South Africa is an under appreciated wine region. They produce a wide range of wines using your favorite international varietals, as well a a few of their own, and there is no question they produce many world class wines. Several years ago we took a virtual tour of several wineries in South Africa’s Stellenbosch region. You can start that journey here if you’d like more background.
In this review we’ll look at a rich Merlot from the South Cape, Stellenbosch area. It’s a wine we picked up at our new favorite tiny wine shop at the Boxyard in Durham NC. You can read about RTP Uncorked here.
Now the wine:
Wine: 2020 Clarington Merlot
Winery Location: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: May 2023
Tasting Notes: the color is a dark, purple red and the nose is quite reserved right out of the bottle. There is plum, herbs and spice, some berry fruit and oak notes. On the palate it is full bodied with medium tannins. The wine has a good finish and is quite long. At this point it’s pretty solid, but it gets better with some air time, adding rich layers of dark berries, black cherry and some savory bacon notes. This will benefit from an hour decanting, and really opens up with time. Nice wine and a winner for big red lovers.
Price Point – $19.99
Would We Buy It? – We would. This is a big, delicious red for under $20. Good value.
While we have certainly heard of Clarington, we have not had many of their wines or done a feature article on the winery. This was a selection from the tiny wine shop, and a good one.
A votre santé!
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