The Marvelous Red 2013 (yes, this is a Red wine, but Marvelous Wines are named by color, the White Blend is Marvelous Yellow and the Bordeaux Blend is Marvelous Blue) is a blend of 42% Syrah, 41% Cinsault, 7% Mourvedre, 6% Grenache and 4% Viognier sourced from carefully chosen vineyards in the Western Cape Region (mostly Stellenbosch) of South Africa. Marvelous Wines is a side project involving Adam Mason, the wine-maker for Mulderbosch, Peter Tempelhoff, a leading South African chef and money-man Charles Banks. The various grapes are fermented separately except Syrah and the Viognier (a White grape) were fermented together. Viognier is the one White grapes used in Red Rhone wine and it adds a brightness to the flavors of the Red grapes. The Marvelous Red was aged in neutral oak barrels for 12 months. The flavor of a wine is dictated by when the grape is picked, if you want a lush, rich wine, you pick the grapes when they are fully ripe, if you want a lean, sleek wine, you pick just before it is fully ripe. The Marvelous Red is a lean, sleek wine. The alcohol content is 13.57%.
The color is an opaque, shiny raspberry red. The nose is bright and alive, cherry, plum, black pepper and a hint of a flower bouquet. The Marvelous Red is a tart, dry wine, with good length and balanced acidity. It tastes of tart cherry, raspberry and licorice. The mid-palate brings pepper, exotic spice and a cooling splash of cranberry. The tannins are smooth and the acidity is solid. The bright finish lasts for some time.
The Marvelous Red 2013 may be a Rhone-style blend, but is has a nice South African twist to it. A food friendly, sleek wine that still has enough delicious fruit flavors to work as a sipping wine, but is best used when accompanying a meal. Peter Tempelhoff, the chef partner for Marvelous, suggests it be paired with roast lamb and who am I to argue with a chef.
