I Bless The Wines Down In Africa…

…Ok, that was a bad Toto reference, for those of you that listened to the radio in the 80’s.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, tune in to the 80’s channel on Sirius/XM, you’ll hear it sooner or later.  And really, I’m talking about South Africa.  It’s a region I’ve only begun to explore for wine, but if the gem I discovered last night is any indication, there are many-a-blessing on the horizon.

The Anwilka vineyard is a partnership between a couple of big wine dudes in Bordeaux: Hubert de Boüard deLaforest, co-proprietor of Château Angélus and Bruno Prats of of Château Cos-d’Estournel fame, as well as South African wine man Lowell Jooste of renowned South African Winery Klein Constantia Estate. Even if you’re not up on your French wine, click on those sites and you’ll quickly realize you’re in good hands.  These guys are no joke, and apparently they’ve got Robert Parker’s attention; according to the winery he said:  “…Fabulous…this is the finest red wine I have ever had from South Africa…This debut release, the 2005, a blend of 37% syrah and the balance cabernet sauvignon,is world class stuff, exceptional wine….”

The bottle I opened was the 2006 Anwilka Constantia Stellenbosch and instantly I recognized this was a big, bad Cabernet:  strong spice and blackberry’s filled my nose as I swirled this dark purple beauty.  As I took a nice swig and moved it around my mouth, I got lots more blackberries, spices and some plum to boot.  It’s a bit young, but it’s balanced and not too tannic, and I let it spend a little bit in the decanter (could have been better if I had let it sit a little longer methinks).  If I get the chance to pick up another bottle, I’d like to hold it for a year or two to see where it goes.

And now that I’ve discovered South African wines, I’ll be looking for more…