A few times this year I was sort of left with a red face, being sold out on wines I hadn’t officially released. Now I know being sold out isn’t considered a problem in most people’s books, but for me it’s not ideal to not give everyone who supports me a fair chance to buy. I normally keep new wines back for a few months in order to release it at the optimum time. In the meantime though, I do include it in my wine tastings as a sneak preview, and sometimes they sell so well there, that I don’t have a chance to release them officially. This is exactly what happened to my 3 new wines: the EKG Petit Verdot 2011, The BOMB Cab/Merlot/Shiraz 2011 and ELEVENTH HOUR Port 2007. I am literally down to the last few cases, so I decided to release them all now at the same time. First come first serve.
BLANKbottle EKG Petit Verdot 2011 – R 59 a bottle – This wine was a last minute experimental bottling of 100% Stellenbosch Petit Verdot. Just to see what you guys (and girls) think of it. The first bottling sold very well and I subsequently bottled a second small batch, which is even more popular than the first. After a few private tastings I literally only have a few cases left. Incredible value for money; Thick, structured, pitch black in color, this wine really rocks. Something I can hopefully repeat from time to time.
BLANKbottle The BOMB 2011 – Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz blend – R140 a bottle – In January we were left with a batch of 2010 wine in barrel that just did not fit into the blends it was intended for. And when I tested the alcohol, it was over 15%; I thought it was way too high, but LOVED the wine. After bottling, the department of agriculture came back with the final analysis. An alcohol of 16.14% – GOODness? I subsequently named it The BOMB. It is a massive wine. Red, ripe Cabernet fruit, super extracted but super balanced. Incredibly enough, there is no way you can taste the alcohol on the wine. It is just too balanced. But I am sure you will be able to feel it after the 3rd glass. Anyhow, the 2010 vintage sold out before release and now that the 2011 has hit the bottle I had to say no to my German and Swiss importers to keep stock back for you. They wanted it all. So once again, only the few cases, which I kept behind for you, are still available. And a word of warning: This is a heavy weight; if you are not prepared to take a blow or 2, do not enter into the ring with the BOMB!
BLANKbottle ELEVENTH HOUR Port 2007 – R 130 a bottle – an Epic Tinta Barocca/Pinotage Port I bottled for winter. It started as something just for myself and friends and it turned into a small batch of wine for my clients as well.
And then there are the last few cases of THE WHITE BLACK 2010. Two weeks ago British Wine Master Tim Atkin gave the wine 93 points and selected it as his wine of the week. See what he had to say about it here.