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Paul Wallace Wines ‘Little Flirt’ Sauvignon Blanc 2019 (Elgin Region)

HANSCORE: 17.5/25 

It’s not fair to blame a single bottling for not living up to my (possibly illusory) expectations of an *entire* region, but I have such a high regard for Elgin white wines, that my encounter with this “pleasantly quaffable” savvy bee leaves me somewhat disappointed. Not because it’s a bad wine (it’s not) but simply because it feels like it could have been better (interestingly, it got significantly better on day 2).
The Wallace Family are famous for their genuinely arresting Black Dog Malbec, and I am also a big fan of their CrackerJack Bordeaux-style red blend, but I feel like this particular bottling does nothing to elevate my vision of Elgin as an appellation. Forgive me if I’ve allowed my emotions to colour my judgement.

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👃🏼  Given the nature of the variety, this offers a fairly shy (albeit varietally distinctive) nose of flint, asparagus, and green winter melon.

👄 Those same sweet winter melon elements are front-loaded on the palate, but gradually give way to a slow-attack lemon-&-lime brightness. There is a pleasant mingling of subtle white peach and more lemon zest on the tail, but it all ends a little too soon, with no real evidence of a struggle.

🔬 Fruit is all from Paul Wallace Estate in Elgin. Possibly one thing that’s interesting to note is that sweetness is very present on the palate, completely belying the fact that this sports a residual sugar of only 1.6g. I guess – from a chemical analysis perspective – that is intriguing. In that sense, the wine does communicate something special about Elgin, and therefore should be commended.

🧠 If you want to learn more about the Elgin region, check out this little explainer video on the history of the Elgin Vineyards.

💸💸 ZAR105.00 (as of January 2021)

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Han Drinks Solo Wine Club
Average rating:  
 1 reviews
 by Jaco Maritz

I actually really enjoyed this one. Perhaps you need to give it another try.

Fair enough! I actually noted that it opened up nicely on day two. And also, at the price, it's decent value.