The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

WTN: 2005 Graham Beck Pinotage

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Paul B.

Rank

Hybrid Guru

Posts

2063

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:38 pm

Location

Ontario, Canada

WTN: 2005 Graham Beck Pinotage

by Paul B. » Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:48 pm

Today's a mightily cold day here in Southern Ontario, what with the stiff westerly wind and -16ºC reading. What better wine to reach for with dinner than a "sunshine red" - and being a fan of South African reds, my natural choice is always Pinotage.

The Graham Beck Pinotage recently featured at Vintages is listed at $16.85. It apparently contains 5% Cabernet and 5% Tannat; the rest is of course Pinotage.

The top foil is pulled back to reveal a silly plastic cork (I don't hide the fact that I dislike these closures, especially on reds). 14.5% alc./vol. Attractive dark mulberry-garnet hue with a deep garnet core. Beautiful smoky leather on the nose with hints of cured meat - fantastic. Some leather/banana and savoury sun-dried tomato on the nose with swirling. Big on the entry with excellent grip and balance; very fine acidity and high-quality oak rounding out the flavours on the mid-palate. A big but balanced wine; very dry and warm. Wonderfully savoury the more air it gets, with velvety/grippy tannins and a fine leathery warm finish rounded out by fine oak spice. Just a hint of Pinotage's wonderful bitterness in the finish; I'd have preferred more.

Overall, an excellent Pinotage.
http://hybridwines.blogspot.ca
no avatar
User

Bruce Hayes

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

2935

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:20 am

Location

Prescott, Ontario, Canada

Re: WTN: 2005 Graham Beck Pinotage

by Bruce Hayes » Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:16 pm

What, no band-aid???!!! :shock:
no avatar
User

Bob Parsons Alberta

Rank

aka Doris

Posts

10773

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:09 pm

Re: WTN: 2005 Graham Beck Pinotage

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:23 pm

It`s nice to read a good report on Pinotage, Paul. This is one grape variety that causes a lot of head-shaking (and mirth)on one forum in the UK!
Thanks, great stuff! I am not a fan but could be persuaded!
no avatar
User

Paul B.

Rank

Hybrid Guru

Posts

2063

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:38 pm

Location

Ontario, Canada

Re: WTN: 2005 Graham Beck Pinotage

by Paul B. » Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:27 pm

You know, Bruce, I find people use SO MANY different descriptors in trying to identify that "archetypal South African red" aroma, that I bet we're talking about the same thing! :lol: Either way, it's apparently that particularly persistent strain of brett that's behind the aroma. I've read it described very variously - coal dust, rubber (I don't think of it as rubber myself, but more as a sulfury/irony/industrial/factory aroma), bandaid, medicine, cured meat, smoke ... and for me it occasionally even veers into Lapsang Souchong territory.

In any case, I adore the aroma and actively seek out SA reds because I enjoy it, and also to a lesser extent because it's so gauche according to "internationalist" ideals ... :twisted:

:wink:
http://hybridwines.blogspot.ca
no avatar
User

Peter May

Rank

Pinotage Advocate

Posts

3795

Joined

Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:24 am

Location

Snorbens, England

Re: WTN: 2005 Graham Beck Pinotage

by Peter May » Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:06 am

Bruce Hayes wrote:What, no band-aid???!!! :shock:


If you've had band aid, Bruce, you've had a brett affected bottle. It is not a characteristic of the Pinotage variety. Brett has affected a lot of SA wines, not just Pinotage, but most have no experience of the variety from anywhere else.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ClaudeBot and 2 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign