For the warm-up, we started with the lone chenin blanc:

Cape Indaba 1999 Chenin Blanc, Western Cape
Pale straw color. Definite peach with melon and citrus on the nose. Austere, mineral flavors and the melon comes through, but this is a verrrry dry chenin blanc. Interesting, but low in fruit and high in wet stones on the palate. Finish ends abruptly. A bit too lean for my tastes.

Next came two sauvignon blancs:

Simunye 1999 Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch
Note: The word "simunye" (sih-MOON-yeh) means "We are one" in the Zulu language.
Pale color. Lovely nose, varietally correct. Good, lean tropical fruit flavors with pleasant minerality and a moderate finish. A very nice wine.

Cape Indaba 1999 Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape
Similar to the Simunye in color with a bit more on both the nose and palate. More mouth-filling flavors and intensity, and balanced more towards the fruit flavors with the minerality more subdued. Longer, "evolving" finish ending with a steely note. I liked the Simunye, but liked this one even better.

Now two chardonnays:

Fleur du Cap 1998 Chardonnay, Stellenbosch
Light in color for a chardonnay, but a bit deeper than the previous SVs. Weird, musty nose (Susan likened it to opening a man's locker, which prompted everyone to ask "How would YOU know?") with off odors difficult to identify. Oaky, spicy, not terribly interesting. I give it a "yuk" rating. Dump bucket.

Cape Indaba 1998 Chardonnay, Western Cape
Lighter shade of pale (say, isn't that...?... nevermind). Yeasty nose with tired tropical fruit odors sort of like canned fruit with overripe banana. Flat, monolithic, single-note chardonnay. A bit of oak and not much acidity (flabby). Medium but not quite unpleasant finish. Dump bucket.

THE REDS

A flight of four pinotages: (Pinotage is a hybrid of pinot noir and cinsault.)
Note: All four were intense ruby color, deep but not extremely dark.

Jacobsdal 1995 Pinotage, Stellenbosch
Intense black cherry on nose at first, changing to a charred meat odor. Interesting and complex flavors, high acidity, difficult to map to common fruits on palate. Mild bitterness on the medium finish. Despite flaws, it is a nice quaff.

Swartland 1996 Pinotage, Swartland
My personal favorite of the flight, this one had a slight trace of gunpowder on the nose but mostly a big whiff of sour cherry. Acidity hits palate immediately... sour and tannic but with underlying solid fruit flavors and a pleasant, lingering finish. This one developed nicely in the glass over the fifteen minutes of its existence there and turned out to be my favorite of the flight. The acid settled down in balance with the fruit and spicy notes.

Swartland 1998 Pinotage, Swartland
Along with a completely different label from this younger pinotage, this was a complete different wine. Several Twits at my end of the table liked this one best, and while I enjoyed it nearly as much as the '96, the acidity never quite resolved and the tannins were persistent and assertive on the tongue. Perhaps needs more bottle time? A very nice wine, and my second favorite of the pinotages, even though it bore only a distant family resemblance to the '96.

Two merlots:

Swartland 1998 Merlot, Swartland
Deep ruby color.  Nose a bit sharp, almost acrid.  Wine attacks the palate with acidity and assertive tannins -- out of balance but might resolve with time.  Fruit component definitely needs more time to create counter the tartness.  This is a bit of "vinfanticide" and we have consumed it far too young, in my opinion, but is worth another visit in another few years.

Veenwouden 1997 Merlot, Paarl
Darker ruby than the Swartland.  Nose was closed for a time, then opened up slowly to reveal light berry and plum aromas.  This one, like the Swartland, is still young and brash, but unlike the Swartland is a bit better behaved on the palate, showing a touch more mellowness and less aggressiveness.  Acid here is still predominant but more in balance with the fruit. Short finish. Tannins are mouth-filling, but it doesn't come across as over-oaked; rather, these seem more like purely grape tannins.  More approachable than the Swartland now, but thinner and with less overall presence which suggests that it will not age much past a few years.

And finally, three miscellaneous blends (cabernet/merlot, in this case):

Glen Carlou 1997 "Grand Classique" Paarl
Ruby with just a hint of garnet color.  Get the cabernet scent on the nose, but different from California, French or Australian -- less depth?  More astringent fruit?  Racy acidity brings the taste buds back to life in this different, yet balanced blend.  Mouth filling berry flavors, quite fruity with high acidity and stealthy tannins that seem to attack the back of the tongue first and then creep forward.  Not bad, though so very different from the usual cab/merlot blends that comparison is difficult.  I would favor some dark fruit flavors in this wine, but as it is, it's quite refreshing for a red.  Lighter in style.  It might gain weight over time -- a tough call. 

Veenwouden 1997, Classic, Paarl 
Now HERE was a real gem! Big, mouthfilling cab/merlot blend that starts with dark fruit smells, slight dust and a hint of sweet tobacco. This one was favored by all the Twits polled. Everything in balance, solid structure with firm tannins, just the right amount of oak, and layers of grapey, fruity flavors that end in a medium-length, spicy finish. Best of the night (and somehow overlooked in my first posting!). 

Kanonkop 1997 Kadette, Stellenbosch
Stinky and awful.  Linda Kemp summarized it best:  "Someone poured chlorine in this to get rid of the rabbit piss... and it didn't work."   Thoroughly corked and reminiscent of a science project gone horribly awry, this wine never had a chance.  As still another cabernet/merlot blend, it would have been interesting for comparison purposes with the Glen Carlou, but ... no. 

Notes by Tom, with help from Susan, Carol, Jerry and Linda, whether they knew it or not...