On the 29th of October our old friend Jeremy Borg of Painted Wolf came to present his wines to us. He came with a show case of his top Pinotage and a few other lovely wines. Jeremy was accompanied by his lovely sister Amanda. Jeremy is one of our favourite presenters, and comes to Vats whenever he can. He was our last tasting before lockdown and our first one when it was finally lifted again. What is always special when he visits, is hear about the conservation of the Painted Wolf that he cares so deeply for and that he donates money from the sales of his wines to. The following is the order of the wines presented, the comments of the tasters and the average scores.
The Pack “Teardrop” Viognier 2023
Colour- light green. Nose- floral, citrus, lemon, apricot, peach. Palate- crisp acidity, nuts, white peach, melon, citrus, apricot.
Score- 16.31.
2. The Pack “Solo” Roussanne 2023
Colour- light green, with a golden tinge. Nose- toast, cedar, terpene, nut, spice, citrus, with orange and tangerine. Palate- crisp acidity, toast, nut, orange peel, nectarine, orange, with a dry sherry finish?
Score- 16.55.
3. The Den Pinotage Rose 2024
Colour- light pink. Nose- black cherry and berry, Maraschino cherry. Palate- crisp acidity, strawberry, black cherry, Maraschino cherry, sour cherry finish.
Score- 16.23.
4. The Den Pinotage 2022 (wild ferment)
Colour- deep purple, with no gradation to a light red rim. Nose- plum, black cherry and currant. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, plum, black cherry, pippy, nuts, black cherry finish.
Score- 16.69.
5. The Pack “Guillermo” Pinotage 2022
Colour- inky dark purple, with no gradation to the rim, large amount of tears on the glass. Nose- full, forthcoming, caramel, chocolate, plum, black currant. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, stewed cherry, black currants, port-like in feel, rich, roast nut, black cherry on the finish.
Score- 17.62 (13th best wine for Vats in 2024, out of 283 wines tasted).
6. Lyacon Pinotage 2021
Colour- inky dark purple-red, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- fynbos, perfumed, vanilla, citrus, strawberry, plum, red cherry, black cherry and berry. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, pippy, coffee, bramble berry, blue berry, black cherry, port-like.
Score- 17.54 (18th best wine for 2024).
Teardrop, Solo and Guillermo are the names of specific wild dogs that are part of Jeremy’s conservation. Their stories are very interesting, and in many cases these dogs have had some really trying times, they have survived so much. Jeremy’s tasting was great, filled with information about the soils of the vineyards, his winemaking and the people that make up his “Pack”. Stunning tasting with two wines in our top twenty for 2024. Top wines “Guillermo” Pinotage, Lyacon Pinotage and The Den Pinotage. Really interesting to do a tasting of his Pinotage’s, which included the Rose! Thanks Jeremy and Amanda for an awesome tasting!
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