Under the Wine Thief label: Colombard 2021 and Nooer 2019 (from Souzao, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Barocca).Ĭheck out our South African wine ratings database. Elegant and balanced, it’s a pretty but not insignificant wine.Īlso available at present under the Costa del Swart label are: Vonkelwyn 2020 (from Verdelho, Viura and Pinotage) as well as Chenin Blanc 2020 and Palomino 2021. The nose shows smoky reduction before cranberry, rose and fresh herbs while the palate is light bodied with pure fruit, snappy acidity and powdery tannins, the finish super-dry. Has a nice energy about it.įrom a Swartland vineyard planted in 2003 and made in partnership with Catherine Marshall. Charming aromatics of cranberry, raspberry, flowers and spice while the palate is light and zippy but not short on flavour. Made in a Beaujolais Nouveau style, grapes picked early (alcohol is 11.5%) and vinification involving a third whole-bunch, a third whole-berry and a third juice. Lean and direct (alcohol: 12.5%).įrom a 1969 Swartland vineyard planted to Pinotage. They are a vintner owned and operated tasting lounge, focused on putting the small family owned brands that make Napa Valley so unique back. Peach, pineapple, a little earthiness and some flinty reduction on the nose while the palate shows good fruit purity, the bright acidity that’s so typical of the variety and a pithy finish. Among his current releases, the stand-out wines are as follows: On the other hand, some will invariably wind up with lower critic’s scores and therefore not as desirable or valuable.Ewan Mackenzie is a sommelier and small-batch wine producer, his two labels being Costa del Swart which he makes in collaboration with Christa von La Chevallerie of Huis van Chevallerie and The Wine Thief which sees him working with various winemakers on projects of mutual interest. Additionally, this practice is often applied to allocated wines, for the merchant to secure significant quantities of wine that are high in demand. On one hand, the wines are less expensive when they are purchased in advance. There are some clear advantages of buying wines en primeur, as well as disadvantages. Payment is rendered in advance of the official release of a vintage. Based on their initial evaluation, the wines are given a preliminary rating range, indicating the taster’s good faith belief that once mature, it will exhibit qualities warranting pre-assigned point scores. Every spring, worldwide press and trade descend on the regions to taste barrel samples of young wines. The wines most commonly offered en primeur are from French regions, predominantly Bordeaux, to lesser extent, Burgundy and Rhone. Many famous and rare wines are being sold ‘en primeur’ or ‘futures’. Professional Barrel Tastings for ‘en primeurs’ Nuance, elegance, complexity, refinement will emerge once the wine is well matured.Ī barrel tasting gives a sneak peek into what is to come and a unique chance to meet the winemaker and gain a whole new perspective on the winemaking process. Over time, harsher flavours will subside, revealing luscious fruit and spices. They may range in taste all the way from fermenting grape juice, to a close approximation of the finished product depending on its evolutionary stage. Wines from a barrel are, naturally, in a rougher stage with harsher tannins and far less pleasing mouthfeel. It is somewhat like looking at a sonogram and trying to imagine how the baby might look. Barrel tasting requires sleuthing and powers of projection. Wines are tricky to taste in barrel, they almost showing better in bottle. It requires a whole other mindset in comparison to tasting finished wine from a bottle. It is to watch over the wine’s evolution with the ultimate goal to determine when the wine is ready to be bottled.Īnother reason for taking a sample is for barrel tasting:īarrel-tasting allows consumer to walk in the winemaker’s shoes. At several points during both the fermentation and aging process, Hans will use the thief to extract a sample of the wine into a glass to evaluate the wine by carefully looking at its colour, smelling its aroma, and tasting it, as part of the winemaking process. The wine thief is essentially a pipette that is used to extract a small amount of wine from the barrel. Fawn Creek Winery features complimentary wine tastings, gift shop, and a micro menu. Our wine museum, respectively Hans’s winery, holds many old treasures, wine making- and vineyard tools from past times.
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