Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

By , 22 November 2017

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2

Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Daisy cutter.

While the II Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 from Nederburg overreaches itself, I’m happy to report that the 2014 vintage is much more successful. This is a wine which aims for extreme fruit power but while the 2013 is bombastic, the 2014 retains elements of balance and complexity.

The 2014 was matured for 22 months in 100% new French oak. The nose is rich and deep with notes of black fruit, some leafiness, liquorice, earth and oak. The palate is dense yet not entirely without freshness, the extraction and oak integration very well managed. It has a hefty alcohol of 14.91% but the wine carries this well. The RS, meanwhile, is 2.2g/l and thankfully, the overall impression is not too sweet.

As many of you will know, this is Red Wine of the Year in Platter’s 2018 – so be it but its concomitant score of 99 on the 100-point scale seems excessive. Price: R380 a bottle.

Editor’s rating: 93/100.

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2 comment(s)

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    Tim James | 23 November 2017

    Certainly not all Platter judges are happy with this 99/100 score. I for one am deeply unhappy that it has been made public, and have told the editor and publisher so. We tasters have always been led to believe that the scoring procedure at the final tasting was merely an administrative procedure.

    To get into the “finals” for wine of the year, the team gives a score of 97 (though no individual on that panel might have originally scored it higher than 95). Thereafter, the winners of that final round – the wines of the year – are automatically awarded a score of 99. Almost certainly, no Platter taster ever gave this wine the score of 99 that it was awarded by the procedure.

    I, like at least some other Platter tasters, were never informed that these scores were to be made available to subscribers on the website. Let alone on those damn stickers (which, like all stickers, are designed primarily to enrich the scorer, or in this case the publishers). This score is a farce that does no credit to the guide.

      Kevin R | 23 November 2017

      Highly doubt this will ever be allowed to happen again, crazy that the judges were not informed and effectively misled.

      Will this wine feature in a lot of opportunistic international tastings as an example of South African scoring standards?

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