Bosman Family Vineyards 2012 Cinsaut

I love it when winemakers take themselves out of their comfort zones and try something new. But is change just for the sake of change a good thing? Take Roger Federer for example: his entire career he has played with 90-square-inch racket frame, but this year (the least successful in more than 10 years) he has changed racket to one with a 98-square-inch frame. It can be a coincidence that this year has gone so badly for him, or it may be that he is toying with something that need not be toyed with.

Bosman Family Vineyards has released a limited edition Cinsaut to their Wine Club members at R120 per bottle, the first Cinsaut released by the estate. I am a massive fan of Corlea’s wines, so I was very excited to taste what she had done with this new addition to the wine list. The wine is very berry-driven on the nose and palate. You are intoxicated by the raspberries, mulberries, and strawberries you find on both the nose and the palate. There are subtle vanilla flavours on the palate from the use of oak. The acidity on this wine is good and carries the wine nicely. Solid mid-palate and finish as well. There is quite a bit of oak on the palate, and possibly just a bit too much I feel. It just takes over that beautiful freshness brought to the palate by the acidity a little bit. That being said, it is still a really good wine, probably even better than just a “good” wine.

With all the Bosman wines being excellent wines, is this Cinsaut then something which is unnecessarily added to an already brilliant wine list? I think not. It adds something else to a great portfolio of wines. It brings a change that keeps them up to date with the current trend of beautiful Cinsuats being produced in South Africa. It keeps them in the game, which is hopefully what Federer’s new racket will do for him…

Score: 16     

Collaboration Cinsaut 2011

Has the King of Cab gone rogue? Yes, it is Cinsaut; no, it is not Swartland; and yes it is Louis Nel. Have I missed something??!! Does the saying not go “Jack of all trades, master of none”? We are so used to seeing Louis Nel’s name on a bottle of Cab, and of course seeing “Wine of Origin Swartland” on a bottle of Cinsaut that the entire combination is just confusing. I remember seeing a Hugh Laurie album after he finished playing the character “House” on the television and thinking that this can not end well for anyone. More or less the same thought came to mind when I saw this wine for the first time.

First things first, the wine is called “Collaboration” for a reason. It is the result of the combined efforts of Nel, Craig Cormack, and Bertus Basson. It is also the first vintage of this wine, although it could possibly be a once-off vintage as well. We’ll have to wait and see.

Initially the nose presents with loads of ripe raspberries and blueberries, but as it opens up those initial sweet berries are pushed into the background to make way for black cherries which lead the way to the palate. On the palate you still get hints of the ripe fruits, but red and black cherries are most prominent, together with the slightest hint of dried peaches. But the beauty of this wine lies in the acidity which gives it a massive freshness and cuts through the soft tannins to carry it immensely well. A couple of years in the bottle will do this wine good, but it isn’t made to age for a massively long time. It goes for R100 a bottle which really is not a lot, so get out there and enjoy it now.

Getting back to Hugh Laurie, I bought the album and was soon eating my words as he is a brilliant musician creating some of the best blues around. It is the same with the Collaboration Cinsaut. Maybe talented people are just that: talented, and will succeed at whatever they do; and hopefully this isn’t the last vintage of a promising wine that we will get to taste.

Score: 16.5