Wine Review: 2011 Glen Carlou Grand Classique, Paarl,  South Africa

This wine is quite possibly the best value on the planet for a Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon based wine. With a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the title Grand Classique is more than appropriate. 

It is a big, complex, smooth and fun to drink wine. I remember the first time I tasted this wine it was at the Wine Spectators Grand Tour Tasting  Las Vegas event back in 2012. In a room where there were hundreds of wines poured for hundreds of dollars per bottle, this wine was a standout. With consistency in aromas and flavor, this wine delivers vintage after vintage. Winemaker Arco Laarman makes good use of the pristine fruit viticulturist Marius Cloete can deliver.

prime sirloin steak and corn

Weaving aromatic components that include sweet cedar chest, ripe blackberry, and fresh tobacco leaf, this wine’s bouquet will ready ones palate for a sensually pleasing, plush and lush wine with soft textures and supple tannins. Smokey oak lingers on the long finish completing the well-developed desirable Bordeaux style package. Wide distribution should make this wine easy to find wherever you are. Seek this one out and plan a meal with huge flavors. A prime sirloin steak would be da bomb! Enjoy

Rating: Excellent (91) | $20 | 14.5 % ABV

Carlin de Paolo Barbera