Sorry for the post without TNs per se...

Patricia, Anil, and I just spent 10 wonderful days in South Africa Winelands. We visited, what I label as, the better/best SA wineries IMO currently. We tasted a handful of new and old vintages at each winery. If anyone is interested in detailed notes on any of the wineries and what was tasted specifically, let me know.

We visited:
Rust en Vrede
De Trafford
Boekenhoutskloof
Waterford
Ernie Els
Uva Mira
Grande Provence
Villafonte
Rustenburg
Meerlust
Tokara

Doc

Hi Doc,

I’m fairly new in wines and I like South African wines a lot especially the Shiraz. Although I recently bought some Vergelegen cabernet I have yet to try.
Of the ones that You have visited lately I have only tried Boekenhoutskloof (Porcupine Ridge line) and Waterford. I’m very interested in suggestions about and tastingnotes of the different wines, preferably these six as they are the ones available in Sweden.

Rust en Vrede
Boekenhoutskloof
Waterford
Ernie Els
Meerlust
Tokara

/Fredric

Hi Fedric,

Sorry for the delay in responding as I am always on the road for work.

Rust en Vrede--go for the shiraz and estate--older vintages can be excellent

Boekenhoutskloof--go for the boekenhoutslook line (higher); yes PR is a lower line and not worth it in my thinking; for the Boe line, go for the cab and shiraz; the 2000 cab is excellent currently; these wines are ageable and develop wonderful secondary notes;

Waterford--they make lower lines as well (i.e. Pecan Stream)--not worth it; the 2003 Waterford Cab and 2003 Shiraz (Kevin Arnold) are safe bets and worth the money

Ernie Els--multiple lines with Ernie Els being the most costly; the 2003 Els costs $80 here, but the bottle we cracked was sour and green even with 2 days of decanting...not worth the money

Meerlust--main staple of SA on the higher end scale; wonderful chard (2005), decent Rubicon (the flagship) with age (young Rubicon's can be askward); some like their pinot, but I do not;

Tokara--the best of the bunch is the red blend from Stellebosch; the first 3 bottles of 2003 were excellent, the last 2 have been off; the 2004 is now available; skip the whites...

Doc

Hey Doc, how were the Vilafontes?

Wonderful wines in 2004, but I think 2003s are still better.

Doc

Thanks for the post Doc. I've mostly enjoyed the Rust en Vrede wines, but never really considered many as "excellent." Do you think the quality/wine making is improving overall?