Attributes:

Kaapzicht

Stellenbosch, Other

Dry Red Table Wine

750 ML

2003: Tanzer Rating: 91

bright

suave

cassis, cherry, currant, nuts, nutty, oak, smoky

sweet

2003: WineSpectator Rating: 87

lively, tangy

mature

2001: Tanzer Rating: 90

fat

berries, cedar, meat, nutty, oak, raspberry, smoky, tobacco, truffle

ripe, sweet

2000: Tanzer Rating: 89(+?)

cherry, currant, mocha, plum, raspberry, smoke, tobacco, truffle

Food Matches:

The town of Stellenbosch was founded in 1679. It is a European settlement in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The town became known as the "City of Oaks" due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by the founder. The region is equipped with dark alluvial clay soils, a Mediterranean climate, and hilly slopes that keep the hot afternoon sun at bay. Summers in Stellenbosch are dry and warm while the winters are cool and rainy. The most planted grape of the region is Chenin Blanc. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinaut are the two red grapes planted in Stellenbosch.

Attributes:

Chateau de Lacarelle

Beaujolais-Villages, France

Gamay

750 ML

2003: WineAdvocate Rating: 88

medium-bodied

cherries, plummy

1996: Tastings Rating: 81

lean, light-bodied

straightforward

Food Matches:

Although this grape is fairly tannic, it makes grapey wines with low tannin, especially in the Beaujolais district of France.

Attributes:

Pierre Delatour

Bordeaux, France

Bordeaux - Red

750 ML

Food Matches:

A region in western France that grows famous red wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes and white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle grapes. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux has a maritime climate with warm summers and fairly mild winters as well as an abundance of rain during harvest time. When young, the finest red Bordeaux wines have a deep cranberry hue and aromas of blackcurrants, plums, spice, cedar, and cassis. For the first ten years or so these wines can be very dry, with tannin masking the fruity flavors. Eventually the wines turn garnet, and develops an extraordinarily complex bouquet and flavor as well as softer tannins. The finest red Bordeaux wines still take 20 years or so before reaching their maturity. Two distinct red wine production zones exist within the Bordeaux region; the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The Left Bank vineyards are located west of the Garonne River and the Gironde Estuary, into which the Garonne empties. The Right Bank vineyards are east and north of the Dordogne River and east of the Grionde Estuary. Of the various wine districts on the Left and Right Banks, four are the most important for red wines: Haut-Médoc; Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion, and Pomerol. For white wines, the most important are Graves and Pessac-Leognan.