The sixth wine tasting with Poolia

All the previous wine tastings have always been with friends, or people that I've met more than once before. The sixth wine tasting however was with a recruiting company called Poolia, where a friend of mine works. We were 12 people in total, a mix of Poolia employees and their partners. We only tasted six wines for the night, but all in all I thought it went really well, or so it usually does after the first two wines.

The wines we had were from Argentina, Chilé and South Africa and all of them were single variety wines, meaning no blends. Two bottles of Merlot to start off with, then a Malbec and three bottles of Pinotage in the end.

I am as you may know a Pinotage fan, when it's done in the traditional way. I am not a fan of some of these new styles of easy drinking Pinotage wines you find on the shelves these days. Pinotage is supposed to be strong, dark and heavy and not everyone is supposed to like it, at first that is. You need to sweeten it a bit with food or cheese, because only then does it start to grow on you, to the point of loving the smell and the taste. The highlight of the night was a bottle of Pinotage from South Africa called Cafe Culture. This Pinotage however is very easy drinking and smells like mocha coffee. You can read more about my thoughts on the wine here, because it is a wine that most loved at the start and hated at the end of the night.

The other wines for the night were really good, and my favourite was a bottle of Anura Merlot 2007. Really smooth and very creamy.

Casillero del Diablo Merlot (2008)

Wine tasting 6

I would not buy this wine if I had 70SEK to spend, just because there's nothing special about it. There's a lot more available in this price range that's better quality. Have a look at other wines we've tasted in the 70 - 80SEK price range. If you want another wine from this producer, try the Cabernet Sauvignon, much better, and scored 3 1/2 stars during the 4th wine tasting.

Panel's rating: 2,65 out of 5




Country: Chilé
Grape: 100% Merlot
Price: 70SEK

Colour: Dark, blue red colour.

Nose: Fruity aroma with barrel character, hints of plums, vanilla, grass and liquorice. Fruit-forward with distinct blackberry and plum notes, and delicate traces of vanilla and toast. Very well-integrated wood.

Taste: Very fruity wine with barrel character, hints of plums, liquorice and vanilla. Smooth, good body. Balanced, ripe tannins and a delicious long finish.

Anura Merlot (2007)

Wine tasting 6

An elegant bottle with a really nice label. My favourite wine, during the sixth wine tasting. I think it was really smooth with a sort of creamy finish. I would open this wine while cooking a creamy pasta dish, because I think it's really good by itself, but should be really good with pasta in particular.

Panel's rating: 3,39 out of 5




Country: Simonsberg, Paarl, South Africa
Grape: 100% Merlot
Price: 99SEK

Colour: Dark red colour.

Nose: Large, fruity, smoky aroma with barrel character, hints of plums, green pepper, dark chocolate and liquorice. Hints of herbal and violet aromas are folded in layers of dark chocolate.

Taste: Very fruity, smoky wine with barrel character, hints of plums, green pepper, dark chocolate, liquorice and coffee. The wine has loads of ripe blackberry, red berry and blackcurrant flavours. This full-bodied, well balanced wine and has a long lingering flavour or berries and mint leaves.

Argento Malbec (2008)

Wine tasting 6

Malbec is starting to become a wine that is appearing more and more on my wine tasting radar. So far we've tasted 3 Malbec's, and they've all scored between 3 and 3 1/2 stars. Not excellent, but OK. If you're a Malbec fan, I'd recommend this wine because it was really good. Not fantastic, but with the right meal, who knows...

Panel's rating: 3,48 out of 5




Country: Medoza, Argentina
Grape: 100% Malbec
Price: 79SEK

Colour: Dark, blue red colour.

Nose: Very fruity aroma with hints of barrel, blackberries, herbs and pepper. Deep dark violet in colour and offers powerful aromas of blackstone fruit and notes of chocolate.

Taste: Very fruity taste with hints of barrel, blackberries, grass and vanilla. Blackberry and black currant fruit is complimented with a touch of sweet spice and leads into a lingering finish with ripe velvety tannins.

Some more info: The word Argento, meaning silver in Latin, is often used colloquially in Argentina to refer to a thing or a person that is quintessentially Argentine.

Cafe Culture Pinotage (2008)

Wine tasting 6

In short, buy this wine. Not because it is the best wine, but because it's so interesting and like a chameleon it changes the whole time. At first, the smell is fantastic. Imagine walking into a coffee roastery, layers of Mocha coffee that lingers in the air. Then moving onto the taste, which is deep, rich, creamy and really smooth. The wine was loved by all and was the first wine to almost score 4 1/2 stars. Pinotage however, is not supposed to be easy drinking. It's supposed to be strong, dark and powerful and should take a while before you get used to it. That's the reason I love Pinotage.

The problem with this wine is that it gets too much too soon. Way to much. From loving it in the beginning most hated it in the end, and most I believe won't buy it again. The coffee smell and taste becomes overpowering, and I'm scared people will think that this is what all Pinotage wines are like. Having said all of that, buy it and try it and let me know what you think. It surely is interesting.

Panel's rating: 4,24 out of 5




Country: South Africa (KWV)
Grape: 100% Pinotage
Price: 89SEK

Colour: Dark, blue red colour.

Nose: Large fragrance with distinctive character of toasted oak barrels, hints of coffee, dark berries and smoke.

Taste: Wine has distinctive character of coffee-caramel, sweet and hard toasted barrels, hints of tar, smoke and cherries. This rich and juicy Pinotage has concentrated ripe fruit and mocha flavours.

Some more info: Launched in 2007, to be a Pinotage that's based on coffee characters, or more closer to the point, Mocha. This accounts for its mocha and chocolate flavours – the richness of coffee beans, the smoothness of creamy chocolate and the freshness of ripe fruit. ”

Jacobsdal Pinotage (2004)

Wine tasting 6

Here we have my favourite wine in the world. OK not really but I love it. This is what a Pinotage is supposed to smell and taste like. It's a 2004 vintage, so 5 years in the bottle only made it so much better. We've tasted it before during wine tasting 1, where it also scored 4 stars. Have this wine one night with a cheese platter of strong blue vein cheeses and some preserves, just to bring the best out of it, you won't be disappointed.

Panel's rating: 3,84 out of 5




Country: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grape: 100% Pinotage
Price: 110SEK

Colour: Deep ruby, garnet.

Nose: Large, slightly developed, fruity, burnt aromas with hints of barrel, tobacco, plums and meats. Plum and cherry. Subtle oak and vanilla spice.

Taste: Something developed, lightly smoked, tasteful wine, with hints of barrel, tobacco, tar pastilles and plums. Mulberry, raspberry and hints of cedar. No rough edges with fresh succulent fruit and great tannin structure.

Stellenzicht Pinotage (2006)

Wine tasting 6

During wine tasting 5 we tasted the Double gold Veritas award winning Stellenzicht Golden Triangle Shiraz (2005) which didn't score so high with the panel. This time around it was their Pinotage, which managed 4 stars. During the Veritas 2008 awards which is South Africa's premier award ceremony, no less than 6 wines from this farm scored bronze medals or better, including this wine, which scored a Silver medal. Really quality wines from a fairly unknown South African wine farm. If you can get your hands on a wine from their Cellar Master release, then buy some. It's really fantastic wines and still fairly well priced.

Panel's rating: 3,94 out of 5




Country: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grape: 100% Pinotage
Price: 110SEK

Colour: Dense, blue red colour. Dark ruby colour.

Nose: Very fruity, slightly smoky aroma with barrel character, elements of dark berries, plums and chocolate. Mulberry fruit with rich plum, blackcurrant and earthy aromas.

Taste: Very tasteful, fruity, slightly smoky wine barrel character, plums, herbs and chocolate. Darker berry flavours on the mouth- filling palate with oak and fruit seamlessly integrated. The solid tannin structure and sturdy acidity will allow this wine to improve with further maturation.

Just how much wine?

Have you ever driven past a wine farm, looked at the endless vineyards and wondered to yourself just how much wine they produced or how many bottles of wine per vineyard you're looking at? Perhaps how many litres? Maybe you've looked at a wine bottle and wondered how many grapes it took to make that bottle? Here's a simple way for you to do the maths, no matter what you're looking at:

1 grape cluster = 1 glass
75 grapes = 1 cluster
4 clusters = 1 bottle
40 clusters = 1 vine
1 vine = 10 bottles
1200 clusters = 1 barrel
1 barrel = 60 gallons
60 gallons = 25 cases
30 vines = 1 barrel
400 vines = 1 acre
1 acre = 5 tons
5 tons = 332 cases

The fifth wine tasting

Viva South Africa. That's what the night was all about. The theme was South Africa, so those attending were only alowed to buy wines from South Africa.

I often get asked which South African wines I would recommend here in Sweden and I really struggle because I don't have a lot of answers. The reason you see, is that when you're in South Africa, you're exposed to so much more wines at so much more afforable prices. I have however been trying more of the South African wines available here in Sweden and this night was especially good for that. There's eight good wines to try, although I should mention that none of the wines scored 4 stars. I found this very surprising.

We started off outside in the sun with a very good Sparkling wine called Pongrácz and strawberries. This was followed by one really good crisp white wine and six red wines. It really made me miss home.

Pongrácz Brut

Wine tasting 5

If I buy Champagne, or more correctly, Sparkling wine here in Sweden, this is what I buy. It has a lot to do with the fact that it comes from South Africa, but more so with the fact that it's a really tasty well balanced sparkling wine, with just the right amount of bubbles. We had this with strawberries out in the garden as it's a brut and very dry and the strawberries compliment it really well. Serve nice and chilled.

Panel's rating: 3,47 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Berg Kelder
Grape: 37% Chardonnay and 63% Pinot Noir
Price: 109 SEK

Colour: Light yellow colour.

Nose: Youthful, fruity fragrance with little bread smell, elements of apples and nougat.

Taste: Dry, slightly roasted flavor with hints of apples, nougat and grapefruit.

Neethlingshof Sauvignon Blanc (2008)

Wine tasting 5

South African white wines remind me of summer, sitting on the grass under the trees and pinics. This wine is no exception. Crisp and full of flavour. One of my favourites. It's not a wine that's made for drinking with heavy meals, but a good salad, a fruit bowl or a light lunch outside in the sun would be perfect. It's flavours are a mix of green peppers (Paparika), grass and asparagus, which sounds weird, but is worth a try.

Panel's rating: 3.27 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Stellenbosch
Grape: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Price: 80 SEK
Colour: Light yellow colour

Nose: Youthful scent, aromatic fragrance with hints of nettle, gooseberry, kiwi, asparagus, and lime.

Taste: Dry, very fresh, aromatic flavour with a hint of nettle, gooseberry, kiwi and green marmalade balls 

Porcupine Ridge Syrah (2008)

Wine tasting 5

According to the wine maker, this wine is called the "Wild One", because it is powerful and full bodied with concentrated flavours of Black Pepper, Raspberry, Mulberry and liquorice. It's not one of my favourites, because it's a bit over-powering and not real value for money at 98SEK a bottle. If I was going to spend that amount I would opt for their Porcupine Ridge Merlot, which is much smoother and tastier.

Panel's rating: 3,16 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Franschoek
Grape: 100% Shiraz
Price: 98 SEK

Colour: Dark purple colour.

Nose: Large, savoury, slightly smoky aroma with barrel character, elements of blackberry, violet, laurel and liquorice.

Taste: Tasteful, savoury, smoky wine with barrel character, elements of blackberry, violet, laurel and liquorice.

Allesverloren Tinta Barroca (2007)

Wine tasting 5

Tinta Barroca is a Portuguese red wine grape that is grown primarily in the Douro region with some plantings in South Africa. It's a common blending grape in Port wine while in South Africa it is normally made into a varietal. It's a fairly unknown variety in South Africa, so it's not very common. It took some getting used to for me, because it's not a taste that fits the regular South African palate, but has since been a regular purchase of mine. It goes really well with meat dishes that have lots of flavours. Do not try it as a stand along wine with your favourite book, because you'll be disappointed. This wine needs a busy kitchen with lot of action around it, lots of colours and lots of flavours.

Panel's rating: 3,36 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Swartland
Grape: 100% Tinta Barroca
Price: 109 SEK

Colour: Purple.

Nose: Fruity, spicy, slightly burnt aroma with a hint of barrel, cherry, liquorice and grass.

Taste: Fruity, spicy, slightly burnt taste with hints of barrel, plums, cherries and liquorice.

Graham Beck Pinotage (2008)

Wine tasting 5

This wine has been tasted before during the 2nd wine tasting, and really disappointed. This time around however it was a tad better with everyone commenting favourably on it. Graham Beck is one of South Africa's best wine makers, but he also knows a thing or two about markting, and that's where this wine comes in. Selling it purely off the knowledge of his good name, which isn't always a good thing. I still think this wine needs some time to rest before it's consumed, perhaps 3-5 years. At the moment it's like a naughty child that needs to sit in the corner for a while until it matures a little.

Panel's rating: 3,69 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Robertson
Grape: Pinotage
Price: 75 SEK

Colour: Blue purple colour.

Nose: Fruity, smoky aroma with a hint of barrel, forest berries and herbs.

Taste: “Ripe cherry, strawberries and plums on the nose with ripe red berry fruit and spices on the palate. A full structured and well balanced wine with an elegant mouthfeel and silky soft tannins”. Youthful, fruity, clear and smoky flavor with hints of barrel, forest and grass.

Neethlingshof Cabernet Sauvignon (2004)

Wine tasting 5

Aaahh... Cabernet Sauvignon, that trusty wine that never disappoints. Here's another good example of one, full of flavour, full bodied, long after taste. If I were to guess, I'd say a chicken dish or pasta. Open the bottle 3 hours before you have it to calm the flavours down a bit and give the wine a chance to breathe. Try it before you eat, as well as during the meal, to see just how a wine can change. It's was also fantastic just by itself, with strong barrel flavours that seem to just linger forever.

Panel's rating: 3,64 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Stellenbosch
Grape: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: 89 SEK

Colour: Dark purple colour

Nose: Large, fruity, slightly smoky aroma with barrel character, elements of blackberry, blackcurrant and herbs.

Taste: Tasteful, fruity, smoky wine with barrel character, elements of black currant, licorice and herbs.

Allesverloren Shiraz (2007)

Wine tasting 5

This wine was really close to scoring 4 stars, and was the best wine for the night of the 5th wine tasting. It's smoky and there's that barrel smell and taste that I think appeals to so many red wine drinkers. A good wine for red meat dishes, because it has all the right elements to compliment the food. It's not over-powering, yet full bodied with a taste that slows you down, so you can really enjoy every sip.

Panel's rating: 3,7 out of 5




Country: South Africa - Swartland
Grape: 100% Shiraz
Price: 99 SEK

Colour: Red blue colour

Nose: Fruity, slightly smoky aroma, elements of the barrel, blackberries, rmynta and vanilla.

Taste: Fruity, slightly smoky wine, elements of the barrel, blackberry, mint and vanilla.