handtomouth

Signal Hill has a certain reputation for maverick action, and no wonder with Jean Vincent Ridon at the helm. A crazee Frenchman in the best Anglo tradition, he continually shows a willingness to experiment, the new cellar in the middle of the Cape Town CBD being a good example. But pedestrians need a view of some honest winemaking while they shuffle away from a bout of bad decisions at Truworths, or Markhams, or PNA. His Malbec 2004 is the reason I began writing this, it’s a taut wine, with great juicy but never bland fruit, sappy in the right refreshing way with ample tannins, again supple and not big oak driven. On the other side of the river, and just when you thought pinotage was regaining its image (or at least being allowed to be a legitimate wine) comes the Durbanville Hills Pinotage 2004. A master class in all that one doesn’t want in this variety, I couldn’t finish a glass. And while I am in the land of the corporates, also sampled Nederburg’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 which is a decent wine and priced right. It should come as no surprise that these big wineries do get it right from time to time; they have access to so much juice. I guess it’s just the pomposity that often comes with these wines that makes them look less noble.