The 2019 vintage of Boekenhoutskloof Syrah involved one of the earliest pickings to date. The Swartland vineyards were exposed to extremely dry conditions during flowering. resulting in early set and bud break. Compared to previous vintages, the dry conditions resulted in small, compact berry clusters and reduced yields. Winemaking, meanwhile, involved 60% wholebunch fermentation before maturation in 2 500-litre foudre and 600-litre barrels for 18 months.
The result for me is a wine with an extra degree of charm and poise compared to 2018. The nose is initially shows top notes of red berries, rose and fynbos before more black berries, olive and pepper emerge while the palate is wonderfully pure with fresh acidity and crunchy tannins, all the elements coming together with clarity. Price: R495 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 95/100.
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Providing the foundation of the Crystallum range as made by Peter-Allan Finlayson are The Agnes Chardonnay and the Peter Max Pinot Noir, multi-regional blends that, while made in meaningful quantities, don’t compromise on the label’s high quality credentials. Tasting notes and ratings for the wines from the 2021 vintage as follows:
Crystallum The Agnes Chardonnay 2021
Price: R280
Grapes sourced from Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Overberg, Elgin and Ceres Plateau. Spontaneously fermented and matured for nine months in 228- and 500-litre oak barrels as well as in foudres. The nose is quite shy although subtle notes of lime, lemon, blossom and some reduction can be detected while the palate has great fruit density and bright acidity before a savoury finish (alcohol: 13.23%). Generous with no loss of focus, production is an impressive 21 586 bottles.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
Crystallum Peter Max Pinot Noir 2021
Price: R310
Grapes from both the Valley and Ridge wards of Hemel-en-Aarde plus the Overbberg and Elandskloof. 50% whole-bunch fermentation. Some smoky reduction before red cherry, musk, earth and spice on the nose while the palate is plush and fruit-forward (alcohol: 13.94%) with moderate acidity and fine, relatively soft tannins. Total production: 27 131 bottles.
CE’s rating: 90/100.
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South Africa’s first wine NFT online auction, which closed on Monday, achieved sales of R3.47 million. Organisers were Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions, a joint venture between principal auction house Strauss & Co, wine merchant WineCellar.co.za and sommelier Higgo Jacobs.
Prices exceeded estimates on several lots with Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance vertical collection from 1986-2027 reaching R1 251 800 including commissions. Meerlust’s 50-year vertical of their famous Rubicon reached R1 081 100, while Vilafonté Series C 2003-2027 reached R569 000, Mullineux Olerasay 1-20 achieved R318 640, and Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2000-2025 reached R250 360. The unique digital contracts hold between 20 and 50 vintages, with collections from 66 to 288 bottles.
Successful bidders now hold the NFTs in a custodial or private wallet which can be viewed on the blockchain, a public peer-to-peer ledger of consensus-based transactions. While each collection is an NFT, the individual bottles are also ‘minted’ as NFTs and can be drawn or traded at any time on any NFT platform around the world. Two of the lots were paid with Bitcoin immediately after the sale.
Bosberaad Chenin Blanc 2021 from as made by Paul Jordaan, winemaker at Sadie Family Wines, and his French partner Pauline Roux is nothing if not divisive. From a 1980 Swartland vineyard, it’s deep in colour and already appears quite advanced. The nose shows naartjie, stone fruit and some waxy character with notes of potpourri and dried herbs in the background while the palate is dense with moderate acidity – it’s plenty flavourful but quite rustic and imprecise at the same time. Price: R320 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 91/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Oak Valley continued to sell the grapes produced from the commercial vineyards until 2002 when a decision was taken to produce wine under the Oak Valley label.
Pieter Visser, an Elsenburg Graduate and fruit production manager at Oak Valley, who had been managing the vineyards as part of his job description, applied for the position of winemaker.
This was an unexpected development as the original plan was to recruit a person with a broad depth of winemaking experience. Pieter Visser at that stage had limited part-time experience in making wine, but the grapes from his vineyards were consistently of exceptional quality.
It is often said that a great wine is made in the vineyard so this was to be his ultimate test.
Oak Valley rented 200 tons of surplus capacity at the neighbouring Paul Cluver winery and the first wine to be bottled under the Oak Valley label took shape in the form of the 2003 Oak Valley Sauvignon Blanc. The wine achieved 4½ Stars in Platter’s on debut and was widely acclaimed, adding to the growing reputation of Elgin as a promising appellation for quality cool-climate wines.
The long journey into wine was underway for Oak Valley after 18 years of learning and experimentation. Assistance was given to the less experienced Oak Valley winemaker by Andries Burger, his highly qualified counterpart at the Paul Cluver cellar. The whole initiative was a great demonstration of neighbourly cooperation, and one which enabled Oak Valley’s wines to become a reality.
The cooperation with the Cluver family in wine had begun in 1985 when the first vineyards were established on both farms simultaneously.
In 1998 detailed planning was done for the establishment of the first vineyard blocks on the lower slopes of the Groenlandberg mountains which became known as the “Mountain Vineyards.”
These lower mountain slopes had previously been sown to sub-clover and ryegrass pastures and were established in the 1970s. Liming and ploughing on these steep slopes, which were up to 600m above sea level, proved to be a major challenge.
The soil analyses showed that between 80-120 tons of lime was required per hectare to counter the acid nature of the soil. The logistics of this operation was so daunting that at one stage a helicopter was considered for transporting the lime onto the vineyard sites.
The most challenging obstacle on the mountain proved to be exposure to wind, more specifically, to north-westerly gales at blossom time. The wind factor was so severe that the anchor poles of the trellising system had to be replaced three times, whilst an extra pair of trellis wires was added to stabilise the vine canopies – extreme viticulture at its best.
Dr Eben Archer had predicted lower than normal yields, but never envisaged average yields below 4 tons per hectare. These wines would have to be very special indeed.
On top of these challenges the mountain had a further shock in store in the form of troops of hungry baboons. These Burgundy Baboons developed a great appreciation for the Pinot Noir grape. To counter this threat Oak Valley was forced to employ several guards from the time of veraison to keep the baboons from plundering the fruit.
Anthony Rawbone-Viljoen and the late Peter Visser, first Oak Valley winemaker.
In early 2014, Pieter Visser was diagnosed with cancer and sadly passed away in April that same year. Andries Burger kindly offered to make the wines in 2014, another example of neighbourly cooperation. Pieter lived up to his promise of producing outstanding wines and was also responsible for building the mountain bikes trails on Oak Valley, which continue to host the Absa Cape Epic and FNB Wines2Whales.
In 2015, Quentin Gobregts was appointed winemaker, returning to South Africa after several years in Margaret River, Australia. Quentin graduated as a Chartered Accountant, only to later discover his passion for wine, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He would lead a renewed focus on these varieties, producing some of Oak Valley’s finest wines to date, winning a series of 5-Star ratings in Platter’s.
During this time, Anthony Lane Design was appointed to rejuvenate our labels in favour of a more contemporary look. It was also decided to restructure the portfolio creating three distinct tiers to allow for more flexibility in the market. These became known as the Oak Valley Discovery, Groenlandberg and single-clone Tabula Rasa wines.
The 2016 vintage would be the final crush at Paul Cluver as construction was underway to build an Estate winery on Oak Valley completed just in time for the 2017 harvest.
In late 2018 Quentin decided to return to Australia and Jacques du Plessis, previously from Constantia Uitsig, was appointed winemaker. Jacques arrived with a high pedigree, a qualified viticulturist and UCT wine business school graduate with 10 years winemaking experience, including two vintages with Eben Sadie.
Today the farm has 32 hectares planted mainly to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Five generations of effort, and an uncompromising focus on quality, have taken Oak Valley’s wines from humble beginnings to new heights, now recognized as one of the top producers of cool climate Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the country.
What does Constantia wine do next? It’s always been closely affiliated with the Sauvignon Blanc, not to say that Darling, Durbanville, Elim and Elgin haven’t also tried to take ownership of the category in one way or another over the years.
The Constantia Sauvignon Blanc phenomenon dates from the late-1980s when the Joostes and the late Ross Gower decided to put effort behind the variety, whereafter Steenberg had a bit of a glory era under John Loubser (now of Silverthorne) in the 2000s. And since then, arguably not much.
The Constantia Wine Route is trying to change that by launching the “Serious about Sauvignon” initiative, the idea being to constantly reinforce the ward’s credentials as a centre of excellence when it comes to the variety and at recent event, top Vinpro viticulturist Etienne Terblanche was there to put a spin on the whole story.
According to Terblanche, most of the vineyards have over time come to be situated in an altitude band of 150m to 200m above sea level which seems like the sweet spot. The rate of climb in altitude is higher than, for instance, Helderberg in Stellenbosch – which means producers, even the smaller ones, have a greater array of altitudes with which to play, facilitating complexity in the final wines. Aspect is predominantly east facing, the resulting exposure to morning sun helping to dry off fruit and avoid disease. Warmer slopes are still cool enough to produce exceptional wines – producers can thus utilise various aspects and orientations whereas producers in warmer areas are limited to southerly slopes only. Oceanic rather than Mediterranean climate and dramatic topography mean that the resulting weather systems are difficult to model – a unique setting going towards more distinctive wines. Coastal haze or mist is very likely not only to lower temperature but also reduce solar radiation – ensuring optimal flavour development. Soils are mainly granite- and sandstone-based again lending themselves to excellent white wine. Also, Constantia generates good quality grapes at respectable yields without irrigation, which firstly is desirable in a time of climate change where water usage is going to be under scrutiny and, secondly, makes for wines that are true to site and season.
So what of the “Serious about Sauvignon” initiative? Sauvignon is mocked by many on account of its supposed simplicity, but it is unquestionably capable of greatness – nobody scoffs at drinking the wines from Loire producer Didier Dagauneau, for example. In the case of Constantia, the Klein Constantia 1986 is the stuff of legend and there have been some outstanding wines from here over the decades since then.
As for area under vineyard, over 40% of the valley is today planted to Sauvignon Blanc – 180ha out of a total of 420ha. An effort to unlock a greater premium from the variety might well be viewed as attempting to benefit from something that the producers are compelled to do in any event.
Consider who makes up the Constantia Wine Route, namely Beau Constantia, Buitenverwachting, Constantia Glen, Constantia Royale, Eagles’ Nest, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Silvermist and Steenberg, and you quickly realise that this is not a collective to be trifled with if they get their act together. In short, “Serious about Sauvignon” has the makings of an important movement, both for Constantia and South African Sauvignon Blanc in general.
Only utter conviction will suffice, however, and I would urge Constantia to go for broke rather than play it safe. The commercial temptation is to avoid risks, and in winemaking terms, that means keeping the end-result as close to the international norm as possible, which might be termed as “clean and green”.
Most of the current-release wines tasted recently (2021 in all cases except for Buitenverwachting Hussey’s Vlei and Silvermist that are from the 2020 vintage) are very good if a little “safe” – I rated everything in a band from 90 to 92 except for the Hussey’s Vlei which is truly outstanding (94 points) while the Silvermist is problematic in that it carries a residual sugar of over 7g/l, possibly the result of a stuck fermentation.
The question is: How to achieve the leap from good to great? It’s difficult to say categorically but it would be good to see more spontaneous rather than inoculated fermentations, the use of oak and the incorporation of Semillon as a blending component. Talk to the winemakers, however, and they’re anxious that any effort to build extra complexity will entail adulterating the purity of their Sauvignon Blanc offering/losing their broader public following (although it must be said that Megan van der Merwe of Beau Constantia has gone all out with her Pierre 2020, this being a field blend of 94% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% Semillon, vinfication including skin contact as well as amphora and oak maturation). It’s a bit of a Catch-22 situation but given just how small plantings are in world terms, getting the opinion makers to really sit up and take notice needs a brave approach to both production and marketing.
The wines of Jerez – Sherry – are most associated with flor, the yeast which, under certain conditions, grows to more or less thickly coat the wine in its barrel. The flor lasts for as long as there are nutrients (including residual sugar) to feed it, and the wine ages “biologically” beneath the coating, protected from oxidation.
The earliest attempts to make “sherry” in South Africa, however – at a time when it was a hugely fashionable drink in the colonial power, England – rather hilariously aimed to make flor-style wines without flor. State-owned Groot Constantia was conducting various experiments in the late 19th century, many of them useful (with inocculated yeasts, with must-cooling systems, etc). The sherry experiment proved less conducive to qualitative breakthrough. A Spaniard, ambitiously named Señor de Castro-Palomino, was hawking a pungent liquid mixture called “mutagina”, which could do the trick when added to wine. Results seemed promising over a few vintages, but the discovery that the “antiseptic” it contained was formaldehyde soon put an end to that line of enquiry.
In the 1930s, with the KWV, the national co-op, desperate to extend its range of fortified exports, Dr Charles Niehaus conducted more orthodox research into sherry-making. Crucially, he managed to acquire some genuine sherry flor yeasts from Spain (although there is something of a myth that he discovered a suitable local flor yeast), and a substantial local “sherry” industry was born. Exports boomed for a while.
One of my favourite bits of upper-class British wine connoisseurship and snobbery comes from Julian Jeffs in his excellent book Sherry (first published in 1961). He describes his initial acquaintance with the South African version, when he was offered a glassful of what his host called sherry but Jeffs knew “certainly” was not. Later, it seems, he found that the category had improved somewhat, to the point where “the astonishing thing nowadays is how closely the flavour of South African sherry approximates to that of the poorer Spanish wines; in fact many members of the wine trade have identified them wrongly in blind tastings.” Not Julian, of course, but still, this was rather a compliment he was making, however backhanded.
Anyway, the export trade was shattered in 1967 when a London court ruled that only the Spanish appellation could produce something with “sherry” on the label. It was the beginning of the end for the local stuff. (After a couple of sporadic attempts at revival, something serious is starting to be done about it by the ever-ambitious Adi Badenhorst, who’s also sourced the right sort of yeast – but that’s another story.)
Wines made under flor are not confined to Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, and there seem to be many yeast strains that can produce some kind of flor film on the surface of wine. The best known of the other wines is the fascinating vin jaune (yellow wine) of the Jura. As with the flor yeasts produced indigenously in South Africa, the Jura one can also survive on a wine with a lower alcohol level than the sherry strain (wines intended for making flor sherry are fortified to between 14.5% and 16% alcohol).
This is significant, as it means that the currently fashionable low alcohols are compatible with a touch or more of flor character, and there have been bits of flor-experimentation from local avant-garde winemakers. The delicious Smiley Chenin Blanc, for example, has long included a flor-aged component (but I haven’t seen Smiley for a while, just heard some discouraging rumours); Fledge & Co’s Skn ʼn Bnz Chenin Blanc spent a year in barrels under flor; and there was a one-off 2017 chenin from Nativo called Flora, which is a rather good wine with a marked flor character.
But the winemaker who now seems most determined to work with flor on table wines is John Bouwer of Gedeelte Wines (previously called Brakkuil), in Swartland’s St Helena Bay ward – with limestone-based vineyards just kilometres from the cold Atlantic. The vineyard for Sadie Skerpioen and Badenhorst Sout van die Aarde Palomino is nearby, and in fact John’s adventures with flor began with the delicious sherry-style wine made from his grapes and marketed by Adi Badenhorst under a name which even managed to outdo Duncan Savage’s baroque naming practices: John Strikes Again from Under a Veil of Misfortune.
John Bouwer has struck yet again with two new bottlings I’ve just sampled. Gedeelte 6 Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is a unique and deliciously successful wine. In being a sauvigon for non-sauvignon lovers and with a savoury complexity it recalls Thorne & Daughters Snakes and Ladders – also made from West Coast grapes, in that case Citrusdal Mountains (home of Skurfberg). Gedeelte 6 seems more lightly elegant than its 13.5% alcohol would suggest, thanks to its fresh and lively balance, and both floral-fragrant and savoury. The wine spent 3-6 months under its flor veil, but that character doesn’t come forward as more than a subtle nuttiness – and there’s even a suggestion of appley oxidativeness, along with a salty tang on the finish. The flor has also ensured that the wine is bone-dry, with just 1.1 g/L of sugar. Despite the light and airy feel, texture is silky-velvet. A rather fascinating and thoughtful experience, and thoroughly rewarding. Worth looking out for, though pricey at R295. Gedeelte wines are becoming a little more widely available locally, though much is exported, and can also be sourced via the Gedeelte website (out of date with regard to wines at the time of writing, but John tells me that’s about to be sorted out).
The other Gedeelte wine I’ve just tasted is called Authentic 23, the latest version of John’s wines made from the grape called barbarossa that I have written about previously on this website, along with some more background to the farm. Barbarossa is actually a French table grape called Danugue (aka Gros Guillaume), and this is apparently it’s only Cape wine incarnation. Not entirely surprisingly, I must say. After a venture working in the guise of Amarone, John has made the 2021 in a notably light style, with just 12% alcohol, which does suit the grape’s inherent limitations. It’s very pretty, with a charming, albeit modest, fragrance (it somehow tastes perfumey too). It was under flor for less than a month, and I’m not sure what contribution that sojourn made to the wine. There’s a balanced firmness of structure from acid and tannin, but to me it is rather like a slightly insipid cinsaut, with no real depth to its vague fruity charm. I think some people who wouldn’t recoil at a price of R345 might enjoy it very much drunk cool, however, especially in circumstances where a pretty but light, bone-dry rosé is called for but a deeper colour than pink is OK. And if you collect curiosities and back-stories, this qualifies hands down.
What an accomplishment Rocking Horse 2021 from John Seccombe is. He refers to it as his “cornerstone” wine and at 16 000 bottles, volumes aren’t insignificant. It nevertheless manages to be one of the most refined and complete offerings from this vintage yet tasted. The rest of the range happens to be rather smart, too. Tasting notes and ratings as follows:
Tin Soldier 2021
From Swartland Semillon Gris, 50% fermented on the skins for one week. Complex aromatics of potpourri, citrus, peach, some nuttiness and spice. The palate shows great fruit depth matched by tangy acidity, the finish gently savoury. A wine full of captivating detail.
CE’s rating: 95/100.
Paper Kite Old Vine Semillon 2021
From a 1963 Swartland vineyard. A change in winemaking saw the wine spend three months in new 500-litre barrels from Austrian cooperage Stockinger done to offset the variety’s natural propensity to become reductive – it has certainly added the wine a little more polish. The nose shows peach, naartjie, hay and a hint of waxiness while the palate is relatively rich and thick textured with nicely integrated acidity, the finish long and intensely savoury.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
Rocking Horse 2021
32% Roussanne, 29% Semillon, 19% Chardonnay, 16% Chenin Blanc and 4% Clairette Blanche sourced from the Cape winelands. Sensational aromatics of green, white and yellow fruit, flowers, herbs and spice plus a touch of flinty reduction – very expressive but not at all vulgar or overwrought. The palate has great fruit definition, a lovely line of acidity and finish that is long and dry. Precisely made, the whole very much more than the sum of the parts.
CE’s rating: 97/100.
Cat’s Cradle Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021
Grapes from an old Swartland vineyard. The nose shows lime and white peach but also some intriguing oxidative notes including some bruised apple, nuts and spice. The palate has a dense core of fruit and snappy acidity – it comes across as quite tense and reticent now but should drink beautifully in two to five years’ time.
CE’s rating: 94/100.
Snakes and Ladders Sauvignon Blanc 2021
From Skurfberg Sauvignon Blanc. Spontaneously fermented and matured for approximately nine months in old oak. Exotic aromatics of elderflower, citrus, peach, granadilla and pineapple plus some leesy complexity. “We try to beat it down but it won’t quit,” says Seccombe. The palate has pure fruit and racy acidity before a dry finish. Good weight as you might expect from a wine with an alcohol of 14.14%.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
Wanderer’s Heart 2021
46% Syrah, 32% Grenache, 18% Mourvèdre and 4% Carignan sourced from across the Western Cape. Striking aromatics of red berries, olive, fynbos, pepper and spice while the palate is light-bodied but intensely flavoured – pure fruit, snappy acidity and powdery tannins. Great energy and an especially dry finish.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
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Dorper is the own label of Reg Holder, previously of Delheim and now also running Lautus De-Alcoholised Wines. The original thinking was to make a Pinotage from more than one vineyard in and around Stellenbosch according to the village model as applied in Burgundy, “dorp” being Afrikaans for “town” or “village” and hence the name. Holder also wanted to work with older sites to avoid the “simple fruit” of young vines and ensure the resulting wines “got their identity from the soil”. A Chenin Blanc has now also joined the range. Tasting notes and ratings as follows:
Dorper Chenin Blanc 2020
Price: R235
Grapes from bush vines planted between 1981 and 1989 on a Bottelary property. Fermented and matured for nine months in older oak. The nose shows pear, white peach and lime plus vague notes of herbs and fynbos. The palate has a good core of fruit, plenty of freshness and a pithy finish. Alcohol is a mere 12.05% and some might find this a little stern but I like how light and energetic it is.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
Dorper Pinotage 2020
Price: R235
Grapes partly from research farm Nietvoorbij planted in 1974, the vines on multiple different rootstocks and partly from a Helderberg site planted in 1972. Inoculated ferment to manage the “wildness” the variety can sometimes show, maturation lasting 12 months in older oak. The nose shows pronounced floral perfume, cranberry, cherry, some banana skin and spice while the palate is medium bodied with bright acidity and lightly grippy tannins. Elegant but not insubstantial.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
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The 2019 vintage of Edelspatz from Stellenbosch property was Best Noble Late Harvest Overall when we compiled our list of the Top 20 wines in South Africa in 2020 and the follow-up vintage has just been released, now positioned next to the top-end red blend known as Grand Reserve.
From a block of Riesling planted in 1985 carrying accreditation from the Old Vine Project, picking occurred on multiple occasions while maturation lasted nine months in French oak. The nose shows ripe orange, dried peach and apricot, some intriguing fungal character and ginger while the palate has massive depth of fruit to go with a smooth texture, the tangy acidity nicely integrated and the finish long and savoury. Price: R330 per 375ml bottle.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
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