Interesting South African Pinot Blanc
I don't think I've ever had a Pinot Blanc from South Africa before, but this is a really good one. It's from pioneering winery Flagstone's BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) project Ses'fikile (see more here and here).
Ses'fikile Folklore Pinot Blanc 2007 Western Cape, South Africa
This is a really interesting white wine made from underrated variety Pinot Blanc, with a little Sauvignon blended in, too. It has a fruity, bright yet creamy nose. The palate is soft with lovely texture and a smooth creamy richness to the pear and white peach fruit. It's broad, moderately aromatic and delicious - quite unlike any south African white I've tasted before. 90/100 (£8 Marks & Spencer)
This is a really interesting white wine made from underrated variety Pinot Blanc, with a little Sauvignon blended in, too. It has a fruity, bright yet creamy nose. The palate is soft with lovely texture and a smooth creamy richness to the pear and white peach fruit. It's broad, moderately aromatic and delicious - quite unlike any south African white I've tasted before. 90/100 (£8 Marks & Spencer)
Labels: Pinot blanc, south africa
posted by Jamie @ 1:31 PM
16 comments
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16 Comments:
Sounds interesting. I'll have to pick one up tonight.
Did you get one Alex? I'd be interested to know your thoughts.
There's a good story behind it too - Black Female Empowerment et al.
JMac
That's very interesting. Jancis Robinson gave a couple of other Ses'fikile wines a favourable review a little while back. Sounds like a good excuse to give this one a try this weekend...
Yes, but I didn't have any last night. Hope it doesn't mind 20hrs in the fridge...
Just tried some and I like it! It's got a very classy texture - a bit Rhoney in that regard. Not as peary as most Italian versions but very tasty and a decent mineral streak - no way would I guess it was from South Africa. The price is pretty good. I could imagine paying £9 without being too disappointed. So in my scoring system I'd give it 88-89.
We had a good Italian Pinot Grigio from CostCo the other day (Kellerei Kaltern)
Doh! Dunno where I got the idea it was Pinot Gris/Grigio. It's definitely got more in common with Pinot Blanc and other wines from Collio and that sort of area.
Thanks for the comments - Alex, glad you liked it - it does taste like Pinot Blanc, as opposed to Pinot Gris - I'm tempted to try to track down some serious Alsation Pinot Blancs (e.g. Boxler) after drinking this.
Well, I've just bought mine. I've also just noticed that M&S have a wine promo on (25% off), so if its half as good as people say, then £6 per bottle for a case of six sounds like a good deal to tempt me. Plus they are offering free delivery over £30.
On the Pinot Gris thing, aren't both grapes mutations from P. noir? If so, you might expect some family resemblance.
Ian
Good point about the 25% off (I presume it's online only) just bought some more...
No doubt it is reasonable value for money,but does it compare with Palladius,Cape Point SB,Rudera Robusto chenin etc etc?
Maybe I am a little sensitive,but I just get the impression that some of you here think the Cape cannot make outstanding white wine.
Keith, I can see why one might regard Jamie's wording as somewhat unfortunate. "delicious - quite unlike any south African white I've tasted before" sounds as though he's never had a delicious cape white before. Perhaps the "-" should be substituted by "and"?
I've had plenty of delicious SA whites. think the white Vergelegen qualifies for excellent/outstanding as does Palladius (which also scores for originality, along with wines like **** - sorry I've forgotten it's name). You can add to that Hamilton Russell Chardonnay (but only in a good year and at the right age), Cape Point SB, Steenberg reserve SB and a couple of other SB's to get wines that rate over 90, but I've not had any truly "World Class" whites that I'd give an unqualified "outstanding" (or rate at 95/100 or more). There are a couple of reds that I feel merit it, but maybe the whites aren't really trying (not sure if there are any much over £30, which is the bare minimum of what one has to pay to get those kinds of scores elsewhere in the world)
Yes I agree that the Cape does not yet have a world class white wine,but then not many countries do IMHO.
Just wait for the Mullineux white wine!!!
Yes, I suppose so. Outside of "old World" Europe, there are probably only about 3 or 4 countries that could muster a white wine at the at level. I'm thinking USA, Canada, Australia (just) and New Zealand (just).
When I said I haven't had an SA white like it, I mean in terms of style - I've certainly had some very impressive South African whites before.
Didn't want to give the impression that this is the first decent SA white I've tried.
Had a bottle last night with roasted halibut and lentils and it was very nice - first time with this grape variety for me, and my initial impression was that it's not dissimilar from Albarino - but it did need to be kept well chilled. As it warmed up it became a bit flabby.
BTW I paid £8.50 at my local M&S, not £8.00.
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