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 Our
event this evening was a celebration of the French influence on
southern hemisphere wineries. We were fortunate
to have three winery principles, representing New Zealand (Mr.
Ian Marchant from Omaka Springs), Chile (Mr. Hugo Zanetta
from Casas del Bosque) and South Africa (Mr. Cobus Joubert
from Plaisir de Merle). To provide the French perspective, we
had Mr. Sebastien Le Goff, the Restaurant Director &
Sommelier at Cin Cin Restaurant. Sebastien spoke
to us briefly about terroir, the major grape varietals. He mentioned
that although the major grape varieties have spread from Europe
to the southern hemisphere, that the southern hemisphere is repaying
France by bringing back some varietals which were nearly gone
in France, such as Carmenere and Viognier. Sebastien also mentioned
about the French winemakers flying out to the southern hemisphere
wineries to help in their grape harvest and vinification.
Our reception wine was the Omaka Springs
Riesling 2005 from New Zealand. This is a citrusy wine
which is just starting to show some petrol character. We started
the tasting with a white wine from France, the Domaine Fouassier
2004 Sancerre.  Sancerre
is 100% Sauvignon blanc by law. It is fermented in stainless steel
(which is a New World innovation brought back to France). This
wine had a medium gold appearance. It had honey and green vegetal
aromas. It was citrusy on the palate with medium length. Our first
southern hemisphere wine for comparision was the Omaka
Springs 2004 Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is a blend
of 10% semillon and 90% Sauvignon blanc. It comes from the Marlborough
region, where the vineyards are grown on river gravel. This wine
had a very pale straw colour in the glass. The bouquet showed
a herbaceous, asparagus notes. The herbaceousness continues on
the palate along with the flavour of gooseberry. Mr. Marchant
from Omaka Springs indicated that he prefers to keep the production
of his wines very simple, with little intereference so one truly
tastes the flavours of the grape. This wine went well with the
grilled vegetables. The next wine was also from Omaka Springs,
the Omaka Springs 2002 Winemakers Selection
Chardonnay. This wine is whole bunch pressed, then
fermented in French oak. The wine sat on it's lees for 6 months
for added complexity. This wine has a medium gold appearance.
The bouquet had oak and vanilla. There were biscuity, oaky, spicey
flavours from this wine. It went well with the soft cheese.
 Our
final wine in the first flight was the Casas
del Bosque 2005 Reserve Pinot Noir. Our winery principle,
Mr. Hugo Zanetta, spoke about the winery and it's location in
the Casablanca Valley. This is a cool region, good for Sauvignon
Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Also of interest was his note
that both they and Omaka Springs use the Mendoza clone of Chardonnay
grapes, which suffers from having "chicken and hen"
grapes (big and small grapes growing in a bunch). The grapes for
this wine were planted in 1999 in a very poor soil. The area also
suffers from wind, which causes the grapes to out out in the fall,
so timing of picking is very important. This wine had a light
red appearance. The bouquet was very elegant with red cherry,
spice, licorice and some sweetness. There were cherry and spice
flavours, and was very light and refreshing.
 Our
first red wine was again from France. The Château de
la Meuliere 2001 Côtes de Bordeaux is a blend of Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This wine has been influenced
by the New World and people's changing tastes at it is more fruit
driven than "traditional" French wines. This wine had
a bouquet of eucalyptus, green pepper and some earthiness. There
were cherry flavours, and had some tannins, but was overall soft.
The Casas del Bosque 2001 Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon comes from the Quinta del Coco area of the
Cachapoal Valley. 200 km south of Santiago. This wine was deep
red in colour. The bouquet was of dark fruits, cherries and eucalyptus.
It has a round, full mouthfeel, with some oak. This wine went
well with the pepper cheese.
 Our
final two wines come from the Plaisir de Merle winery from South
Africa. The family moved from France to South Africa, Cape Town
specifically, in 1687 where they started to grow grapes and produce
wine. A French connection, beyond the family heritage, is that
the winemaker Paul Pontellier from Chateau Margaux comes yearly
to the winery to evaluate the wines! The Plaisir
de Merle 2002 Shiraz had a deep red appearance.
It had a very fruit forward nose, and also showed oak, spice and
white pepper aromas. The flavour was of cherry, had some sweetness,
and a long finish. Our speaker from Plasir de Merle, Mr. Cobus
Joubert, notes that this wine is more Syrah in style than Shiraz.
This wine went well with the pepper cheese. The Plaisir
de Merle 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon came in a Magnum
bottle (1.5 litres). The wine had an opaque, deep red colour,
with a bit of brickish rim. The bouquet showed capsicum and stewed
fruit. The wine was very smooth in the mouth. One tasted some
spice and the stewed fruit. This wine went nicely with the cured
meats.
 Tasting
Selection
We celebrated all the wines from these fine wineries, and they
were all winners with our members and guests.
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