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Tasting Schedule
Fourth Quarter 2008
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Spain
and Portuguese |
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We will try and squeeze
Sierra Cantabria (Rioja), Numanthia (Toro), Costers del
Suirana (Priorat) and Niepoort (Douro) into 1 tasting.
See
here for a list of all the wines; we will select 12
to 18 wines ranging from the entry level Crianzas and
Vertentes to top-end single-vineyards such as Numanthia,
Amancio, San Vicente and Batuta.
26 November - Wine Cellar
R375
27 November - Johannesburg
R375 (Join us for Dinner for an extra R150) |
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Burgundy 2006 |
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Wine Spectator gives the
2006 vintage a 90-93 rating for whites and 87-90 for
reds. The reds are pure-fruited and textured for the
medium term whilst the whites show excellent depth
and precision.
We have
two new super-star producers on our portfolio to
sample; Maison Drouhin, likely the finest
negociant in Burgundy that produces elegant and
traditional wines. And Liger Belair with
prime vineyards in Vosne Romanée including the tiny
monopole of La Romanée (not for tasting). We will
also taste the new vintages from Voillot, Dampt,
Florent de Merode and Lequin Colin.
03 December - Wine Cellar
R400
06 December - Johannesburg R400
(Join us for Dinner for an
extra R150) |
*Tastings
are held at Wine Cellar in Observatory Cape Town and Culinary
Productions, 199 Oxford Road, Dunkeld Johannesburg starting at
18:30.
Tasting Schedule Third
Quarter 2008
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NEW
VALUE FRENCH |
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With the surge in the Euro
and fine wine market, its a good time to look at where the value lies.
"Lesser" appellations in Bordeaux and the Rhône can
provide excellent drinking and even cellaring potential. We taste the best values of
the 2005 and 2000 Bordeaux such as Yon Figeac and Petit-Bocq
as well as the latest 2006 Rhônes
from Chateau Curson and Chapoutier. We will also taste
the Cote de Catalans wines from Winemaker Gerard Gauby,
le Soula. Adding in wines from
the Loire and Alsace, this will be an all-round
informative French
experience!
16 JULY - Wine Cellar
R200
31 JULY - Johannesburg
R200 (Join us for Dinner for an extra R150) |
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BORDEAUX 2005 |
| The Big guns are here!
Decanter has never given so many 5-Star ratings to any
category ever! The perfect vintage has produced sublime,
benchmark wines across the region. With Parker scores
ranging from 89/100 to 97/100, there will be extreme
quality throughout the tasting. Highlights will no doubt
include, Leoville Poyferre, both Pichons, Montrose and
Clinet.
23 JULY - Wine Cellar
R550
16 AUGUST - Johannesburg R550
(Join us for Dinner for an
extra R150) |
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CHEVAL
BLANC AND RAATS VERTICAL |
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The most exciting
tasting of the year. Along with Bruwer Raats we taste
2001 through to 2005 of Chateau Cheval Blanc and Raats
Cabernet Franc. Cheval Blanc, a St Emilion Premier Grand
Classe 'A', is one of the most
prized wines in Bordeaux, renowned for its elegance and
longevity. With the 2005 costing a mammoth R13,000 per
bottle, this will be a once in a life-time experience.
This is coupled with Petit-Cheval and Raats wines over a 3
course dinner. The CT tasting is almost full, so please book
ASAP.
26 JULY - Johannesburg (10 Bompas Hotel)
R2500
2 AUGUST - Cape Town (Belthazaar,
Waterfront) R2500
15 AUGUST - Durban (Havannas
Grill, Sun Coast Casino) R2500 |
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MAISON
HEBRARD - BORDEAUX |
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A rare opportunity to have a tasting lead
by Dominique Hebrard, the ex owner of Cheval Blanc and
consultant to Constantia Glen. He will
be showing 2003 through to 2005 of his two prized
St Emilion Grand Cru Chateaux; Chateau Trianon and Bellefont Belcier.
We will also taste through other value Bordeaux on his
negociant portfolio. This will no doubt be extremely
informative!
30 JULY- Wine Cellar R250 |
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MAISON
DROUHIN 2006 - BURGUNDY |
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"2006 is a very
seductive and aromatic vintage, with intensity and
fruitiness, and our vinification tried to privilege this
quality of fruit" maintains CEO Frederic Drouhin.
Wine Spectator applauds Drouhin with Elegance and
Refinement, rating it as one of the top
negociants in Burgundy. We will explore a range of the
2006s (which shouldn't be over-showed by the 2005s) from
Chablis through to the flagship Clos des Mouches.
6 AUGUST - Wine Cellar R250 |
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RHôNE
2005 |
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As in Bordeaux, Rhône
2005 is lauded as one of
the top vintages of the last few decades being compared
to the benchmark 1990s. The 2005s in the North and South
are powerful, brooding and opulent. Highlights from the
North will be the single vineyard Chapoutiers; Le
Pavillon (RP 98/100), Mordoree (94/100) and Le Granits
(95/100). Whilst from the South, Vieux Telegraph
(95+/100) and Beaucastel (94+/100) Chateauneufs are
likely to be prodigious.
13 AUGUST - Wine Cellar
R450
6 SEPTEMBER - Johannesburg
R450 (Join us for Dinner for an extra R150) |
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PIEDMONT 2004 |
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"The best 2004s [Barolo] are so good I
wanted to break into song,” raves Tim Atkin MW. However,
the Observer critic is not stopping there. “This is the
greatest vintage I have ever tasted, more approachable
than the almost as impressive 2001s, and just as
complex, nuanced and perfumed.” We taste through our
new producers, Clerico, Corino, Marengo and GAJA
(Arguably Italy's finest producer). This
will include, the top wines such as the Barolo Pajana,
Vigna Giachini, Brunate and Coste Russi (WA 95 and
R3,700/bottle) respectively!
27 AUGUST - Wine Cellar R450
27 SEPTEMBER - Johannesburg
R450 (Join us for Dinner for an extra R150) |
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TRI-NATIONS TASTE-OFF |
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How are we doing against
the rest of the world? We taste the best of SA against
Australia's and France's best. Bordeaux, Rhone and
Burgundy styles will be under inspection. Wines to be
tasted will include Leoville Las cases 2003 (WS 97/100,
R1595), Giaconda Chardonnay 2005 (RP 95/100, R1400), de
Trafford Shiraz 2005 (Platter 5 star, R395) and de
Merode Corton Renardes 2005 (WS 95/100, R495)
3
SEPTEMBER- Wine Cellar R375 |
Tasting Schedule First Half 2008
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| Angelus, Fleur de Bouard, Anwilka
Vertical |
28 February |
R1,000 |
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It's
not only James Bond's Chateau-of-choice, Angelus is only
surpassed by Ausone and Cheval Blanc in renown in the
town of St Emilion. Hubert de Bouard will kindly guide us through a
vertical of this Premier Grand Cru Classe showing off
great vintages such as 1995, 2000 and 2005. His other
Bordeaux property in Lalande de Pomerol, Fleur de Bouard
and his joint venture with Bruno Prats (ex Cos
d'Estournel) and Lowell Jooste (Klein Constantia) in
various vintages will also be tasted. |
| Fine
Italians |
5 March |
R350 |
| Italian
wine and Barolo specifically has had a large departure
in styling over the last decade with more producers making flashy
fruit-forward wines that are accessible young. We have
selected some of the top wines from Piedmont and Tuscany
in several vintages to assess these trends. The
non-interventionalist, Domenico Clerico's impressive Pajana
Barolo, new-styled Elio Altare's rare Barolo La Mora and
densely fruited and seamless Giovanni Corino's Barberas
will be highlights. We
finish with 3 vintages of Pertimali's fine Brunello de
Montalcinos back to 1998. |
| Bordeaux
2005 - Miele Centre, Bryanston |
11 March |
R350 |
| Bordeaux
2005 - Wine Cellar |
12 March |
R350 |
| Will the
most hyped vintage ever match up in quality? As the
Bordelaise release their wines, we will offer the first
batch of 2005's. From the Chateau Barrabaque (JR 17/20
Parker 89-90, R215) in the Canon Fronsac, we taste through St Emilion, Pessac, St
Estephe, Pauillac, Margaux and St Julien. No doubt the
highlights will be Haut-Bailly (93-95 Parker, R910) from Pessac-Leognan and
Duhart Milon (90-92 Parker, R515) from Pauillac. A
further tasting in the second half of the year will
cover the later released wines (usually the more
prestigious chateaux). |
|
Vilafonte Vertical |
19 March |
R150 |
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With such nominations as "New World
Icon of tomorrow" by Decanter and mid 90's
ratings in the Wine Enthusiast, Vilafonte is perhaps
South Africa's most exciting prospect. It is a
partnership with international expert Zelma Long,
viticulture guru Phil Freeze and Mike Ratcliffe from
Warwick. Their efforts and the Vilafontes soil
have produced serious Bordeaux-styled wines that have
made waves around the world. This is a rare
opportunity to taste 2003 through to the 2007 future
release with Zelma Long and her ground-breaking insights
into making premium wine. |
| Spain
2005's |
26 March |
R350 |
| Termanthia and Amancio are some of the
most sought after wines in Spain all pushing the 100
point score on the Wine Spectator, Wine
Enthusiast and
Wine Advocate scale. Together with Europe's dream 2005 vintage
there is no doubt that this will be one of the most
impressive tastings of the year. There will also be
wines from Toro, Carinena, Jumilla and the Ribera del
Duero together with Sierra Cantabria's Riojas. |
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Mouton-Rothschild 1980's Vertical |
12 April |
R2,500 |
| Along with
the immortal 1945 (the world most expensive auction wine
ever @ R180,000/bottle), the 1982 (R10,500/bottle) and
1986 (R8,000/bottle) are the most revered Moutons ever
and all attract 100/100 Parker scores. '82 and '86 were
brutally tannic in their youth and after 2 decades are
starting to reach maturity. That said, the last Parker
review of the 1986 notes it best drunk from 2011 through to
2096! Well, we can't wait that long and will compare
these 2 legends with the sexier 1985 and fragrant 1989.
Bordeaux Cru Classe with Dinner and
80's Sauternes will round off the 4 course meal at
Aubergine in Gardens Cape Town. Only 12 persons total
will offer a full experience of these gems in a
once-in-a-lifetime tasting! |
| Mosel
2006
and Alsace |
16 April |
R200 |
|
Trimbach is
one of the benchmark producers in Alsace with roots back
to the 1700's. One of the traditional schools of wine
making in Alsace, we will include the Famous Cuvee Fredrich Emile Riesling!
2006 in the Mosel showed good acidity levels such
as 2001 with fruit ripeness similar to that of 2005. We
show new wines from Dr Loosen and Willi Schaeffer, two
of the Mosel's most famous producers. Dr Loosen, Man of
the year by Decanter in 2005, uses 60 to 120 year old ungrafted vines for precision Riesling cuvees.
Willi Schaeffer similarly holds high esteem, but only
produces 2000 cases making them highly sought after. The
tasting will be presented by
Riesling aficionado and sommelier Jörg
Pfuntzer who lives and breathes Riesling. |
| 1998's
SA Cabernet's |
23 April |
R150 |
| A small hot
harvest with tiny berries and big tannins produced what
was thought at the time as a great Cabernet Sauvignon
vintage. How have these dark, robust wines
matured after 10 years? The tasting will be lead by Bruwer Raats
of Raats family wines. All the top names will be
included; Thelema, Rustenberg, Morgenhof, Vergelegen
etc. |
|
9 Decades of Huet
Vouvray |
30 April |
R1,100 |
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Richard Kelley MW, the
world's most foremost Loire expert, will guide as
through 9 decades of Gaston Huets fine Vouvrays. These
are the greatest and most long-lived Chenin's of the
Loire Valley and likely the world. Included will be a
1924 Haut Lieu 1ere Trie which was the first vineyard
purchased in 1910 and vinified by father Victor Huet. We
then taste the fine vintages of 1935, 1947, 1959, 1969,
1971, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 2000 and 2005
all from various vineyards and styles. Another
once-in-a-lifetime tasting which will be filled quickly.
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| Southern
France |
07 May |
R300 |
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A selection of wines from
the 'First growths' of the south such as Domaine Gauby. We will also show
rising stars and great value wines from Madiran, Cahors,
the Cote de Roussillon and Cobrieirs. Something
different and certainly eye-opening! Julien Mori, who has worked extensively in Southern
France, will host the tasting. |
Between 12 and 18 wines are tasted each evening in a
blind but informal discussion format. We start @ 18:30 and are
usually finished by 20:00. Prices are stated in Rands per person
and bookings are only confirmed once paid! Please see the
website for
prices on the new wines! Phone 021 448 4105 or email
info@winecellar.co.za
to book
2007 Tastings
2006 Tastings |
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