On the 14th of May, Bobby Wallace presented the wines of Paul Wallace to us. Thanks kindly to Mario Montero of MJM wines for organising this tasting for us. Wow we were in for an awesome tasting of all of Bobby’s wines, which included the Off the Record range that he and his brother conceived, as well as make. Bobby is an amazing, brilliant presenter, sharing everything about the Wallace farm, from family (including the dogs), the vineyards, the ideology of the farm, the winemaking and the info on all the wines from memory!!!
Bobby’s presentation made us feel we were in the tasting room at the farm, feeling the terrior, whilst smelling and tasting the Paul Wallace, as well as Off the Record wines. The tasting evoked an amazing amount of discussion relating to wines and terrior. The following is the order of the presentation, the comments of the tasters and the average scores of those present.
1. Paul Wallace Little Flirt Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Colour- light green. Nose- tropical with melon and pineapple, fresh green herbs, flinty, sherbet. Palate- crisp acidity, slight sourness to the palate, passion fruit, apple, sherbet, green grass, tropical with pineapple, citrus with lemon and lime.
Score- 15.63.
2. Off the Record Chenin Blanc 2022 (from Vrede en Lust’s Casey’s Ridge Vineyards)
Colour- light green, with a golden tint. Nose- toast, honey, citrus, faint butterscotch, liquorice, cloves, almond. Palate- crisp acidity, honey, nutty with almonds, toasty, citrus with lemon and lime, peach, creamy mouth feel, the nuttiness lingers full to the finish.
Score- 16.19.
3. Paul Wallace Reflection Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
Colour- light green. Nose- toast, vanilla, cedar , tropical, full forthcoming butterscotch, citrus with lemons, nutty. Palate- crisp acidity, forthcoming butterscotch that is full on the mouth, creamy, lots of vanilla, citrus with lime and lemon, tropical, tight needs time, but still very juicy.
Score- 16.94.
4. Paul Wallace Brave Heart Pinot Noir 2020
Colour- light red, with no gradation to the browning rim. Nose- full forthcoming strawberry, raspberry and red berries, floral, elastoplast(?), mushroom, prunes, citrus, pepper. Palate-crisp acidity, soft tannins, sour cherries, red berries, full and strong strawberry fruit that lingers to the finish. This wine evoked probably the most discussion, with some loving the new world style, and those that like the old world style, not enjoying the bold fruitiness of the wine. Score- 16.75.
5. Off the Record Syrah 2022 (from the De Grendel’s Ceres vineyards)
Colour- inky purple-red, with no gradation to a pink rim. Nose- black and red cherry, black currant, fynbos, savoury, spices, black pepper, tobacco and cedar. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, spices, toffee, caramel, cedar, black cherries and berries, with black currants that linger to the finish, needs time!
Score- 16.81.
6. Black Dog Malbec 2020
Colour- inky black-red, with no gradation to a pink rim. Nose- liquorice, plum, prunes, black currant and cherry, spices, cloves. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, plum, prunes, black berry and cherries, with black currant too that linger full to the finish, lots of people saying that will develop!
Score- 17.00 (tied 16th for the year out of 102 wines tasted thus far, tied with six other wines, 0.1 up on the 2019 vintage, tasted earlier this year).
7. Paul Wallace Cracker Jack 2021 (67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 13% Cabernet Franc) Colour- inky dark red, with no gradation to a slightly browning rim. Nose- Eucalyptus, fynbos, earthy, menthol, liquorice, coffee, savoury, Christmas cake, black cherry and currants. Palate- crisp acidity, firm tannins, tobacco, cedar, pencil shavings, black cherry and currants, stewed raspberry, jammy black cherry finish, sensational. Tasting amazing now, but most felt that this wine has a long way to go!
Score- 17.67 (tied in fourth place, with the De Grendel Rubaiyat 2018).
8. Paul Wallace The Nix Noble Late Harvest 2018 (from Sauvignon Blanc)
Colour- golden, hay. Nose- citrus with naartjie and mandarins, honey, nutty nougat. Palate- crisp acidity, not cloying, fresh and clean, citrus with orange and lemons, apricots, nutty, with gorgeous honey that is full on the palate and also lingers full to the finish!
Score- 17.36 (9th place for 2024).
Wow, what a tasting, three wines in Vats’s top 25 for 2024, out of 102 wines tasted thus far. Bobby is a show man extraordinaire, but also such an amazing, humble guy! But, credit also to Mario for his brilliant assistance. This tasting was a treat, we were really spoiled, thanks Bobby, Paul and Nicky for making such beautiful wines! Top wine was the Cracker Jack, which was just going to be a wine kept to the family, for their consumption, thanks for sharing and it is a Cracker Jack of a wine! Second the lovely, “The Nix” Noble Late Harvest, which was soft, not too sweet, with lots of citrus fruits. Third, our favourite South African Malbec, cause it is in many of the taster’s opinions the best we have! Thanks again to all who attended, to those who contributed with comments and made the discussion amazing. A top tasting, one of the best this year, thanks to Bobby and Mario!
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