![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAHACukIlvY3otCs29E7UOUUuB2-FwgR7PGoWkWOALxlFTc9fFw9wkCkP25OzglhRSdP-pOemFsFF3cgbXJmU8iI6y4pI45WhYJSp4aHecyZX5cgrnAGHZ6FTiafEBvOR7LHg/s320/beukes.jpg)
Abé Beukes is the cellar-master at
Darling Cellars and I remember visiting him there some years ago when their top range Onyx brand was first produced. Now Onyx has a track record and earned a reputation so I was pleased when Abé offered to pour me a taste of the newly released 2004 vintage Onyx Pinotage. Abé told me it comes from low yielding (3 tons a hectare) 35 year old vines in Darling and spent 15 months in 100% new French and Hungarian oak barrels. It has14.5% abv.
In the glass the colour was a dull, brooding dark black with a red rim and the bouquet was sweet. On the front palate the wine was ripe and full bodied, with wood well to the back, giving underpinning structure. There was a lively crispness at the end and a lick of wood tannins on the long finish. A nicely balanced serious wine!
No comments:
Post a Comment