The 2009 edition of Platter’s South African Wines was released in Stellenbosch today along with the five star wines. There were a record 33 five star wines this year – a small fraction of the some 6400 wines sampled by 15 tasters over a mere few months by 15 tasters (with 60 new wineries and brands this year, and about 400 additional wines).
The only Chenin Blanc was the excellent Ken Forrester The FMC 2006, which is aged and fermented in wood.
The only Chenin Blanc was the excellent Ken Forrester The FMC 2006, which is aged and fermented in wood.
UK stockists include Swig and Waitrose.
Web: www.kenforresterwines.com
Full report here.
2 comments:
Hi Jim! I haven't tasted the SA Chenin, but the post got me thinking about oak and the grape. What do you think of Chenin and new(ish) oak? Can it work? I seem to remember that some wine of Bellivière (Calligrammes or VV Eparses?) sees some new oak, but I didn't notice it when I tasted it. So I guess some new oak is compatible with the grape. Yet an SA Chenin from Lammershoek was utterly undrinkable due to the oak. So do you think the Ken Forrester can handle the oak?
-Otto
Hi Otto
Thanks for your message. There is some use of new oak on Loire Chenin but rarely 100% and increasing using larger barrel sizes from 300 through to 600 litres to reduce the oak influence. I do think that Ken Forrester handles the oak without it becoming too dominant.
Jim
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