Deconstructing White Blends tasting

Nine great wines; a breathtaking sunset; 30 delightful people; 120 polished glasses and regular laughter should give you an idea of the fun had on the rolling lawns in front of the Roundhouse Restaurant last night. A last minute decision to up the ante by gift wrapping the wines in beautiful brown bags certainly paid off when some of our most loyal tasters discovered their favourite wines of the evening had previously ranked far lower on their books!

The first flight of three wines served blind were the recently released and delicious Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (seeing as it has 8% Semillon tucked in we thought we would sneak it in); the Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2008 (which would otherwise be the Magna Carta except the vintage was not quite up to scratch – still a stunner though!); and the Oak Valley Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon OV 2008, one of Elgin’s best contributions to South Africa’s national pride.

The next round saw a long awaited Hemel en Aarde/Walker Bay diamond revealed, the first vintage (2006) of Hamilton Russell’s new Ashbourne Sandstone. A blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Chardonnay and a touch of Semillon at 5%, the Sandstone is the second wine produced under the Ashbourne label, complementing the spectacular Ashbourne Pinotage.

From those heavenly valleys we migrated to the wilderness of the Paardeberg in the Swartland. Nevermind the scraggly look of the landscape though, this is Africa’s El Dorado of white blends as far as Under the Influence is concerned. One of our favourites, the Lammershoek Roulette Blanc 2008, kicked off proceedings, followed by yet another gem from the Sadie family, the Sequillo White 2008, and rounded off by Adi Badenhorst’s exquisite White Blend 2007.

There was a quick dash back to Stellenbosch for Miles Mossop’s beautifully expressed Saskia 2008 before scurrying back up the coast for the cherry on the top of the evening – Eben Sadie’s renowned Palladius 2008. Next week’s Thursday tasting of Chardonnay cannot come soon enough!