I asked the horse, but he wouldn't

Badenhorst 2007 White (Coastal Region) – Yuck. Dense, fat, lifeless, and pasty. Tastes like someone charred a vat of really poor-quality butter. (11/10)

You dirty Raats

Raats Family 2009 “Original” Chenin Blanc (Coastal Region) – This is the unwooded cuvée, and tastes just as I remember from the source: very, very dense, almost syrupy, yet retaining just…just…enough acid for a sort of leaden balance. Stone fruit and pretty flowers, with a bronzed quality. Very fresh, but the opposite of lively. (8/10)

Coasting

Blaauwklippen 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (Coastal Region) – Sweet and lightly tropical, but far too bland and easy. Characterless.

Sorry, neither

Bellingham 2007 “Fair Maiden” (Coastal Region) – Chenin blanc, chardonnay, viognier, grenache blanc, roussanne, and verdelho. Bright, green, leafy, and smoky – quite a combination – with intensity and vibration on the palate. The finish brings forth red cherries and zippy tartness. This is a wine with a lot of interesting elements, but that hasn’t quite figured out what it wants to be when it grown up. (2/08)

Rocky path

Bellingham 2006 Chardonnay “Stone Trail” (Coastal Region) – Sour strawberry, plum, and other intense, but clearly red, fruit over stones (which is, I guess, appropriate). Solid but short, with a moderate application of wood and a smoky, thick texture. Decently balanced. I’d like it with a little less wood, or perhaps a little more age, but the finish will always be short. (2/08)

Dishwasher doll

Boschendal 2006 Chardonnay (Coastal Region) – Plum, peach, fig, and flowers. Long, with good structure, but somewhat distracting tannin on the finish. Not bad. (2/08)

Don't shoot the dog!

Bellingham 2005 Shiraz “The Old Cellar” (Coastal Region) – Dense and barky, fullish but pruned fruit, wood, and asphalt. Finishes as pure fermented wood. Yuck. (2/08)

Erebor

Bellingham 2005 “Dragon’s Lair” (Coastal Region) – Shiraz, mourvèdre, viognier. Plum, boysenberry, olallieberry, spice, seed pepper, and smoke – quite a combination – with only a green edge to the tannin marring the complexity. Not bad. (2/08)

Stony the stiger

Stony Brook 2003 Syrah (Coastal Region) – Fuller-bodied and better than the 04. I’m not sure of the reasons for the nomenclature change. Blueberry and beet, tangled roots, and spice. The finish is a bit hot, and there’s a plastic note throughout. (2/08)

Jar-Jar Binks

Stony Brook 2004 “Camissa” (Coastal Region) – Merlot, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz. Full-bodied and structured, with tooth-staining dark fruit, chocolate, and lots of thick wood. Very New World. (2/08)