Sketches Series Chardonnay Semillon 2011

As I stare out of the window at the rain, I wonder what made me think it would be a good time to root out cheap bottles of plonk to have at barbeques.  In the back of my mind, I have a vague recollection of balmy warm weather followed by an urge to buy charcoal.  Was it all just a dream?

Nevertheless, I soldier on in the hope that one day, the rain will stop finding more ways into my house and the sun will shine through, allowing me to put my expertise at external cuisine back into practice.

I chose this bottle of white from Tesco because it was priced conveniently at £5 and it appeared to be a stand alone label.  I later discovered I was wrong.  It is part of the First Cape family, a commercial name you are most likely to have seen and/or bought in either any supermarket or your local Booze Buster.  I didn't notice this at first glance and had bought the bottle under duress because I had spent so long in the store looking at the backs of bottles, I had become the focus of the not-very-well-disguised store detective and my bladder required my attention elsewhere.

Served chilled, this wine gave very little on the nose other than a dry minerality that I have started to associate with Chardonnay.  No fruit could be detected at any obvious level although silky smooth lime and honeysuckle are suggested on their website.  The taste was mildly surprising though.  It yeilded melon in the first instance, keeping the dryness from being too punchy and overpowering and although acidity was present, it didn't take over as the primary sensation and allowed a reasonably smooth and uneventful finish with no afterkick.

At 2011, this is a young Chardonnay and Semillon mix.  The vintage means that the high acidity in the Chardonnay has not had any time to mellow and develop, making it very dry on its own however, the addition of a low acidic Semillon brings a little fruit and allows the wine to find a safe balance and a smoother finish.

This is a pleasant dry white that isn't as harsh as the Zalze Chenin Blanc or Luis Felipe Edwards Chardonnay that I have previously reviewed.  This would be a good, flexible companion at a barbeque as it can easily be drank with or without food.  

Or sunshine come to think of it!

Zalze South Africa Chenin Blanc 2011

I have decided to continue with the barbecue season wines, even if the weather hasn't.  The red wine drinkers have been placated for the time being at a reasonable price (see my previous two blogs) and now your attention should be fixed on satisfying the 'green grapers'.

 

This weeks offering is an interesting white from the Coastal Region of South Africa.  I bought mine in Tesco and at the time of purchase was being advertised at £5, although the price tag professed an original price upwards of this.

On the nose this was immediately fruity, just like the back label said it was going to be.  Hints of pineapple and other sweet fruits such as peach and kiwi were immediately prevalent, although additional scents of spice, white pepper maybe, were also in there.  Accompanying the fruit is an alternative but very distinct whiff of minerals or slate.

The first mouthful delivers the fruit in a hurry, giving the taste equivalent of the sweet fruits originally detected however, this gives way quickly to a very dry and acidic taste.  The further into the bottle we got, the more the fruit stopped fighting, eventually succumbing almost entirely to the acidic.  My personal preference steers away from this but Julie specifically commented on how she liked this quality and so I was happy to let her finish the bottle, allowing me to turn my attention to something different. 

On the surface this may seem a slightly negative review but I would prefer to look at it as a new discovery.  I now know that as a 'green graper,' Julie likes the acidic and dryness that comes from a young Chenin Blanc and I relish the challenge of being able to match other wines to her taste.  If you served this at a barbecue, your dry wine aficionados will stay happy, especially if you have some goats cheese to nibble at the same time.