Region: South Africa
Nonvintage
Website
The artwork on this bottle of wine and the playfulness of the distributor's name—Goats Do Roam—charm me. For Trader Joe's, this is a high-end bottle at $9.99. Smells like blackberry gumdrops with a hint of licorice.
I haven't drunk wine this pleasant in a while — we've mostly been on a $5 wine budget until our North Carolina house sells (6 days, knock on wood!). It has a bit too much alcohol heat for me, but my cheeks are tickled by the pleasant peppery mouthfeel, and I'm enjoying a note of beef. Which means drinking this wine is similar to dining on a peppered rib eye. Vanilla, custard, and blackberry layer into those savory notes very well. Ending impressions are dry eucalyptus with an attractive touch of bitterness.
This is a great value. Let it seduce you for all 10 of those dollars.
Other Bloggers' Thoughts:
Sourmashed (no vintage noted):
The Goats in Villages Shiraz Pinotage, from the Goats in Villages winery in South Africa, brings a nice combination of high flavor and low cost. With a mild amount of fruitiness, this wine brings a strength to its flavor that allowed it to stand up to pairings and match nicely with whatever we threw at it.
I don’t drink many African wines. This will be the first one I add to my regular rotation. I believe that it is sufficiently unique and pleasing that for the price, it is a great selection. My only complaint is the branding and the labeling, but I can get over that for good, cheap wine.
Speaking of cute names... My cdc and I differ on this, mostly Shiraz, South African red. She found it pleasantly robust, with strong red fruit and oak flavors, with just enough acidity to make it interesting. While I concede those points, I thought that the tannins were sufficiently undeveloped to create an almost gritty taste. Perhaps a year or two in the bottle will take care of that. Anyway, at the sale price of $8.99 you might want to try a bottle.
We had it with our corned beef on St. Patty’s day; and the wine was surprisingly superb. When my hubby tasted it (without knowing its name or where it had been made), he said there was something unusual—earthy, maybe—about the wine, and he quite liked it. I did, too—and am planning on going back and getting more. My Rating: ~ Very Drinkable ~ I mean, come on. When was the last time you consumed anything from South Africa?!
Reviewed 26 Sept 13.
