Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022 - 99

South Africa
WHITE: CHARDONNAY
86 | Robertson Winery
88 | Riebeek Cellars
$12
2021 Robertson Chardonnay (BEST BUY) ^
Don't let this wine's slight smokiness distract
you from the pleasantly sweet apple and pear
core, with a hint of redness, like Anjou pears.
It's got a surprising amount of fruit detail for
a $12 wine. Pour it as an aperitif. § Indigo Wine
Group, Venice, FL
CHENIN BLANC
88 | Essay
91 | David Finlayson
$50
2018 Stellenbosch GS Cabernet Sauvignon
^ David Finlayson calls 2018 a fresher
vintage of GS, his top cabernet bottling,
since grapes were picked earlier than usual
due to three years of drought. Only the freerun
juice makes it into this wine, which then
spends 18 months in first- and second-fill
French oak barrels. It's complex, spicy and
lean, layering rich currant flavors with some
feral spice. It feels like a classical cabernet,
landing somewhere near blackberry jam with
the pips included. § Southern Starz, Huntington
Beach, CA
DESSERT
95 | Mullineux
$12
2021 Agter-Paarl Chenin Blanc (BEST BUY) ^
This floral-first wine has rich peach and pear
flavors underneath, with chenin's linear acidity
structuring it. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham,
AL
88 | Lubanzi
$15
2021 Swartland Chenin Blanc (BEST BUY) ^
There's a meadow-like delicacy to this wine,
with light wild-honey and wildflower aromas
adding interest to its hulled-barley flavor. To
enjoy on its own as an aperitif. § Cape Venture,
Washington, DC
88 | Terre Brûlée
$50/375ml
2020 Swartland Chenin Blanc Straw Wine ^
Chris and Andrea Mullineux make this wine
by harvesting the grapes at standard ripeness
and drying them on a straw mat for about
four weeks before pressing. The juice then
ferments with ambient yeasts in old French
oak barrels. The slow 2020 fermentation
lasted for 11 months and resulted in a slow
wine, oozing into your brain like a molasses
flood, filling it with fruit that reaches a
Platonic ideal. White peach; apricots three
ways, fresh, dried and jammed; passion fruit
and guava, cresting in waves. The acidity
acts like a searchlight, pinging around your
palate and highlighting one flavor at a time.
The wine is satisfying enough to drink on its
own, but there's also a touch of salinity to it
that would pair well with a decadent meal:
oysters, chicken liver mousse or foie gras. §
Skurnik Wines, NY
BEST BUYS
Here are ten more Best Buys from our
South Africa wine tastings, to accompany
the six highlighted above. These wines all
performed well at prices below the
median for their region and variety.
$16
2020 Swartland Le Blanc (BEST BUY) ^ Vincent
Carême of Vouvray, working with his
wife Tania, offers this savory expression of
Swartland chenin. Its friendly, juicy fruit up
front finishes with scents of clove, almond
skins and whole walnuts. § Cape Classics, NY
87 | Black Pearl
$15
2021 Swartland Chenin Blanc (BEST BUY) ^
Glaring tropical acidity amplifies this wine's
pineapple and passion fruit flavors. Give it a
hard chill to enjoy alongside spicy charcuterie.
§ Southern Starz, Huntington Beach, CA
87 | Robertson Winery
$12
2021 Robertson Chenin Blanc (BEST BUY) ^
Some stinkiness blows off with air, revealing
a silky-textured wine enriched with litchi and
citrus flavors. Straightforward, tropical and
tasty. § Indigo Wine Group, Venice, FL
SAUVIgNON BLANC
89 | Ridgeback
$13
2021 Swartland Sauvignon Blanc (BEST
BUY) ^ This sauvignon's delicate floral scents
of citrus blossom carry through to the minerality
and firm honeycrisp apple fruit in the
end. § Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
88 | Tokara
$16
2020 Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc (BEST
BUY) ^ Look beyond the pyrazines and you'll
find a tropical citrus-fruit core, tinged with
florals. The pyrazines keep churning along
underneath before running out of their
tracks and ceding to a pretty, honey-flower
finish. § Dreyfus Ashby & Co., NY
87 | Zorgvliet
$15
2021 Stellenbosch Silver Myn Sauvignon
Blanc (BEST BUY) ^ It's comforting to find
value-priced sauvignon blanc that shows the
floral side of citrus and Granny Smith apple.
This is a quietly successful wine, ready for a
sunny day under an umbrella with a good
book. § Boutinot USA, Sanford, FL l
Browse more than
10 years' worth of scores,
$18
2021 Paarl Lion Hound Sauvignon Blanc
(BEST BUY) ^ This wine's floral aromas might
call to mind a florist putting together a lavish
arrangement-baby's breath, roses, hydrangeas.
The fruit is decadent and a bit sweet,
but it has enough acidity to clean up the finish.
§ Artisans & Vines, Silver Spring, MD
recommendations, digital
editions, and more at
WINEANDSPIRITSMAGAZINE.COM
Wine&Spirits
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WINE & SPIR IT S
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PHOTOS BY KATE HLIZNITSOVA AND THE CREATIVE EXCHANGE ON UNSPLASH
https://www.southernstarz.com/wines/david-finlayson-gs-cabernet-sauvignon-2018/ http://www.WINEANDSPIRITSMAGAZINE.COM
Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022
