New-Old World red trumps Old-Old World red

SOUTH AFRICAN BORDEAUX BLEND BEATS THE FRENCH

The Morgenster Reserve 2004 from Somerset West in South Africa has been chosen as the top wine in a blind tasting organised by the winery’s owner to measure his older wines against similar vintages from the Bordeaux region of France.

Giulio Bertrand took the opportunity of a visit in April by his French consultants, Pierre Lurton and Pierre-Olivier Clouet, and a spit of South African wine writers attending the launch of Morgenster’s 2011 vintage, to blind taste some of his earlier wines against a formidable French line-up that included two second growths.

The panel rated his 2004 vintage ahead of the 2004 Chateau Leoville Barton, which retails at around four times its price.

The result goes some to validating the opinion of the wine fraternity that South African Bordeaux blends are proving themselves an increasingly attractive alternative to their European counterparts.

After decades of dominance, Bordeaux has experienced several consecutive years of bad luck and circumstance from 2011. Business Day journalist Michael Fridjhon describes it as ‘the perfect storm – weak western economies, sudden Chinese lack of interest and a series of 'appalling-to-average vintages’ all coinciding. Having kept their prices high during the good years, the Bordelais held them that way even for the rain-affected weaker vintages of 2011-2013. The trade wasn’t persuaded and the bulk remained unsold. Now, despite the 2014 vintage being considered their best since 2010, Bordeaux producers are faced with the possibility that it will not sell through because of the prior years’ overstocks.

This has made the Bordeaux blends from the sunnier Cape of South Africa a more affordable and attractive option. That includes Morgenster’s most recent release, the 2011 Reserve, which Fridjhon described as having sumptuous textures and nuanced detail, and he says ‘should have alerted everyone to how the gap between our best wines and those of France has narrowed over the years. There’s a message in this for wine drinkers everywhere who are happy to drink what’s in the glass, and not what’s on the label.’

Planet Wine currently has the 2005, 2008 and 2010 vintages of Morgenster’s flagship label available at around $88 retail, and the 2000, 2005 vintages of the Morgenster Lourens River Valley red at $40-45 retail. Morgenster Notes and Purchases.

Also in stock is a range of Morgenster’s estate grown and produced award-winning olive oils. The extra virgin has twice been awarded the top score of 98 out of a possible 100 points in the authoritative international Flos Olei 2015 competition which assesses the world’s best olive oils.  Morgenster's Extra Virgin Olive Oil