13 October 2016 To underpin Tam’s laudatory report today on South African Chenin we are republishing as part of our free Throwback Thursday series this South African assemblage of 100 wines, in which we enthused about the quality and good value of a wide range of wines from the Cape.
23 August 2016 See this guide to our assemblages.
Thrill to the cluster of whites that we have scored either 16.5 or 17 in this collection of 100 tasting notes, of which 59 were for white wines.
Many a Chenin Blanc is to be expected since it is the single most planted grape variety on the Cape, but there is also a plethora of interesting blends, of grapes often including Chenin, but also Grenache Blanc, the usefully fresh Clairette, the Rhône triumvirate of Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier, Sémillon and occasionally Verdelho. These are wines that are distinctively South African and all the better for it.
Not that there aren’t some excellent and distinctive Sauvignon Blancs, often more herbal than those found elsewhere. And, as usual, some particularly fine, racy, satisfying Chardonnays that I know from experience tend to age unusually well.
And how about the prices? South African wines are routinely underpriced in my view.
Then there are the reds. In the old days, too many South African reds were copies of European classics and/or plagued by strange aromas and/or the effects of leafroll virus which meant that the vines found it difficult to reach full ripeness. But again, look at those scores! We can choose from all sorts of exciting reds – albeit varying hugely from the old-vine Swartland marvels apparently heavily influenced by granite and schist to the offerings from the cool vineyards on the southern coast where the polar influence is so marked that increasingly fine (though not yet stunning among those I have so far tasted) Pinot Noirs.
You will see that David and Nadia Sadie’s wines have done particularly well in this assemblage. (They are unrelated, or at least not at all closely related, to the leader of the Swartland pack Eben Sadie.) They seem to have solved the in-built problem for all these ambitious but often poorly funded Swartland winemakers outlined in Young guns of Cape need ammunition whereby many of them have to depend utterly for their fruit on informal agreements with local farmers. The Sadies, who used to be based in a tiny winery of their own, are now installed on the Paardebosch farm with its considerable acreage and restored 220-year-old cellar which they describe as ‘our ultimate wine dream came true'.
Here they not only make wines under the Paardebosch label but also under their own labels described thus: ‘Our cellar and company is called David & Nadia which is our “umbrella" for the different projects we do. Underneath this we have the "David" project which in itself is a tribute project to my grandfather with the same name, and it includes four wines: Chenin Blanc, Aristargos, Grenache and Elpidios. Then we have two wines, a Pinotage and a Semillon from our home farm which falls under our "Siebritskloof Series" project. This refers to the valley where we are based in the Paardeberg. Some local critics referred to this project as the Contours series but we have not trademarked the name so can’t use it unfortunately.’
You can find out more at www.davidnadia.com and their admirable wines are imported into the UK by www.vincisive.co.uk, run part time by an airline pilot.
The big problem Cape vignerons are experiencing, like so many, is drought. Grape harvests keep getting earlier and earlier – although the 2015/16 growing season was so dry that the vines shut down so that the harvest was not as exceptionally early as in 2015. In 2015, wine regions that generally need and have in the past got 550 mm (22 in) of rain a year experienced only 280 mm precipitation. A bit like southern France this year.
The 98 wines below are grouped by colour and then listed in descending score order.
WHITES
Eben Sadie's bottling of old-vine Sémillon from the corner of...
A blend from six different vineyards, three of them farmed by...
Mid gold, toffee and caramel on the nose. Cream, banana, apricot...
35% Chenin Blanc, 23% Roussanne, 15% Clairette, 19% Viognier, 8%...
100% Chardonnay from a single, historic, one-hectare block...
Floral notes with a rich dairy flavour and ripe tropical fruit...
RS 9 g/l.
Layered, phenolic grip and loads of zingy lime fruit...
RS 18.8 g/l.
Honeyed lime and lemon zest. Crisp, refreshing and...
RS 35.7 g/l.
Sweet but not cloying, chewy and fragrant with a...
Open, rather floral nose. Good energy. Great acidity and texture...
Wax, hay and oatmeal. Light body. Slightly musty character on...
Very green indeed. Peapod and grass cuttings. Citric fruit too...
A Cape blend from fruit grown by Muratie and tweaked and bottled...
A Rhône-inspired blend of 69% Roussanne, 23% Viognier, 6%...
Salty, racy with real grip as well as fruit. This wine obviously...
100% Chenin Blanc. RS 2 g/l, TA 5.4 g/l.
Honey and green veg...
Fleshy and full but not overblown. Nice floral finish. Light...
82% Chenin Blanc, 11% Viognier, 7% Roussanne grown in an...
This bush-vine vineyard of Sauvignon Blanc was planted in 1965...
Six hours' skin contact. Cool ferment in tank and 6 months on...
Smells slightly more like Clare Valley than the Mosel but...
I wonder why this is as old as it is? Quite rich on the nose but...
Lighter, fresher, more elegant than the regular Chenin 2015...
Very assertive wild flower character but much fresher and less...
45-year-old Chenin vines on granite and quartz. Fermented in...
Skin-fermented Hárslevelü.
Pale gold, the skin-contact influence...
TMW stands for Tim Martin Wines. 100% Chenin Blanc from a 30...
Only half was oak-matured and the wine, known as their Premium...
Oyster shell character on the nose, ripe green citrus on the...
Carsten was sommelier at the Grand Roche in Paarl and is now...
Deep straw. Quite a funky nose and masses of acidity – just like...
See Aristargos 2015 for the background to this wine. The name...
Salted caramel. Cinder toffee. Pumpkin pie. Oranges and a...
Lime and guava on the nose, confident without being brash...
Very bright, cool-climate nose – big contrast to the richer...
45% Chenin Blanc, 20% Grenache Blanc, 17% Roussanne, 9%...
Married to a South African, it was not too much of a leap for...
Dry, herbal nose. Light and fresh. Very delicate and refreshing...
Juicy fruit nose – ripe yellow citrus and melon. Worlds apart...
Approximately 50% is aged in oak.
Succulent, unashamedly ripe...
50% Sémillon, 50% Sauvignon Blanc. Bottled in France by Boutinot...
59% Viognier, 33% Hárslevelü, 4% Sauvignon Blanc, 4% Sémillon...
Neutral fruit, bright acidic backbone, suppressed fruit. Savoury...
Rather sweet and spicy on the nose. Very well done but it does...
Vineyards, Philip Myburgh. Winemaking, Marcus Milner.
Gold tinge...
Popular with Laithwaite's customers. Light and lively. Bush...
Enjoyable floral notes, then a dry, almost austere citrus fruit...
Leads with a creamy, vanilla scent and a very dairy-style palate...
Screwcap. Racy and green fruited. Ticks the boxes for a...
Screwcap. A tad metallic on the nose and then with lots of sweet...
Quite full, honeyed nose. Just off dry and without enormous...
80% Chenin Blanc, 20% Viognier. Leon Esterhuizen of Journey’s...
Screwcap. Not very recognisably varietal. Picked too early? (JR)
Plenty of enthusiasm as this Viognier charges out the glass...
85% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Chenin Blanc. RS 3 g/l, TA 6 g/l. UK...
Neutral, plain, inoffensive but pretty charmless. (RH)
Light gooseberry aromas. Petillant palate and medium body...
90% Colombard, 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Screwcap.
A bit watery on...
Ten months of barrel maturation.
Very strong pea pod nose and an...
REDS
The 2012 vintage of this was my wine of the week in June 2014 –...
Carignan. Whole bunch. Fermented in wood and 10 months in foudre...
15% Swartland Grenache added to 60% Syrah and 25% Mourvèdre from...
30% Syrah, 28% Carignan, 17% Cinsaut, 14% Grenache, 11% Pinotage...
42% Syrah, 27% Touriga Nacional, 27% Mourvedre, 10% Trincadeira...
Black fruit nose, clean and well defined on the palate. Bravely...
48% Touriga Nacional, 28% Souzao, 4% Tinta Barroca.
Baked...
Esona is the Xhosa (indigenous African tribe) word for 'the very...
Pale to mid crimson. Dried herbs and real interest on the nose...
Blend of Syrah, old Carignan, young Grenache and Cinsault. From...
Smoke, bright red fruit with lovely clarity and juiciness...
Chunky tannic grip follows a standard spicy nose. Quite cooked...
'From the best address in Franschhoek' selected by Richad Kelley...
Milk chocolate, a good amount of woodsmoke on the finish. Very...
Mid weight. The initial impact on the palate it quite savoury...
Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon on decomposed granite...
There are only 13 ha of Gamay in SA, apparently. These vines are...
Light, fragrant nose. There's a rubbery note too, but overall...
Kanonkop's Bordeaux-style blend is predominantly Cabernet...
100% Syrah, in French and American oak barrels for 19 months. RS...
Syrah, Malbec, Touriga National, Tannat, Pinot Noir.
Rich, sweet...
Trellised 15-year-old vines on heavy clay. No stems. Aged for...
Mid crimson with sweet raspberry fruit with a hint of beetroot...
50% Grenache, 50% Cinsault.
Pale crimson. Lots of fresh acidity...
Made by Jurgen Gouws, right hand man of Craig Hawkins of...
Vineyards, Philip Myburgh. Winemaking, Marcus Milner.
Reticent...
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot.
Black...
A blend of fruit from Franschhoek and Stellenbosch – hence the...
Earthy, rubbery, medicinal. Old school smoky South Africa here...
Light and restrained nose. Plenty of acid and tannic grip, quite...
70% Pinotage, 30% Shiraz. Bottled in France by Boutinot.
Light...
Mid blackish ruby. Sweet and not nearly as concentrated as a...
Ripe cherry and marzipan flavour, sweet and smoky palate. Lots...
Pale rusty ruby colour. Fairly simple exuberant fruit on the...
Ripe redcurrant fruit and a big smoky character on the palate...
Crude, cooked fruit, harmless but basic. Perhaps just a whiff of...
One of Laithwaite’s best sellers. Sweet cassis nose. Not at all...
Green, blackcurrant-bush aromas don't start things off in a...
Too advanced – seems quite advanced with high volatile acidity...
75% Shiraz, 23% Mourvèdre, 2% Viognier.
Potent and rubbery on...
