De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2016

From - Durbanville, SA
Grape - Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol - 13.5%
Available from - Waitrose, waitrosecellar.com, Ocado
Price - £11.99 (although £8.99 until Tuesday at Waitrose)

Appearance - Clear, lemon-green, medium- intensity

Nose - Clean, medium intensity, green fruits of pear and gooseberry, herbal (nettle).  Youthful.

Palate - Dry, high acid, medium+ alcohol, full bodied, medium+ length, medium+ intensity.  As nose, plus stone fruit and minerality.

Very good quality, drink now.

Delicious Sauvignon Blanc can be found outside of Loire, Bordeaux and Marlborough, as this award-winning example demonstrates.  This is a classy wine, with real weight in the mouth, a little bit more alcohol than you might find elsewhere, and agreeable complexity.

Waitrose Foundation Chenin Blanc 2014

From - Cederberg, SA
Grape - Chenin Blanc
Alcohol - 12.5%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £8.99

Appearance - Clear, medium intensity, lemon-green

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, citrus, and apple.

Palate - Dry, medium alcohol, high acid, medium+ body, medium+ length. Medium+ intensity   Lime, stone fruit, apples, a touch of stone minerality and even a touch of petillance.

Oz Clarke reckons that, when the 'true' price of a wine can sometimes be in doubt, supermarkets' own label wines can often prove to be good value.  I found this wine to be really good, plenty of fruit and very refreshing.  I had it to accompany a tomato salad, which worked really well.  It also provides a good deal for the farmers.

Graham Beck Chardonnay & Pinot Noir Brut NV

From - Western Cape, South Africa
Grape - Chardonnay; Pinot Noir
Alcohol - 12% abv
Available from - Waitrose; Majestic
Price - £13.99

Appearance - Clear; golden; medium intensity

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; apples, lemon, autolysis

Palate - Dry; medium+ acid; medium+ mousse; medium intensity;  medium body; medium alcohol; medium to medium+ length; apples, pears, lemon, bread, stone fruit developing as the temperature raises.

Balance - 8  Length - 7 Intensity - 6.5  Complexity - 7

A gorgeous wine that is superb value for money.  When first pouring it I was met with that familiar traditional method aroma of bread, with citrus and green fruit.  The palate was also thrilling, with more zing and acid than I anticipated, and made it even more reminiscent of Champagne, but at a much lower price.  Creamy, and very delicious,  this is excellent. If you like your bubbly then do not hesitate to try it.  Happy New Year to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to visit my blog or share my blog posts. I hope your 2015 is balanced, long, intense (in a good way) and complex (also in a good way)!

Cederberg Bukettraube 2013

From - Cederberg, South Africa
Grape - Bukettraube
Alcohol - 12.5%
Available from - Maruis (www.jouwwijnvriend.nl - pic of store below!) 12Euro; www.sawinesonline.co.uk £12

Appearance - Clear; medium- intensity; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medum+ intensity; developing; pear and apple, stone fruit, floral.

Palate - Medium-dry; medium+ acid; medium alcohol; medium+ body; medium+ length;  medium intensity; medium alcohol.  Pear, peach, lime, spicy

Balance - 7 Length - 7.5  Intensity - 6.5 Complexity - 6

A new grape for me.  I picked up this wine on my last trip to Holland after a chat with a very helpful lady at Marius in Wassenaar.  Bukettraube is described as being similar to Muscat, and this seems true,  as this has the stone fruit flavours and floral boquet.  Medium-dry, with a decent level of acid, this was a great match for our balti following a delicious glass as an aperitif.  We loved it.

Journey's End Sir Lowry Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

From - Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grape - Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol - 14%
Available from - Waitrose,
Price - £14.99

Appearance - dark ruby-garnet, medium+ intensity, clear

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developing; plums, dried fruit, cinnamon, vanilla

Palate - dry; medium+ alcohol; medium acidity; medium+ body; medium tannin; medium intensity; medium+ length; plums, cloves, tobacco, vanilla.

Balance - 7  Length - 8  Intensity - 6.5  Complexity - 8

I got this on recommendation from a real expert, and it does not disappoint.  Cabernet Sauvignon from the new world is known for being softer and richer than their friends in Bordeaux, and indeed the tannin present here is not particularly mouth-drying.  This looks great in the glass, is a real mouthful (that is, it has plenty of body) and the time in oak was well spent, giving it the complexity that I have described.  I have a bottle in my 'time machine' (a box that I have just put away for at least two years) and I am expecting a good reward from this for my patience.  It is quite splendid now, however.

If you are wondering, I don't have a bias for South African wine, but I may be developing one, at least a bit!

Southern Right Pinotage 2012

From - Hemel-en-Aarde valley, Walker Bay, South Africa
Grape - Pinotage
Alcohol - 14% abv
Available from - Waitrose, strictlywine.co.uk
Price - £13.99

Appearance - Clear, medium+ intensity, ruby-red

Nose - Clean, medium intensity, developing, red cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, herbs.

Palate - dry, medium+ acid, medium+ tannin, medium+ alcohol, medium+ body, medium+ length, berries, cherries, a touch of coffee on the aftertaste, with other oak elements.

Balance - 8.5  Length - 8  Intensity - 8 Complexity - 8

A real treat.  The balance may go even higher with bottle ageing as the alcohol is just a touch high in the mix in my opinion, notwithstanding a lovely bottle of wine, I can imagine this with 'gravy dinners' as they are called in this house. Loads of length, which makes it great value. The tannin levels seem to be significant but the ripe fruit means that they aren't  mouth drying.  This is easily worth the price tag, and the bottle will be gone by the time the football finishes this evening, for sure! I enjoyed the Barbaresco, this is better!

The Pinotage grape is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault.

Interestingly, this wine is named after Southern Right whales, who are neighbours to the vineyard.  You can see one in the picture below, and I understand that some of the takings from the wine goes towards their conservation.

Heaven on Earth Organic Muscat

From - Stellar Organic Winery, Western Cape, South Africa
Grape - Muscat
Alcohol - 11%
Available from - C1000 (NL); vintageroots.co.uk
Price - 7 Euro; £9.40

Appearance - Clear; Medium+ intensity; amber

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developed; honey, floral

Palate - Sweet; medium+ acidity; medium alcohol; full body; medium+ intensity; medium+ length; honey, stone fruit; raisin.

Balance - 7  Length - 7  Intensity - 7  Complexity - 6.5

This is absolutely beautiful.  A take-home from a trip to Holland, I am pleased to see it is available from the good folks at Vintage Roots, but at a significantly higher price.  It has a full body due to the sugar, and enough acid to balance the luscious sweetness.  This is gorgeous and if you like your dessert wines, you must try it if you get a chance.

To make this wine sweet, the grapes are dried on straw and rooibos tea.  No doubt the tea contributes significantly to the flavour.

Morgenhof Estate Chenin Blanc 2012

From - Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grape - Chenin Blanc
Alcohol - 13.5%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £11.99

Appearance - Clear; golden; medium+ intensity

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; lime, apple, peach, green pepper.

Palate - Dry; medium+ acid; medium+ alcohol; medium intensity; full body; medium+ length; apple, lemon&lime, a touch of smoke, stone fruit.

Balance - 6 Length - 8 Intensity - 6 Complexity - 7

This is terrific value.  It has a really creamy, almost chewy body, probably due to the fact that it has had some time maturing in oak - even so, it is surprisingly, and pleasantly, full bodied.  The bottle claims ageing potential and I agree, I can see the alcohol flavour mellowing and the complex flavours from the time in oak coming to the fore. I am inclined to buy another one and give it a couple of years in my wine rack, as I am confident that patience will pay off.

Don't drink it really, really cold because you will lose some of the subtle flavours.

Chenin Blanc, as a grape, produces high acid wines in hot climes, which is unusual.