"In the coastal South African town of Hermanus the Whale Caller waits on the cliffs calling for the whales to return from the Antartic waters. As you savour this rich red wine you may just catch the strains of the whale caller’s horn"
Oh yeah? On a wet evening in Watford? Pull the other one. It's this kind of guff on the back label of wines that really insults the intelligence. They're the kind of manufactured brands that do no-one any credit.
The 'rich red wine' in question is the Whale Caller Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (13.5%. No score) which is handled by Distell Europe and I would imagine is almost certainly bulk wine, bottled in the UK. It's incredibly jammy but not in a nice way with no structure or acidity. The best thing you can say about it is that it's not rubbery. And might be a bit better if you chill it.
The white - The Whale Caller Sauvignon Blanc Colombard (12%) which is a 2010 (*) - is slightly better with some lively fresh fruit though still with a slightly confected aftertaste. It's recommended with salads, seafood and chicken dishes which is fair enough and would make reasonable (student) party drinking.
What do you expect for £3.99? you might ask and it's a fair question. Asda's Vin de Pays d'Oc Marsanne for one at £3.98 has a lot more personality and the new Morrison's own brand range which is coming onto the shelves has some decent buys among it which I'll be flagging up once I know they're in. But frankly you can do better. And so can Waitrose.
* Maybe the 2009s which still seem to be in stock on the Waitrose Wine Direct website are more appealing. They're also a few pence more at £4.07
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You can't expect anything decent for £3.99. The Asda Marsanne is drinkable, but not much beyond that. It got some inexplicably high medal in one of the competitions.
ReplyDeleteI agree but I think many people would think that because it's Waitrose it must be decent. They shouldn't really be selling wine at that price, except on the occasional promotion
ReplyDeleteLidl do a perfectly acceptable Reisling for £3.49. I find myself returning to it time and time again. Then again, I'm pretty much a philistine when it comes to wine so no surprises there ;-) http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=786637
ReplyDeleteJust waiting for a delivery of wines from Lidl, Stan. Which one is it?
ReplyDeleteThere is a very drinkable Toro wine in Aldi for £3.99
ReplyDeleteI'll check it out. There's some good value from Spain these days.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sound like this wine is doing a great job at promoting our little town of Hermanus. We have some wonderful wineries nearby including Hamilton-Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, La Vierge, Creation and Newton Johnson, but I shouldn't think this wine is anything to do with them.
ReplyDeleteWe also do have a whale crier but his job is to blow his horn to show tourists where the whales are not to call the whales back from the Antartic! If you get the chance to visit this part of the world it's well worth coming to see the whales and explore the vineyards.
I was there in March, Africa Blue and met up with all the winemakers you mention except La Vierge. A totally different league from the wine we were talking about - although, to be fair, a good deal more costly too. Thanks for filling us in on whale calling!
ReplyDeleteGreat post - we were unfortunate enough to drink The Whale Caller - see our post on http://tinyurl.com/2wtkjkh - and even in the depths of a credit crunch would not return to it. Loved your comments, and the guy from Hermanus, and have linked back.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't hear the strains of the Whale Caller's horn, either...