Champagne: Demi-Sec and Rosé Wines 7

LEBANON

The Bekaa is a fertile valley in Lebanon, located about 30 km (19 miles) east of Beirut. The valley is situated between the Mount Lebanon to the west and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges to the east. It forms the north-easternmost extension of the Great Rift Valley, which stretches from Syria through the Red Sea into Africa. Bekaa Valley is about 120 km (about 75 miles) in length

and has an average width of about 16 km (about 10 miles). It has a Mediterranean climate of wet, often snowy winters and dry, warm summers. Lebanon is the oldest site of wine production in the world. The Phoenicians of its coastal strip were instrumental in spreading wine and viticulture throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times.
140 Château Musar, Gaston Hochar, Bekaa Valley, 2001 65.00

(34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Cinsault, 33% Carignan) Organic Robert Parker – 91 points

The wines are deep, intense ruby in colour, have a complex, intriguing array of aromas: toasted

bread, cigar box, fresh tea, plums and Eastern spices. On the palate, there are mature fruits: plums,

figs and cherries with hints of tea leaves and dark chocolate. The wine is intense and gregarious, the

first taste releasing complex notes of currants, cherries and spice, finishing with a cleansing acidity.

South Africa is one of the world’s most exciting wine-producing regions today. The South African wine industry is in renaissance, supported by investment and a dynamic new generation of winemakers keen to push quality boundaries and develop new vineyards and wine styles. South Africa’s wine production dates back to the 1600s, when the Dutch East India trading company established a provisions station in Cape Town and planted vineyards for wine and grapes. The Cape’s location has proved key to its wine styles too, for the winelands here are buffeted continually by cooling ocean breezes, tempering the intense heat at this latitude and giving near-perfect conditions for high quality grapes. South Africa’s wine profile reflects these conditions, melding its exuberant sunshine flavours with the elegance more typical of cooler-climate European wines.

(100% Merlot) suitable for vegans

An elegant wine with a deep ruby red colour, rich mocha nuances and sweet black berry

tones. Toasty vanilla oak on the palate, but ripening into a fragrant mouthful of plums with

hints of peppermint and fruitcake.

167 The Ruins Organic Pinotage, Bon Cap Wines, Robertson Valley, 2012 31.00

(100% Pinotage) Organic

This medium-structured Pinotage has a youthful deep red colour with sweet ripe berry and red

and black cherry flavours. The light oak usage contributes to chocolate and coffee flavours which

follows onto a fresh smooth tannin structure on the mid- and back palate ensuring a lively persistent

finish and making it an ideal “lifestyle” wine for summer luncheons or everyday enjoyment.

168 “Hawequas’’, Mont du Toit, Kelder, Paarl, 2008 36.25

(Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Tinta Ammarella, Petit Verdot, Mouvedre) Suitable for vegetarians

From the foothills of the Hawequas mountain, overlooking Wellington, an award winning,

Cabernet-dominated blend, this is a fantastic, easy drinking glassful. Sophisticated structure

with concentrated, plump, ripe fruit layered with spice and gently toasted oak.

158 Shiraz, Nelson Estate, Paarl, 2008 42.50

(100% Shiraz) Suitable for vegans

Deep red wine with complex aromas of cigar box, blackberries and cocoa. This soft, rich and

full-bodied wine combines dark chocolate and all-spice with a long lingering finish on the palate.

The quality and style of Nelson Estate’s wines comes partly from the complex granite-clay soils

found here, and also from the cooling Atlantic breezes, mitigating South Africa’s fierce summer

heat and helping promote the delicate flavours and fresh textures.

187 Trilogy, Warwick Estate, Stellenbosch, 2009 52.50

(60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot)

The wine shows a wonderful intensity of fruit and warm mocha flavours. A sweet perfumed

luscious nose, which is earthy and provocative. Blackberry, plums, tea-leaf and raspberry flavours

abound. There is a silky soft feel in the mouth with chocolate flavours on the palate.

185 Max, Miles Mossop, Stellenbosch, 2008 51.50

(50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Petit Verdot, 23% Merlot) 5 stars – Platter’s Wine Guide 2011

Dark plum skin colour in the centre with a bright ruby rim. Aromas of fresh Christmas cake, dark

cherries, ripe mulberries, blackcurrant and a hint of roasted fennel bulb and mint, underscored

by notes of cocoa and savoury meats with hints of roasted almonds and cedar to complement. Full,

rich, lingering and dry is the best way to describe the palate, packed with flavours of dark cherries,

plums, cassis and mulberries. Firm and dry tannins, offering an exceptionally long finish.
White Wines
277 Sauvignon Blanc, Southern Right Wines, Walker Bay, 2013 29.75

(100% Sauvignon Blanc) Wine Advocate – 88 points

Pale, green-tinged yellow. Complex, bracing aromas of gooseberry, lemon peel, ginger, white flowers

and crushed stone. Round and juicy, showing moderate flesh but excellent dusty palate presence to

the flavours of citrus fruits, red grapefruit, minerals, fresh herbs and spices. Finishes tactile and brisk,

with pungently aromatic, slightly tart hints of green tropical fruits and lime. A real wake-up call to the palate.

273 Chenin Blanc, The Francophile, The Liberator, Stellenbosch, 2012 24.95

(100% Chenin Blanc) Robert Parker – 89 points

Made by Carl de Morgenzon it offers attractive marzipan and peach skin scents that gently

waft from the glass. Very well-balanced with a light shaved ginger finish, this is a very fine Chenin.

272 Chardonnay, Nelson Estate, Paarl, 2011 40.50

(100% Chardonnay)

It displays ripe peach and apricot flavours, followed by a creamy and light elegant oak finish on

the palateThe quality and style of Nelson Estate’s wines comes partly from the complex granite

-clay soils found here, and also from the cooling Atlantic breezes, mitigating South Africa’s fierce

summer heat and helping promote the delicate flavours and fresh textures.

275 Chardonnay, Hamilton Russell, Hermanus, Walker Bay, 2012 53.50

(100% Chardonnay) Wine Spectator – 93 points

Prominent core of intense pear fruit aroma and flavours is brought beautifully into focus

by a tight line of natural acid, and dry, minerality. An elegant, yet textured and intense wine

with a strong personality of both place and vintage. The vineyard is on stony, clay-rich, soil,

cool maritime mesoclimate, naturally tiny yields and a philosophy of expressing the terroir

in their wines give rise to a tighter, drier, more complex mineral character and length to

complement the varietal fruit. Leaning more towards the subtlety of a Burgundian Chardonnay.

274 Maestro, De Morgenzon, Stellenbosch, 2012 44.00

(37% Chenin Blanc, 24% Chardonnay, 24% Roussanne, 15% Viognier) Decanter World Wine Awards – 5 stars

The De Morgenzon vineyard finds itself between mountains in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa

and is known for its fairly unconventional cultivation techniques. Aside from growing specially chosen

flowers between the vines, they also play Baroque throughout the vineyard 24/7. Whatever they are

doing, they are doing it right. Their wines are outstanding and this oak-matured white is full-bodied

with much white and yellow fruit on the nose and a lovely texture in the mouth. Nutty, lush apricot

aromas with toasty notes. Layers of vanilla, almonds, floral white and yellow fruit, pear, peach and

marzipan supported by well-structured oak. Very juicy and supple, retaining wonderful freshness,

with a big, long finish.