So! No.4 on the cards. This tasting is a little look at 3 very individual wineries. I, personally, wanted to have a look at how Chardonnay can change with different terroir. So I decided to taste three bottles each from a different, new world, country. Now before we start I just want to say that this is not a comparison tasting. Mainly because the vintages are different as are the price points. However, my goal was to give an idea, a look, if you will into how Chardonnay differs across the globe. So we have one Chardonnay each from Australia,...

One of the pre-requisites for our ‘60 tastings’ was to educate ourselves in some of the areas that we had pretty much no knowledge of. Especially those areas we should have come across by now. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are favourite grape varieties of Harry, Kim and myself. We have often remarked on the qualities that other areas of the world, for example, New Zealand, Oregon, Chile have brought out in these grapes. An area much closer to home (no not England) is the cool climate lands of Germany and Switzerland. It is fair to say that other than an...

Located south of Champagne and north of the rest of Burgundy, Chablis sits two hours southeast of Paris and under 5 hours from Calais. To my mind a beautiful expression of the Chardonnay grape and to Kim’s mind, well worth a weekend trip! As I mention Chardonnay, some people will think, oh I’m not sure I like Chardonnay, too buttery, too full-bodied. That is not Chablis. Chablis wines are dry and characterised by their purity, crispness and minerality. They are often described as having ‘flinty’ or ‘steely’ notes. Chablis is the northernmost wine district in Burgundy and its cool climate...

As promised in the foreword to tasting T3.15 we embark tonight on our South African Cabernet Sauvignon based blends. These wines are yet a further indication of the strong vinous bond between France and South Africa, particularly in the early years of the South African wine industry. Traditionally the western cape produced specific single varietal wines. Nico Myburgh father of the current custodian of Meerlust, Hannes Myburgh, discovered that the terroir in the Bordeaux area of France was similar to that of the Eerste River Valley. They both have a distinctive climate, characterised by a cooling sea breeze. Both have...

So this is a big one, even if I do say so myself! I turned 28 on 3rd April this year… getting ever closer to 30. It’s terrifying really, however, in order to ‘get over myself’ so to speak I decided to have a very low-key dinner with my parents and my partner Jen. We had the last Raclette evening of the year with many pieces of charcuterie, steak and salads with lots of potatoes… including 1.2 kilos of Raclette! However, you are here for the wines and I must admit we were spoiled rotten. As it was my birthday...