The afternoon of day three was a mix of tastings, with some absolute highlights. It started with some wines from Argentina. First I tasted some wines of Colomé, the winery with vineyards with the highest elevation in the world. The 2022 El Arenal, with fruit grown at an altitude of 2700m was the highlight. The concentrated Malbec fruit is pure and intense, yet elegant and with good energy. The extreme is the 2019 Altura Maxima, from a vineyard at 3100m. I enjoyed the fruit here as well, but the tannins were quite blocky.
Then I tasted wines from Familia Zucchardi.I never really warmed to them, and this afternoon was not different. The 2023 Poligonos was fresh, but simple. The 2020 Altamira lacked depth. The 2022 Amphora was fresh and fruity. And the 2021 Piedra Infinita had good fruit intensity, backed by firm and dominant tannins.
In a strange way, I lost my notes on Norton, El Enemigo, and Alta Vista, but I remember I was very impressed with the Norton Privada.
Craggy Range showcased its premium wines. The 2022 80% Merlot based Sophia is excellent. The wine has a strong fruit profile. It is very balanced, and long on the finish. I preferred it to the flagship 2022 Le Sol, which has a very soft profile. It is a well rounded wine, but lacked some acidic backbone, in my opinion. The 2022 Te Kahu, a Cabernet based blend, is also a strong wine, with firm tannins and good length.
Australia did not have a major presence, but Yalumba showed their most prestigious wines. The 2020 Octavius came across as a little sweet and broad. The 2020 Caley is a big wine. It is more red fruited, and a bit alcoholic on the finish. The 2023 Centenary, which does not see any oak, was very young and a bit confected - overall, I was a bit disappointed.
Then I tasted some South African wines. This was interesting to me. I have not been exposed to these wines since the late 1980s, when I traveled there a bit. The red wines were fashioned along Bordeaux, but did not quite make it, with earthy notes often overwhelming. I now had a chance to revisit the same producers, after a break of 35(!) years or so.
I started with the well known Rust en Vrede. I liked their 2022 Syrah. The inclusion of 30% whole bunch made this quite an elegant wine. I also enjoyed the 2022 Cabernet. This wine showed the earthiness of years gone by, but in this case it just added to the complexity of the palate and was not dominant. The soft tannins lead to a long finish. I found the 2021 Estate wine, a Cabernet/Shiraz blend, and perhaps the flagship wine, less appealing.
Then it was on to Kanonkop. The 2021 Paul Sauer is a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated Bordeaux blend. This wine drank really easy - quite a crowd pleaser. The 2022 black label Pinotage, South Africa’s signature wine, was my preference.
The last stop was at Meerlust, probably my favourite 35 years ago. I tasted three reds from 2021, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon leading varieties respectively. These wines were good, but perhaps not as polished and balanced as they could have been. The 2022 Rubicon, their flagship wine, was more elegant and my pick from Meerlust.
Overall, the South African wines I tasted were quite attractive and an improvement over what (little) I knew. I am looking forward to taste more of these wines when I will be back in South Africa later in the year.
My final tastes provided an absolute highlight. I stumbled over the wines of Wine & Soul from the Douro, which I previously could not find. These were gorgeous wines. The 2022 Pintas, from 90 year old vines, is the standout. This is a field blend of more than 30 varieties, with Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) the largest contributor. This is quite a big wine, with a lot of complexity. It makes an elegant statement, and is not overripe. I also like the 2023 Character a lot. The fruit comes from vines surrounding the Pintas vineyard. This wine is a bit less concentrated, with a beautiful palate. The fruit is dark, with balanced acidity leading to a refreshing finish. The 2022 Manoella, from a different vineyard, but in eyesight, is based on Tinta Francisca. This is a somewhat lighter wine, very elegant, with silky tannins. After Vietti, these were my favourite wines at Prowein. They are now available in Australia as well.
These three days were quite full on. I hope I did not bore you too much with the many, but quite brief reviews. It was meant to highlight the variety of what was on offer, and I only scratched the surface.