New world wines tasting

2015 Intellego Kolbroek Swartland South Africa 

Inspiration for this name comes from a breed of local pigs in South Africa called “Kolbroek” in Afrikaans mother tongue.

This is a Syrah done in semi-carbonic maceration for 10days in open tank, after primary fermentation the wine aging in 500l Puncheons barrels for 9months, the grapes are picked during the month of January to avoid the heatwaves of South Africa.

'Kolbroek' consists of grapes sourced from 2 parcels one on shale soil and the other on gravel soils. The Malmesbury shale soil one block, the second on gravel soil. The block planted on shale faces North and is harvested earlier to retain the fresher tannins and amazing flavors influenced by that soil. The parcel on gravel retains great acidity and shows late development of secondary flavors especially after a few months in barrel.

Intellego Wines started off in 2009 by Jurgen Gouws'... Intellego translates “to understand” in Latin as Jurgen is just beginning to understand more than the potential of this incredible region. He currently owns no vineyards and no cellar of his own but developed his own brand Intellego while working at Lammershoek with Craig 'El Bandito' Hawkins.

He’s not a fan of  “Robert Parker” style common in SA serious extraction wines with new oak and over-ripe fruit. His wines are pretty fresh and made to drink and to finish the bottle.

A big aim is to create optimum soil conditions through organic practices where the vines will be nurtured for an indefinite period of time, creating conditions for each block to have their own individual character. He and his farmers grow grapes in an environment that is beneficial to the plant and its roots in the Mediterranean climate of this region.

Swartland is a large wine-producing area 65 kilometers north of Cape Town in the Western cape of South Africa. Traditionally a wheat-producing region, it now specializes in making rich, fruit-driven wines particularly from the Syrah, Chenin, Pinotage grape varieties.

Swartland covers a large area, encompassing the vineyards on the northern side of the Paardeberg mountain in the south to the plains of Piketberg in the north. The smaller ward of Riebeekberg and the Kasteelberg Mountain lie in the eastern part of the region, while the cooler district of Darling separates the area from the Atlantic Ocean. The topography is varied, and vineyards can be found on steep mountain foothills or on gently folding hillsides. is a typically hot dry region with lots of bush vines with their roots able to dig deep in the subsoil to get the water reserves stored underneath, resulting in stronger vines and particularly concentrated flavors in the grapes. These dry conditions help to reduce the fungal disease so organic practice is easy to adopt. The dominant soil type in Swartland is Malmesbury shale, named for the town of Malmesbury that sits in the middle of the region.

Arnot Roberts Sonoma Coast USA 
2017 Arnot Roberts Syrah Sonoma Coast California 
Duncan and Nathan grew up together in Napa. Their background on wines is various. 
Nathan’s father is a barrel cooperage and his mom was a longtime chef at Robert Mondavi Winery. 
Duncan’s father was a Napa attorney with many wine industry friends and after college Duncan start working as an assistant winemaker at Pax Wine Cellars, while Nathan kept making barrels. They founded their own label in 2001 and from then all are works are done very artisanal. Annual production is around 5,000 cases. They work various vineyards around northern California from Lake County to Santa Cruz Mountains. All their wines are mainly single vineyards side, from Trousseau, Cabernet Sauvignon and cool climate Syrah. 
The Syrah coming from Sonoma Coast, 2017 is an austere black fruit with peppery element along with charcoal and hints of meat. Good freshness on the palate with great acidity and nice mineral content. Notable depth and intensity, the wine age for 11 months in French oak. Fresh, balanced, and perfect for Northern Rhone lovers. 

 Ruth Lewandowski Mahlon Fox Hill Vineyard Arneis Mendocino County USA

Evan Lewandowski a young winemaker with lots of skill... and great aproach of winemaking.ù
After he graduated in physiotherapy worked in a French bistro and a 21 years old start to go to the winetraining and loved taste wines ... He did a time at Binner in Ammerschwihr. All his wine are no addition
The grapes grown at Fox Hill Vineyards and Testa Vineyards in Mendocino county, Evan begins fermentation in California then transports his fermenting juice to his home in Salt Lake City where he completes the process.
The wine is rich in color truly golden, highly aromatic with herbal, spicy and ripe stonefruit, bitter phenolic at the back of the palate with rich texture and creamy element; rich but focus on the energy.

                        Mornington Peninsulas Australia, Save Our Souls
Rooted in the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsulas Australia, Save Our Souls is a true expression of passion and friendship - the meeting of two great viticultural minds. William Downie and Jason Searle are the two guys. Many years ago when Jason Searle was helping out at Bass Phillip he came across Bill Downie. Bill and Jason realized that they shared some common ideals for wine. A friendship was then forged during viticulture studies, a passion for wine with the definition of place and interest was often the bonding agent.
After vintage in Italy Jason returned to keep working on a part-time basis in vineyards while Bill's star was on the rise making a name for himself as one of Australia's brightest young winemakers. Firstly at De Bortoli and then creating the William Downie wines, all this whilst spending the majority of the year in Burgundy.
As Jason began to put some ideas in place to start making wine, Bill, now back in Australia, put forward the idea of making them together. Save Our Souls was born. The intention was to make affordable wine that was removed from the shadows of typical ‘New World' winemaking practices.

Delicate color. Aromas of lifted raspberry, redcurrant and cranberry fruit float across underlying earth and spice notes. The palate is fine and delicate. Palate cranberry and redcurrant characters with nice elegant tannin along with the mushroom element. There is some gentle oak influence adding complexity.


Lieu Dit Santa Ynez Valley 

Lieu Dit is a partnership of Eric Railsback and Justin Willett.  The two were among a small group of young winemakers and restaurateurs in Santa Barbara unified by a common interest in wine.
Railsback and Willett decided to found Lieu Dit in 2011 and focus it solely in the varieties indigenous to the Loire Valley, now grown in Santa Barbara County. The varied micro-climates and marine-based soils of Santa Barbara County are ideally suited to this set of grapes. Lieu Dit centers on Sauvignon Blanc and more limited bottlings of Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Rose and produces around 2500 cases annually. 
2016 Lieu Dit Sauvignon was gold rich in color with notes of fresh cut grass along with gooseberry with smoky activated charcoal. The palate is leesy but with lots of spine acidity and freshness, quite a long finish with a vertical complexity and super textural. 

Enfield Wine Co. Coombsville AVA
John Lockwood finds a way to make a small amount of wine in the Napa Valley area without much money and with no vineyard holdings. Enfield Wine Co. was founded in 2010 by this young winemakers. Over the past years, John works with some of the most esteemed vineyard sites and producers in California. John has worked along David Mahaffey, Ted Lemon, and Ehren Jordan. 
Coombsville AVA sits east of Napa and proximate to San Pablo Bay, which makes it one of the coolest areas of the region.  With soils of alluvial gravel and cobblestones that are complemented by a thick layer of well-draining, Mt. George volcanic ash, Haynes Vineyard is one of Coombsville's most noble sites, and Lockwood's 5-acre parcel is one of the stoniest.
Syrah 100%  purple flower aromas, red cherry and plum fruit on a plat of ashy minerality.  On the palate, fresh fruit lends elegant acidity cradled by velvet tannins that weave a finish toward earthy, savory notes. 

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