On the 7th of May, Charl Els presented the wines of Groenland to us. This estate is owned by the Steenkamp family and is in the Bottelary Hills. We have had this Estate at Vats before and the wines are really good value and of excellent quality. This is the first tasting we have had with Charl, who is a good friend of ours and has been to our tastings before. The following is the order of the wines tasted, the comments of the tasters and the average scores of the tasters.
1. Landskap Chenin Blanc 2023
Colour- light green. Nose- paw paw, melon, peach, pear. Palate- acid forward, crisp acidity, peach, creamy, white pear, citrus, melon, lemon, pineapple, green apples.
Score- 15.67.
2. Pinotage Rose 2023
Colour- light pink. Nose- citrus, red berries, strawberry, red cherry, peach. Palate- crisp acidity, peach, candy floss, red currant, raspberry, red cherry lingering to the finish.
Score- 16.33.
3. Antoinette Marie 2019 (61% Merlot, 27% Shiraz, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Colour- dark black red, with no gradation to the rim, which was clear. Nose- dusty, Eucalyptus, mocha, toffee, red berry and cherries. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, menthol, cedar, mint, green herbs, pepper, black and red cherries that linger to the finish, almost gravelly in texture.
Score- 16.56.
4. Premium Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Colour- dark red, almost inky black, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- mocha, plum, dark chocolate, black cherry, raspberry. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, fruit still closed, dark chocolates, black berries and cherries, gravelly finish with black cherries.
Score- 16.63.
5. Premium Merlot 2021
Colour- inky black red, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- shy, black cherries and berries. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, chalky, cedar, earthy, nutty, green herbs, black berry and cherries, chocolate, Christmas cake, needs time.
Score- 17.00 (tied in 16th place for 2024, with six other wines out of the 102 wines tasted thus far).
6. Premium Syrah 2018
Colour- inky black red, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- smoke, savoury with sun dried tomatoes, black pepper, black cherries. Palate- crisp acidity, firm but softening tannins, smoky, caramel, toffee, mint, Eucalyptus, sundried tomatoes, black cherry that lingers to the finish.
Score- 15.56.
Some really lovely wines, at very affordable prices. Thanks to Liquid and Charl for bringing these wines to us! So top wine was the Merlot, which really is very young and will grow in years to come. Second the Cabernet Sauvignon and narrowly in third the Antoinette Marie. Beautiful wines all of them, a very, fine wine tasting!
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