Had a lovely dinner here last night at Rodwell House. Robin had invited Johann Innerhofer and Laura Mauri (who own a wine farm and restaurant in Somerset West, with an incredible wine list) and Duncan and Zani Savage (Cape Point). We ate and drank very well.

After kicking off with a Charles Melton Rose and Pieropan La Rocca Soave, we hit the reds. First up was Foradori’s Granato from 1999. This is a really fresh example of the Teroldego Rotaliano grape variety, which has picked up some savoury, spicy notes to accompany the fresh cherry and blackberry fruit.

Querciabella’s Camartino 1997 is a super-Tuscan styled red with some appeal, but also some warm, spicy, earthy notes alongside the ripe fruit. A fine drink, but lacking precision.

Then we had a mini-Brunello flight. Sesti’s 1997 had aged well and still had some freshness. Perhaps a little better was the Rosso Divino 1999, which was warm, spicy, savoury and aromatic.

Next up, Sassicaia 1997 showed really well, with some real chalky, gravelly elegance under the slightly earthy ripe plum and cherry fruit. This just had the edge on the Tenute Marchese Chianti Classico 1997 from Antinori, which had also aged very well.

We then took a detour to Stellenbosch for Johann’s Redstone Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2010, which showed ripe blackcurrant fruit with some fresh blackberry and gravel notes. It was lovely, but from a taste of 2011 barrel samples, I reckon this more recent vintage will prove to be even better.