Alvi's Drift CVC Reserve 2019
An unexpected surprise...
I needed a wine fast. I had 15 minutes before 5 friends arrived for Friday sundowners...and instead of heading to the nearest supermarket, I opted for the liquor store that was 5 minutes closer.
At first I was dismayed by the offerings seeing as they'd recently been acquired by TOPS at SPAR. My high hopes of plentiful options, or at least the decent selection they stocked before the change in ownership, were dashed on a sea of average screwcaps. Until I spotted this!
The Wine:
With 5 minutes to spare, I didn't have time to do more than crack the cap to satisfy my curiousity. I have no notes...but from memory:
Pale lemon, medium+ intensity of peaches, pineapples, butterscotch, honey and toasted nuts. It delivered all of the structure (acidity, medium- body, respectable length of finish) to back up that nose.
Vini + Viti:
67% Chenin Blanc, 17% Viognier and 16% Chardonnay. The grapes were vinified separately, whole bunch pressed and the free run juice barrel fermented using commercial and wild yeasts. Matured in mostly 300 litre French Oak barrels - 30% new oak - for a year. The wine is kept in stainless steel tanks after blending, and then bottled.
Final thoughts:
The true sign of the yumminess of this wine is when I, after pouring everyone a very measured portion, swiftly removed the bottle from the table and replaced it with another. I hid the bottle from the friends and made a mental note to make notes the following day...fail! I guess that just means I'll have to secure another bottle or few because this was gosh darned tasty!
