Page 157 – winemag

Pierre and JP Winshaw farm cattle, chickens and wine grapes on Stellenbosch property Klein Welmoed. The grapes are bought by some of the leading cellars in the district but they also make their own wines under the Usana label and now a more premium set under the Winshaw Vineyards label, maiden releases consisting of a Malbec 2019 (R245 a bottle) and two Cape Bordeaux Red Blends from the 2017 vintage, the first honouring their great-grandfather Dr William Charles Winshaw, founder of Stellenbosch Farmers Winery, and the second their grandfather Bill, also a key figure in the running of SFW (both wines selling for R300 a bottle).

It’s the Bill Winshaw 2017 that stands out. Consisting of 67% Cabernet Franc, 18% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot, it was matured for 24 months in 225- and 300-litre barrels, 37% new. The nose shows red and black berries, cigar box and pencil shavings while the palate has a dense core of fruit, bright acidity and fine tannins, the finish long and particularly dry. It’s a harmonious, elegant offering.

Help us out. If you’d like to show a little love for independent media, we’d greatly appreciate it. To make a financial contribution, click here. Invoice available upon request – contact info@winemag.co.za

If the Stanford Wine Route has not loomed large in your wine life thus far, well, me too. In fact I don’t think I knew of its existence until I received an invitation to a “trade experience” last week, where the nine members of the Route would present some of their wines to local retailers and restaurateurs. To be fair to the ignorant, however, I gather that there has not been much effort put into publicising the Route, and this event marked its reinvigoration under the dynamic leadership of Paul Hoogwerf of Maanschijn, the interesting little new-wave winery that I have written about before. There is a minimal website, but it is significantly out of date.

The tasting, half of it conducted on a pair of boats chugging down the pretty Klein River, was a most enjoyable and enlightening experience. I did know some of the wineries involved, but seeing them in the context of a shared terroir (though certainly not a shared aesthetic) gave me new understanding, as well as introducing me to some that I scarcely new. And there were some excellent wines on offer.

Stanford is a charming village some 25 kilometres from Hermanus and a bit inland from the ocean (arguably still the Atlantic, if you accept that the Indian starts at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, just a bit further along the coast, rather than at Cape Point). The members of the Stanford Wine Route range around the village – at five, ten or fifteen kilometres. The District is Walker Bay, and there are some wards, including Stanford Foothills, Sunday’s Glen and, most newly, Springfontein Rim, which is a little limestone enclave in soils mostly based on sandstone and quartz. There’s a lot of coolness about, thanks to the ocean breezes (and sometimes to altitude too – one of the wineries, Brunia, lies on the slopes of the Koue Berg [Cold Mountain]), and this is pleasingly reflected in a real freshness in many of the wines. One of the more minimalist winemakers, Mark Stephens, remarked that “so much less needs to be done in the cellar in cool-climate areas”.

Plus, it’s most attractive country around the attractive village, with the Klein River mountains behind the town, and great expanses of pristine fynbos. So a wine route to distract visitors to Hermanus and Agulhas, as well as those to Stanford itself, seems a good idea.

We tasted a democratic two wines from each of the nine producers, whether large or tiny; and, undemocratically, I can’t discuss all of them here. It was a tiny producer who gave me what was probably my favourite of the whites: the Touch Me Verdelho 2020, fermented via carbonic maceration by Mark Stephens for his Deep Rooted Wines label. Its beautifully delicate and bone dry, supple and finely textured, the 10.7% alcohol just sufficient to carry the floral & limey character with poise and understated conviction. (Different in character from the 2019, which I tasted later, and better.) About R250 and well worth looking for, as is Mark’s Journey to the Centre of the Universe Blanc Fumé blending three sauvignon vineyards.

Another fine and exciting white, a 2019 sauvignon-semillon blend, came from Brunia – the label from Wade Sander’s family farm in the Sondagskloof, and which he’s now concentrating on after a useful long stint with Andrea Mullineux at Leeu Passant. But it was the Brunia Syrah (R275-ish) that thrilled me more: a perfumed, light and elegant 2018, its freshness speaking of its granitic origins, and the whole speaking of precise winemaking (including some wholebunch fermentation) seeking to express those origins as clearly and cleanly as possible. A delightful wine. Brunia has been gathering international and local plaudits (see Christian’s review on this website), and it’s an ambitious label, one to watch closely.

There were a few other syrahs on the tasting. Boschrivier Shiraz 2017 makes for very pleasant drinking, spicy and balanced, the tannins respectable but easy-going, and just a little ingratiating oak and sweetness evidenced. Decidedly more showy is Raka’s Biography Shiraz 2018 – probably the best-known wine at the tasting, with well-established Raka the best-known (and I think the largest) producer. The wine – rich, big and rather sweetly oaky – has a devoted following amongst those who haven’t welcomed the new wave styling of syrah. Raka Five Maidens, from Bordeaux varieties, is also deftly made, and even bigger and oakier. So you see there’s a bit of everything, for all tastes, in the Stanford Wine Route, which is no doubt as it should be….

Pinotage too. Stanford Hills offered their well-known Jackson’s Pinotage, a wine that has had some ups and downs over the years. The 2018 has some scented fruity charm, the area’s bright acidity, and an acceptable touch of varietal bitterness. Mark Stephens of Deep Rooted is consulting here and shaking things up, so I think this is a winery to watch hopefully.

But, for now, better pinotages come from Springfontein, that interesting venture on limestone in its own Springfontein Rim ward. Tariro Masiyiti (whom I last met a decade back at Nederburg) makes the wines, his wife Hildegard Witbooi tends the vines. The top-range Jonathan’s Ridge Single Vineyard Pinotage 2017 is not new-look, but beautifully managed, the dark ripeness and subtle oak balanced by textured tannins and the freshness blown in from the nearby sea. The Terroir Selection version, 2018, is only slightly less impressive. A more modern approach to the variety comes with Maanschijn’s Herbarium Cape Red, where it’s the largest component, alongside mourvèdre and syrah, in a most appealing wine (as I described in an account of a visit to the Maanschijn cellar earlier this year).

Other estates included were tiny Welgesind (a bold Mechanic Shiraz 2018 and more elegantly light Romanse Blanc de Noir), and Walker Bay Estate (a pleasant, crisp Sauvignon Blanc – and I somehow didn’t taste the Pinot Noir).

So there’s much of vinous interest to visitors to this part of the Cape South Coast – and worth a detour to visit those wineries that are open, often with other attractions on offer too. With any luck, a completer website will be on the way, to provide more guidance and complete links, putting the Stanford Wine Route properly on the map and on more winelovers’ itineraries.

Tim James is one of South Africa’s leading wine commentators, contributing to various local and international wine publications. He is a taster (and associate editor) for Platter’s. His book Wines of South Africa – Tradition and Revolution appeared in 2013

The Radicales Libres Chardonnay from Andrea Mullineux under the Leeu Passant label is, in a word, unorthodox. Grapes from the Tradouw Highlands outside Barrydale in the Klein Karoo, the wine is handled oxidatively throughout the winemaking process, maturation in barrel lasting five years. “Anything that can happen to it, has happened to it,” says Mullineux. Barrels are racked once a year and are kept topped with themselves so the style is closer to traditional Rioja white than Jura – a natural concentration takes place but no real flor develops.

I recall being slightly non-plussed by the maiden 2014 vintage (as sold at the 2019 CWG Auction) and then very much taken with the 2015 (as sold at the 2020 CWG Auction). The 2016 vintage, in turn, grew on me rather than being instantly appealing. The nose shows citrus plus subtle nutty, earthy, yeasty notes as well as a touch of flinty reduction. Great depth of flavour on the palate as you might expect while in terms of structure, there is plenty of weight and texture but also snappy acidity, the finish long and saline. Available as part of a three-pack that also includes the 2014 and 2015 vintages, selling for R2 295 – read more here.

Introduction

Winemag.co.za reviewed a total of 990 wines across 20 categories in its various reports sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient over the course of the year. Each report was based on the outcome of a blind tasting of wines entered within the specific category.

A Top 10 was then announced with the release of each successive report. Now the individual best wine per category can be revealed.

Winery of the Year: Vergelegen

One of the great historic properties of the Cape, this has been owned by global mining company Anglo American since 1987. With the celebrated André van Rensburg as winemaker, the wines were highly acclaimed in the early-2000s but then faded from prominence somewhat. It has to be said, however, that a drawn-out re-planting programme to rid the vineyards of leaf-roll virus was undertaken and with this now complete, Vergelegen’s glory days seem to be back!

The property had two wines judged best in category, these being the Sauvignon Blanc 2021 and Reserve Semillon 2019 while another four wines made the Top 10 in their respective categories, namely the G.V.B White 2019, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 and Reserve Merlot 2016.

Shop online

Johannesburg boutique wine retailer Dry Dock Liquor is offering the Top 20 wines for sale and can deliver nationwide – buy now.

Video

The 2020 vintage of Monday’s Child Chenin Blanc from Alex McFarlane is not that stylistically different from the 2019 other than it shows more certainty of vision, the wine purer and more harmonious.

Grapes from the same 1988 block on Polkadraai Hills property Karibib, winemaking involved fermentation and maturation lasting some six months in barrel. The nose shows a little reduction before pear, peach and hay while the palate is wonderfully linear – good clarity of fruit and racy acidity before a pithy finish. Price: R220 a bottle.

Attention: Reviews like this take time and effort to create. We need your support to make our work possible. To make a financial contribution, click here. Invoice available upon request – contact info@winemag.co.za

The Rurale 2018, the “pét-nat” from Voor-Paardeberg property Vondeling, has just been released and shows more sophistication than its predecessors. Consisting of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinotage, spontaneous fermentation was begun in tank before the fermenting wine was bottled and capped with a small amount of sugar remaining to create a bubble, this being the so-called Méthode Ancestralé.

Maturation lasted three years before disgorgement, topping done with the 2013 vintage of the top-end white blend known as Babiana. The nose shows a touch of flinty reduction before peach, red apple and some biscuit-like complexity while the palate is relatively rich and full with a creamy mousse. Price: R295 a bottle.

Using Shiraz to “spice up” a wine otherwise consisting of varieties associated with Bordeaux is a well established model, Rust en Vrede Estate being the most important reference in this regard. Fellow Stellenbosch cellar Dornier is now in on the act with Leda 2017, consisting of 50% Malbec, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Shiraz, 50% of the Malbec matured in new American oak and the balance of the wine in older French oak for a total of 18 months.

The nose shows floral perfume, red berries, some herbal character and hints of vanilla and spice while the palate is succulent and full with bright acidity and smooth tannins. It’s immediately approachable without being facile. Made exclusively for Dornier club members, it costs R285 a bottle.

For some time now, Breedekloof has been attempting to establish its credentials as a source of high-quality Chenin Blanc as much as Stellenbosch, Swartland or any other region and at an event held towards the end of October termed “Vintage Voyage” showing wines from 2015 to current release, the various wineries of the region from Olifantsberg to Opstal demonstrated that they are capable of making very good wines from the variety.

A particularly pleasant surprise was the Stofberg Border Stone 2017, fermented in concrete and matured in oak for four months. It has classic aromatics of bee’s wax, wet wool and a slight nuttiness to go with citrus, peach and a hint of spice while the palate is plenty flavourful but not too weighty. With nicely tangy acidity and a particularly savoury finish, this is drinking very well right now – still available at R175 a bottle from the cellar.

My father always used to say that the biggest difference between those people who preferred to live up on the highveld in the thin air of Pretoria and Johannesburg versus those who loved living down in the Cape was all down to how you embraced the seasons. Up-country living was all about monotone hot or cold lifestyles whereas living in the Cape was focused on all four nuanced seasons of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring encompassing all the different clothes you wore, the different seasonal foods you ate and of course, all the different wines you drank to match every season. Provided you could accept your expensive leather brogues going mouldy in the cupboard in a cold, damp, Cape winter you were sure to get on just fine.

Seasonality, as they say, is very good for not only your soul but also your mental health. Well, the Gautengers reading this might be cringing at this point but I’m sure everyone who lives happily in the Cape, whether they were born there or are now adopted sons or daughters, will agree with me wholeheartedly. There is just something special about the transitioning of the seasons, the changing of moods, the changing of ones’ own biorhythms and the deeper introspection that each season evokes in individuals. It is of course the beauty of this seasonality that is so entrenched in the Cape and that I believe is responsible for sucking in so many European nationals and making them feel so at home.

While many of us South Africans living in London stare down the barrel of another stark, cold winter here in Europe, the challenge of course is to simply accept the seasonality and incorporate it positively into our daily patterns of life. In the wine trade that means transitioning in the Autumn and Winter months and starting to eat plenty of hearty game dishes, whether you are a shooter or not, and of course drinking plentiful amounts of fine red Burgundy. And of course on cue this week, we saw the first of many incredible En-primeur 2020 Burgundy tastings to come with the profiling of the wonderful wines of Domaine Faiveley. Simply incredible quality, very finite production and unbelievable global demand all adding to the massive pressure on new-release pricing.

Chatting to several other senior old-school Masters of Wine at the tasting like Mark Bingley MW and Charles Taylor MW, it was certainly interesting to see their pronounced resignation at the fact that the upcoming En-primeur campaign would be even more expensive yet again and the supply of wines even smaller than 2019. These two factors just seem to occur recurrently like day follows night and the market accepts the fact. In reality, I suppose merchants don’t really have a choice because demand is simply outstripping supply not only in the premium upper echelons of fine wine but also in the simple day to day “drinking Burgundy” categories. But what about in South Africa? One of my eternal fascinations is of course the one of pricing of primarily our top premium icon wines.

It is, of course, no secret that the South African home market is labouring under some very difficult economic circumstances post-pandemic, yet it hasn’t particularly seemed to affect the uptake of all the 2020 fine wine allocations released to the market recently. Add to this the very successful season of the Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions and a phenomenally successful Cape Wine Makers Guild Auction, and it doesn’t take much to see that premium South African red and white wines are still an enviable asset class at the moment in local and international circles. Yet interestingly, prices in the home market have been superficially suppressed by the pandemic while demand for the top producers has continued to outstrip supply. With this latent potential hanging over the local market, there possibly seems trouble coming down the line.

The local market has of course long since cast off the mantel of being cheaper than international markets, especially where our top 20 or 30 wineries are concerned. Indeed, the days of being able to buy 10, 20, or 30 cases cellar-door on holiday from Europe, and ship them to back the UK or EU, to land and be delivered to your front door at a lower cost than buying them on release in your own international market from the local importer are long, long gone. But the mathematics of this equation does beg some difficult questions. With many or most producers in South Africa now looking determined to focus on quality over quantity, and raise the average bottle price, overall pricing in the local market which has generally been subject to international parity pegging, will surely need to rise in the same way our local SA petrol price rises when the international oil price also increases.

Most of the above is simply de facto. But what remains more of a conundrum is where the breaking point lies. At what price point will local consumers, except for the uber-wealthy, simply stop taking up allocations of all the top red and white wines? At what price point will the local South African on-trade price become simply too exorbitant for locals to indulge in the finer wines from their home market? These are indeed taxing questions which will need answers so long as the insatiable thirst of international markets hangs over the allocation process of these top wines. The uncomfortable truth is that the international appreciation and consequential demand for our premium producers is nearing a point where it surpasses the ability of the local fine wine enthusiast to afford buying and drinking the best wines at home. But of course, like the local French home market, South Africa will certainly not have been the first producing nation to experience this unique fine wine conundrum.

Just like my old man could just not get to grips with the dark, damp, cold Cape winters and always yearned for the lighter, brighter, dryer lifestyle of the highveld while he lived in the Cape in the 1970s, I fear that well-healed local consumers like him will also start to shirk at the thought of having to pay possibly R1,000+ (£50) for a decent bottle of big brand Cape Bordeaux blend or Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. The pressure will then be on the producers to reinvent their offering to keep the crucially important local market happy and well oiled. In the meantime, with regards to local market allocations, the mantra of “use it or lose it” will continue to prevail.

Introducing our new talk show called “Spittoon Saloon“. In episode 5, host James Bisset interviews John Seccombe, owner and winemaker of Thorne & Daughters. He appears to have adopted extravagant wine descriptions more than most, but curiously though for someone so concerned with artifice, he also reveals a love of A-ha, Sedgwicks Old Brown and Triple King Steer Burgers from Ceres, proving just what colorful characters populate the South African wine scene.

Category	Wine	Score
Best Cap Classique	Miss Molly Blanc de Blancs 2015 (Môreson)	94
Best Cape White Blend	The Tea Leaf 2020 (Strange Kompanjie)	94
Best Chardonnay	Constantia Uitsig Reserve 2020	94
Best Niche White Variety	Vergelegen Reserve Semillon 2019	93
Best Sauvignon Blanc – Unwooded	Vergelegen 2021	95
Best Sauvignon Blanc – Wooded	Carmen Stevens 2019	94
Best Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon Blend	Wade Bales Regional Series Constantia White 2019	96
Best Cabernet Sauvignon	Rust en Vrede Single Vineyard 2018	94
Best Merlot	De Grendel 2019	92
Best Niche Red Variety	Zorgvliet Petit Verdot 2018	94
Best Pinotage	Môreson The Widow Maker 2019	94
Best Pinot Noir	Bosman Upper Hemel-en-Aarde 2020	94
Best Shiraz	Zandvliet Hill of Enon 2019	95
Best Signature Red Blend	Mary le Bow 2018	94
Best Muscadel	De Krans Muscat Blanc 2020	93
Best Noble Late Harvest	Boschendal Vin D’Or 2018	92
Best Port-style	Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2009	96
Best Straw Wine	Villa Esposto Muscat D’Alexandrie 2019	92

Winshaw Bill Winshaw 2017

Introduction

Winery of the Year: Vergelegen

Best White Wine Overall

Best Chenin Blanc

Best Red Wine Overall

Best Cape Bordeaux Red Blend

Category

Wine

Score

Prizes

Find out more

Shop online

Video

Winshaw Bill Winshaw 2017

Introduction

Winery of the Year: Vergelegen

Best White Wine Overall

Best Chenin Blanc

Best Red Wine Overall

Best Cape Bordeaux Red Blend

Category

Wine

Score

Prizes

Find out more

Shop online

Video

Login to Account

Create your account