When I profile a wine, I like to start with the story of the producer, and then get into the wine itself. I couldn’t find much about this offering, which is just as well as it is low-quality plonk.
It is sourced from Zidela Worldwide Wines. Their website states, “Our Company aims to be the prime South African supplier of value-for-money wines in the international private label market. [We have} the capability to offer a wide range of bulk wines from all the wine regions in South Africa. Our long-standing working relationship with various wineries enables us to get involved in the wine-making process to meet our clients’ specific needs.” So, no need to look for a winemaker’s personal approach or vision here.
The wine is exclusively distributed in the United States by splashwines.com, where I bought it through a Groupon offer for a mixed case of two bottles each of nine different wines. The per-bottle price came to $5, much more than this particular wine is worth.
Cape Red Red Blend 2020
The color and clarity of this wine is fine, but then the wheels fall off. It has thin aromas and a recessive palate of weird, unidentifiable fruit. The acidity is totally out of balance, plus bitter tannins and an odd funk on the finish. The only way I was able to get through it with dinner (a delightful grilled pork roast) was by refrigerating the hell out of it. The packaging is nice; too bad they didn’t put half as much effort into the wine. I don’t know how many cases were made, but, frankly, any was too much. ABV is 13%.
https://www.splashwines.com/products/cape-red-2019?_pos=1&_sid=b92ded527&_ss=r
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