Harternberg wine tasting

Recently I went on a wine tasting tour in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek in South Africa. Due to time constraint we were only be able to visit three vineyards. Together with the wines we ordered in the restaurants we had tried a total of 30 to 40 wines. One interesting phenomenon I observed was the extremely rare use of decanters there. It was almost certainly due to the forward characteristic of SA wine in general.

It was my first visit of this vineyard, and was an enjoyable experience. Some of their wines were quite impressive, showing a complexity which excelled above the average SA wines.

1. The Mackenzie Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004

With a nose of chocolate cake and black berries with a fresh palate, full body and medial length, the wine demonstrated complexity and finesse comparable with the Bordeaux wines. Quite enjoyable. Score 82

2. Hartenberg Wine Estate Pinotage 2004

This purple red wine has a nose of cherry and vanilla, with a medium body and meaty aftertaste. It showed some evolement in the glass. Score 80

3. Hartenberg Wine Estate Shiraz 2004

Excellent nose of sweet red currant and vanilla. Medium to fully body, but it showed no evolvement in the glass. Score 82

4. Hartenberg Wine Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

The nose of this dark purple wine showed blackcurrant, cherry, herbs, vanilla, and oak. The wine was more diluted than the pinotage, with a light to medium body. Noticeable tannin and a medium finish. Score 80

5. Hartenberg Wine Estate Stork Shiraz 2004

The best wine we had tried from this estate. Loads of jammy black fruits, liquorice, cinnamons. The palate was a little bit more on the acidic side but was quite balanced by the fruits. It was dark red in colour, with a medium to full body, medium length and black currant on the palate. The wine was smooth yet powerful. In the glass it showed some evolvement with vanilla and chocolate flavours coming out after a while. Score 85

Frederick

Chateau Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru 2001

Medium-to-full body. Deep Ruby.

With 7 years of bottle age, the wine still show some tannin but overall still quite balanced. Smells of chocolate, coffee and red fruit. It is approachable now. After opening for 4 hours, the wine did not weaken. At less than HKD300/btl, it is worth every penny. I give it 83 points.

Ferdi

Three Pinot Noirs

This is our first official tasting notes. Ferdi has done a great job to get us going and contributions from other authors are coming up. - Frederick

1) Gevrey Chambertin (Au Velle), Denis Mortet 1995

Medium-to-slightly heavy body. Strong hint of pork meat after 30 min. Masculine. Quite powerful. After 2 hours, strong hint of smoky hickory flavor. Seems to be a good time to drink now and next few years. Could be good match with tomato-based pasta.

2) Latricieries Chambertin, Grand Cru, Faiveley 1995

Balanced. Less meaty than the Denis Mortet but more complex. Strong hint of black fruit and black currant. After 1 hr, complexity increases with a hint of cinnamon.

3) Sea Smoke "Ten" Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills 2004

Upfront, sweat, rounded. Simple tasting however with little evolvement over the next several hours. After 3 hours, a strong scent of sugar cane was developed. Powerful in terms of global pinot noir standard but quite balanced in the US pinot angle.

Ferdi