SA vs OZ: Cabernet Sauvignon

When WINE magazine recently conducted a blind tasting of Australian and South African Cabernet Sauvignon, the local wines performed admirably. Christian Eedes reports.

Many wine lovers will be familiar with the Judgement of Paris of 1976, a blind tasting of California and French wines that was organised by Paris-based British wine merchant Steven Spurrier. The outcome saw the group of French wine experts involved pronounce the California wines generally superior to those from France.

This sent shockwaves throughout the wine world, providing a huge boost to the fledgling Californian wine industry while plunging the complacent French into introspection.

WINE magazine recently put 12 top examples of local Cabernet Sauvignon up against 12 from Australia, and while the outcome is unlikely to have quite the farreaching effects of Spurrier's tasting some 30 years ago, it will come as a surprise to those who maintain that Australia inevitably outperforms South Africa in terms of wine quality. Out of the 24 wines tasted, South Africa took first and second place, with a further four in the top 10 – a deeply pleasing result that shows local wines can hold their own in any company.

METHODOLOGY
Sourcing the Australian wines was thanks to Grant Dodd, CEO of Stellenbosch property Haskell Vineyards but based in Queensland, Australia, where he runs a fine wine export business.

The age span of the wines featured was limited to five years (nothing older than the 2003 vintage) with producers invited to submit whatever they considered their best effort during that period. The panel was chaired by wine critic Michael Fridjhon and further made up of Dodd, Wine Tasting Academy graduate and Platter's taster James Pietersen, Haskell Vineyards winemaker Rianie Strydom and myself.

THE VERDICT
With four South Africans and only one Australian on the panel, were the results skewed by an unwitting partiality on the part of the locals to wines which showed flavour profiles that they were more familiar with? This was debated and the consensus was that there was no easy way to separate the wines of one country from the other.

Part of the undertaking was an exploration of style. Consequently, an effort was made to arrive at a selection of wines with a wide range of origins rather than simply those that were most highly rated. Typically it was regional character at stake long before any sort of fundamental national identity.

For example, the pronounced mintiness of the wine that turned out to be the third-placed Sandalford Prendiville Reserve 2005 provided a major point of discussion, with some panel members liking this character far more than others. Given that green flavours are often noted on South African wines, it was interesting to learn eventually that it was from cool-climate Margaret River in Western Australia.

This tasting suggests that despite the general preoccupation with South African Shiraz, the country's Cabernet Sauvignon is a world-class proposition: the vineyards are relatively older, producers are more experienced when it comes to working with the variety, and there is far more consensus about what styles are most appropriate.

That said, while South Africa had many of the top wines in this tasting, it also had the bottom three, which suggests that there are still technical advances to be made.

FOUR AND A HALF STARS
1st. Le Riche CWG Auction Reserve 2005
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel's average score: 17.1
Complex nose shows cassis, violets, dry tobacco and attractive
whiffs of oak. Juicy black fruit, fresh acidity and
well-integrated tannins on the palate. Dry, savoury
finish.

2nd. Rustenberg Peter Barlow 2005
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 16.8
Cassis and some attractive herbal notes on the nose.
The palate is richly textured with optimally ripe
fruit and firm tannins. Persistent finish. Classical
style.

3rd. Sandalford Prendiville Reserve 2005
Margaret River, Western Australia
Panel’s average score: 16.7
The nose shows dark fruit and some mintiness. The
palate is fruit-driven with fresh acidity and fine,
spicy tannins.

FOUR STARS
4th. Cederberg V Generations 2005
Cederberg, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 16.5
5th. Wirra Wirra The Angelus 2005
McLaren Vale, South Australia
Panel’s average score: 16.4
6th. Boekenhoutskloof 2004
Franschhoek, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 16.2
6th. Thelema The Mint 2006
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 16.2
8th. Majella 2004
Coonawarra, South Australia
Panel’s average score: 16.1
8th. Wynns John Riddoch Ltd Release 2004
Coonawarra, South Australia
Panel’s average score: 16.1
10th Edgebaston CWG G.S. 2005
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 16.0
10th. Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004
Western Australia
Panel’s average score: 16.0
12th. Oakridge 864 2005
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Panel’s average score: 15.9
12th. Thelema 2004
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 15.9
14th. Nederburg Private Bin 2003
Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 15.8

THREE AND A HALF STARS 
15th. Hillcrest Premium 2005
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Panel’s average score: 15.7
15th. Vergelegen V 2003
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 15.7
17th. Houghton Gladstones 2004
Margaret River, Western Australia
Panel’s average score: 15.6
17th. Suckfizzle 2004
Margaret River, Western Australia
Panel’s average score: 15.6
19th. Balnaves The Tally Reserve 2005
Coonawarra, South Australia
Panel’s average score: 15.4
20th. Cullen Diana Madeline 2005
Margaret River, Western Australia
Panel’s average score: 15.3

THREE STARS
21st. Woodlands “Colin” 2005
Margaret River, Western Australia
Panel’s average score: 15.2
22nd. Kanonkop 2003
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 14.9

TWO AND A HALF STARS
23rd. Rudera 2003
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 14.6
24th. Glen Carlou Gravel Quarry 2004
Paarl, Western Cape
Panel’s average score: 14.5