WTN: Two from the other hemisphere...

[Jenise]

...that you should avoid.

2007 Nederburg Chardonnay, South Africa
The usual creamy oak cheap chardonnay flavors are dealt a double blow with a residual-sugar impression of sweetness on the entry and an aspartame-like bitter aftertaste. Below average even at $10.

2006 Alamos Pinot Noir, Mendoza, Argentina
Although it had exactly the right color and lighter body for the grape, this wine was so sweet and lacking in acid and varietal flavor that Bob couldn't guess what it was made out of. When I revealed it was pinot and challenged him to guess where it was from, he said "one of those little Russian countries". That's how bad it is: it doesn't taste like wine from a place where both the people who make the wine and the people who drink wine it have any wine sophistication. Easily the worst pinot noir I've ever tasted. $13.

[David M. Bueker]

So they are the "antipodiathis" of value.

[Salil]

On the Nederburg - yikes. I've liked some of their cheaper red blends (Shiraz/Cab and Cab/Merlot), but haven't tried their whites. Going by that note I'll stay away (although I think the odds of me buying Chardonnay any time soon are very, very low ).

[Jenise]

On the Nederburg - yikes. I've liked some of their cheaper red blends (Shiraz/Cab and Cab/Merlot), but haven't tried their whites. Going by that note I'll stay away (although I think the odds of me buying Chardonnay any time soon are very, very low ).

I thought I had a Nederburg chardonnay about ten years ago that I thought was great value. Might just be a vintage issue. That said, we were out on the deck and it was a pretty day, so we finished the bottle.

Not so the Alamos, of which neither of us could not tolerate more than two sips. Rhododendron food!

[Ian Sutton]

I guess that shows the folly of using residual sugar to hide imbalance or flavour issues in a wine. It might make it potable (if not palatable) to some, but it's no band-aid/elastoplast/Walmart proprietary sticking plaster.

[Sue Courtney]

I don't know what has happened to Nederberg. They were once a very respected South African name and when I first discovered them, some were very good. Now they have morphed into cheap supermarket wines and last year, when I was recording supermrket specialling, they got down to NZ$6.99 on special, but even at the price they did not offer value for money. The Cabernet Sauvignon (?blend) I tasted only two years ago, was dull and bitter and riddled with barnyard and Brett. Vintage would have been 2005 or older. Maybe they have improved since then but you get a bit scared to go back and try again.

[Jenise]

I guess that shows the folly of using residual sugar to hide imbalance or flavour issues in a wine. It might make it potable (if not palatable) to some, but it's no band-aid/elastoplast/Walmart proprietary sticking plaster.

What was weird was how instead of turning into a simple syrup on the finish, it had that fake-sugar aftertaste. Very odd.

[Jenise]

I don't know what has happened to Nederberg. They were once a very respected South African name and when I first discovered them, some were very good. Now they have morphed into cheap supermarket wines and last year, when I was recording supermrket specialling, they got down to NZ$6.99 on special, but even at the price they did not offer value for money. The Cabernet Sauvignon (?blend) I tasted only two years ago, was dull and bitter and riddled with barnyard and Brett. Vintage would have been 2005 or older. Maybe they have improved since then but you get a bit scared to go back and try again.

My chardonnay suggests you shouldn't try again. But thanks for the validation on Nederburg, based on what I remember it would have been a no-brainer for a pre-tasting sipper, but the way it is now? No thank you!

[Salil]

I don't know what has happened to Nederberg. They were once a very respected South African name and when I first discovered them, some were very good. Now they have morphed into cheap supermarket wines and last year, when I was recording supermrket specialling, they got down to NZ$6.99 on special, but even at the price they did not offer value for money. The Cabernet Sauvignon (?blend) I tasted only two years ago, was dull and bitter and riddled with barnyard and Brett. Vintage would have been 2005 or older. Maybe they have improved since then but you get a bit scared to go back and try again.

I've had a couple of the cheaper 04 Nederburg Cab/Merlot and Cab/Shiraz blends - very cheap, but quite solid and I didn't find the brett/barnyard/bitterness that you mentioned.

Will try one or two in the summer at some point and report back.