Mason Road Chenin Blanc 2019
By Christian Eedes, 6 March 2020
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5
On track.
Former CWG Protégé Kiara Scott was appointed winemaker at Paarl property Brookdale in time for the 2019 harvest (with the acclaimed Duncan Savage continuing to play a consultancy role) and her first effort in the form of Mason Road Chenin Blanc 2019 is impressive.
Fermentation occurred spontaneously in a combination of 85% tank and 15% old oak before maturation lasting some six months. The nose shows pear, white peach and citrus plus a little flinty reduction while the palate is pure, fresh and pithy – a really lovely aperitif wine and great quality relative to the price at R110 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 90/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
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Mike Froud | 7 March 2020
Tasting notes would suggest better than silver… better than a score of 90
AL | 7 March 2020
Yes, definitely need to tone down those adjectives. For reference:
Impressive = gold – you should’ve used “surprising”
Pure = definitely Gold – next time, use “clear” or, if you must, “impure”
Lovely = again, what were you thinking? Gold again – should have used “decent” or “acceptable”.
Avoid words like “smashing”, “excellent”, “bombastic” etc. Stick with one syllable words for Silver – good, nice, meh, bleh. Description should be reserved for Gold only.
Jaco van Zyl | 7 March 2020
That made me laugh quite a bit. Thanks for that.
Donald Ackerman | 9 March 2020
O’ my Goodness! Really? My impression is that Christian is trying to convey a message that the wine is particularly good. Buy the stuff, drink it, enjoy it!
Wine ratings? Tomayto or Tomahto? How many wine rating systems are there? What are the standards employed? As many as there are wine critics?
Wine Advocate
• 96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this calibre are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume..
• 90-95: – An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines..
• 80-89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavour as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
• 70-79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is a soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
• 60-69: A below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavour or possibly dirty aromas or flavours.
• 50-59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.
Wine Spectator’s 100-Point Scale
• 95-100: Classic: a great wine
• 90-94: Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style
• 85-89: Very good: a wine with special qualities
• 80-84: Good: a solid, well-made wine
• 75-79: Mediocre: a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws
• 50-74: Not recommended
Jancis Robinson
20 – Truly exceptional
19 – A humdinger
18 – A cut above superior
17 – Superior
16 – Distinguished
15 – Average, a perfectly nice drink with no faults but not much excitement
14 – Deadly dull
13 – Borderline faulty or unbalanced
12 – Faulty or unbalanced
Platter Rating
95-100 / 18-20 pts Superlative. A South African Classic
90–94 / 17–17.5 pts Outstanding
86–89 / 16–16.5 pts Excellent
83–85 / 15.5 pts Very good/promising
80–82 / 15 pts Good, for early drinking
77–79 / 14.5 pts Average, with some appeal
73–76 / 14 pts Pleasant enough
70–72 / 13 pts Plain and simple
65–69 / 12 pts Unexciting
60–64 / 11 pts Very ordinary
50–59 / 10 pts Somewhat less than ordinary
WineMag (if one bothered to read the rating system employed by Winemag)
96 – 100: Extraordinary. Profound.
93 – 95: Outstanding.
90 – 92: Excellent.
88 – 89: Very good – may represent a bargain depending on the price point.
83 – 87: Above average.
80 – 82: Fair – pleasant enough but not very exciting.
Below 80: Poor – plain and simple. Look elsewhere.
All of the above designate that a 90/100 rated wine is, indeed: Outstanding wine of exceptional complexity (WA), Outstanding (WS), Superior (JR), Outstanding (PR), unless they are all fools and does not know anything about wine.
Maybe, some should also read Wine for Dummies?
95–100: Absolutely outstanding; one of the finest wines ever
90–94: Exceptional quality; excellent wine
85–89: Very good quality
80–84: Above-average quality; good
75–79: Average commercial quality (a “C” student)
70–74: Below average quality
Below 70: Poor quality
More pertinent, Professor Barry C. Smith in Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, considered three questions:
Is the taste of a wine just an immediate, and, perhaps, incommunicable experience, for you alone?
Can our experience in tasting a wine give us objective knowledge of the wine itself?
Can we rely on expert tasters to tell us what the wine’s characteristics and qualities really are?
“meh, bleh” sounds a bit sheepish to me, doesn’t it?
Kevin R | 9 March 2020
In Christian’s defense, “lovely aperitif wine” is distinctly different from “lovely wine.”