One Year On- A year of the Grape Press

 

Hey Everyone,

So I have now come to the first year anniversary (well a bit past it) since I first posted. A lot changes in a year; graduation, and amazing summer in St. Andrews and the United States, time spent working in New York City and helping set up a new company in the Auld Grey Toon. Visa problems for myself - and it seems most of my friends and now I am at new heights in my wine experience. It has certainly been an interesting year for the Grape Press and myself.

I have been in South Africa now for 8 days and my experiences have been tremendous. I have seen the most beautiful landscapes I've ever laid eyes on, I've tasted some amazing food and meat some amazing people. My objective; to explore the wines of this country has been well under way for some time, with some exciting results. I have meat young, ambitious and energetic wine makers, old hands with tremendous experience and plenty of other characters in and around this great town of Stellenbosch.

The enthusiasm that these people breathe is infectious, and if you come to a wine farm ambivalent to the product, you will leave an hour later as devoted to the wines as the winemaker himself. It is easy to get caught up in things here in Stellenbosch; because everything about the place is emotive. Every night there is a carnival atmosphere in the town and you can't help but have fun. Beyond the streets of town there is the countryside where the most striking landscapes imaginable can stun you without fail every single day.

I for one am finding myself increasingly devoted to South Africa's wines and the people behind the bottles. There are stories here that ring true with everything I want wine to be. There is romance and there is love for the land as well as artistry and awareness. I know that wine, unlike any other product has a penchant for getting passion from it's devotees but there is an intensity in South Africa that vindicates my devotion to the subject. There are themes that are beyond my ability to vocalise so I will not attempt to do them justice, but suffice to say that they are as great as the Helderberg Mountains and as complex as the country's past.

I hope over the past year you have enjoyed my writing and I look forward to continuing in 2013 and into the future. To see the huge changes over the course of the year, I am filled with great hope to know that just as much can happen in the coming year. Tonight find a glass of something nice, be it wine, beer, juice (whatever!) and enjoy it. I'll be doing the same!

(As always) Much Love,

G

 

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2009 Lions de Suduiraut Sauternes

Hey Everyone,

Today I am tasting a type of wine which I don't believe I've ever written about before. It may be considered the most important sweet wine and arguably the most prestigious in the world, but it so rarely crosses my path that when I do taste one I am rarely in a position to commit my experience to writing.

I'm talking about Sauternes; the regal sweet wine of Bordeaux coming from the vineyards south of Pessac-Leognan is an enticing style that is long lived and often expensive, with some of the most sought after producers fetching extraordinary prices. The most famous of course is Château d'Yquem, a favourite of Thomas Jefferson who referred to Sauternes in general as France's finest white wine. As the practice of harnessing the beneficial elements of the Bortrytis was not developed until a later date, the wine tasted by Jefferson would have been markedly different but even so, it is possible to see that Sauternes' star rose long ago.

The wine I am tasting tonight, however is not nearly so valuable nor so famous as Jefferson's favourite, but it does have a few good merits of it's own. First and most obvious when comparing it to it's fellow sweet Bordeaux such as Chateaux Climens and d'Yquem is the price tag. Retailing for around £15 for a half bottle it is a very affordable sweet wine which has the potential to impress as well as please. It is also a well balanced Sauternes, for something so affordable it stands high above the Mouton-Cadet range and possesses a pleasant equilibrium between acid, fruit and sweetness.

On the finish there is a hint of something like caramelised/ burnt sugar, which takes away from the freshness a little, but does not necessarily ruin the experience. I would treat is more as an aperitif than a desert of cheese wine and let the wine stand alone. It is light enough to go without the cheese that accompanies many Sauternes, and not so sweet that it gets tiresome. There is clearly good winemaking behind the Lions de Suduiraut, and the clue is in the name. It is a second wine of the First Growth Château Suduiraut and gives an excellent opportunity to get a glimpse of this legendary producer's style without forking over so much money for the Grand Vin.

If you get a chance, give it a try and hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised with this nice little sweetie as I was.

Much Love,

G

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