From Grapefan: Oaked or unoaked chardonnay?

I really enjoyed this blog article by Colin Smith, aka Grapefan, about the exciting new brace of chardonnays from 7 Springs Vineyard in South Africa:


"Chardonnay can be made in many styles. There's the austerity and minerality of Chablis or the richness of an aged Burgundy. Then there's the green fruit of many Old World Chardonnays or the ripe tropical fruit of New World ones. But perhaps the biggest difference - and the one that polarises many people and created the ABC or Anything But Chardonnay movement - is whether the wine is fermented and/or matured in oak barrels or doesn't see any oak at all."


To read the full article by Colin, follow this link to his site:


http://grapefan.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/oaked-or-unoaked-chardonnay.html

7 Springs Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - what a cracker!

I must confess to having been quite lazy about keeping up on the wine front lately. I first tasted the inaugural vintage (2010) SB from 7 Springs Winery some weeks ago, scribbled a few notes of appreciation and put them to one side, promising to myself that I would write them up later on this blog. I now have one bottle left (from 13!) and I've just come across my notes from the first sampling!

Seven Springs Sauvignon Blanc, 2010

All I can do is to offer my sincere apologies to Tim and Vaughan Pearson for my tardiness, and hope to make amends by writing up my tasting notes now! In my defence, I've been enjoying your wine far too much to sit at the computer writing about it!!! That said, I have really enjoyed reading all of the other great reviews this wine has been getting from some very well known experts in the trade and the wine blogosphere (Jamie Goode, Joanna Simon, Tom Cannavan, Sue Sterling (of the Naked Wine Show - see below), Denise Medrano to name but a few)

The wine is a very pale straw colour and shows excellent clarity. Actually the theme of clarity suits this wine on all fronts, not just the appearance! The aroma is delicate, with notes of lemons and limes, fleeting tropical fruits, and very clean.

In the mouth this beautiful wine is gently warming, with well-rounded pear and peach notes, as well as some lively citrus flavours. The acidity is balanced, the flavour is fruity, and it's a tremendous pleasure to drink. At 13.5% abv it is fairly typical in strength for this varietal, and you would never know it.

To summarise, it's a lovely wine, easy to drink - I've already enjoyed a case of it (purchased from Underwoods in Warwick), and you can buy from a number of other boutique wine retailers in the UK (around £10-12 a bottle), South Africa, and will soon be on sale in the US. You can see a list of UK/SA stockists here:

http://7springs.co.za/wines/

Look out for 7 Springs' Chardonnay coming soon (in both unwooded and lightly oaked versions), as well as a Syrah and a Pinot Noir in future vintages. Future vintages of the Sauvignon Blanc will be sought after I am certain!

Tim and his very talented young winemaker Riana van der Merwe will be at the London International Wine Fair next week, and this cracking wine will be available to taste on the Wines of South Africa "Super Sauvignon" pod.

I'll be there too - I look forward to meeting lots of great wine people, and enjoying what the world has to offer this year - see you there?

LIWF 2010

I'm excited that I'm now planning my 2nd visit to the London International Wine Fair in London's ExCel Centre. Last time I was only able to make it for an afternoon. This year I am going up for 2 full days (18th and 19th May) and I am really thrilled!

On Tuesday 18th I will be there helping out Naked Wines with sourcing new suppliers of fine boutique wines that can be sold through their highly successful online sales model, which is revolutionising the online wine trade.

On Wednesday 19th I hope to meet up with Tim Pearson of 7Springs Vineyard (Hermanus, South Africa) to see what his new wines are all about, as well as to attend some tastings and meet a few people from 2009.