much of Italy including Chianti, but the more-northern Piemonte was alright. The wines produced across Piemonte are exceptional, and will lay down well.
2001 Vintage
a successful vintage for Italy's wine makers on the whole, with the best wines coming from Camania & Basilicata . Many Tuscan wines were affected though because of irregular weather conditions. Amarone & the Veneto region experienced dry weather and wines from 2001 are good to excellent.
2002 Vintage
2002 could go down as the 'worst in 50 years'. Italy had heavy rains and Piedmont had hailstorms which wrecked most Barolo vineyards. Rains in Tuscany in September and October which affected the vintage so overall try to avoid this vintage,and if you see it offered cheap you know why.
2003 Vintage
Summer In Europe in 2003 was one of the hottest on record and this caused problems for growers in Tuscany and Piedmont. To be safe try and avoid this vintage in general, however the wines from Montepulciano are worth getting, and Amarone wines are drinking well now, but will get better with a few more years in the cellar.
2004 Vintage
Wines from 2004 from Tuscany and Piedmont and the Veneto should definately be on your list. With good growing conditions throughout. Sun-filled days, followed by cooler nights and a late harvest. Avoid Campania & Basilicata however, which had bad weather in September and October. 2005 Vintage
Europe's wine producers called 2005 one of the best years in recent times. Italy was the exception though - with heavy rains. Tuscany and Piedmont and the deep South were alright, and you can still find good wines in this vintage from the top vineyards.