| 2008-04-08 09:28 |
IWC: By Stephen Tanzer
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Issue #131, March/April 2007)
(Spice Route Wine Company Malabar Swartland) ($66; 72% shiraz, 11% mourvedre, 11% pinotage, and the rest grenache and viognier) Medium red. Superripe but perfumed aromas of raspberry, blackberry, game and animal fur. Suave and silky on entry, then dense, ripe and dry in the middle, with a slight youthful aggressiveness (this is 15+% alcohol). Expands impressively on the back half, showing black fruit and spice flavors framed by ripe acids and superb building length, with a late element of cedary oak. (The 2002, which includes some merlot but no pinotage or mourvedre, was even more aromatic if not quite as rich, meriting 90 points.) 91 points |