Friday evening has arrived in Barbariantown and we San Franciscans like to unwind with a nice bottle of wine. Sadly, all we could get ahold of was a South African Anwilka from 2006. 2/3rds Cabernet, 1/3rd Shiraz, and a dash of Merlot, this youthful entry from Trizanne Pansegrouw, Hubert de Bouard and Bruno Prats left us puzzled and slightly ill. Where was the plum and dark berry? Where was the hint of cooling sea breezes? Why could we not taste the exotic spiciness characteristic of wines emerging from Stellenbosch?

Tasting notes.
Summary: “Jersey Turnpike.” No mention of the judicious oaking or the layers of berry for Rick Webb. “Jersey Turnpike or the FDR,” he repeated.

The Internet says the 2006 Anwilka wine was harvested in small crates, but I definitely tasted medium to large crate notes. And French Oak? Really? You might want to double check that because THAT was NOT French Oak. That wasn’t even close to French Oak. More like Yerba Buena C-grade plywood.

Some of us liked it, some of us thought it was generic. All of us enjoyed the alcohol content but none of us could say much else. I rather liked how much the flavor changed after being exposed to air for 15 minutes. The last sip was definitely better than the first which tasted a bit of plastic. Then again, we were drinking out of compostable plastic cups but I’m pretty sure that had nothing to do with it.

Erica C.: “Nice bouquet. I think.”
Rick W.: “Hints of Jersey Turnpike. Massive tannins. Id rather drink curry.”
Nicole C.: “I still cant get the taste of beach jerky out of my mouth.”
Carrie S.: “Fruity taste at the beginning.” editor’s note: Im guessing she didn’t care for the ending because she quickly switched over to Modelo. Out of a can.
Bill L.: “Good nose. Exquisite asshole.”
Sandhya N.: “Certainly better than the last one.” editors note: The last one cost 3x as much and I paid for it. Ingrate.
Brandie H.: “My chest feels warmer but it might be the Slanket talking.”
David W.: “Tart, bitter, and grainy. Feels good going down.”
Anthony D.: “Thats. What. She. Said.”
Robert H.: “Better than Yellowtail.”

And there you have it. Our review of the 2006 Anwilka from South Africa.

The lovely Erica Cooney provided us with this week’s selection (additional thanks to Chris @ Autofuss for giving her permission to pilfer their stash). Additional additional thanks to Sandhya for her donation of an extremely pungent blue-cheese.

Editor’s note: The views expressed above may or may not reflect reality.