Creation current releases

By , 19 May 2022

JC and Carolyn Martin of Creation Wines.

Creation in Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge has gained a reputation for being one of the top tourist destinations in the winelands offering elaborate food and wine pairings as well as regular art exhibitions but the dedication to core farming activities should not be overlooked.

The main property now has 40ha under vineyard while the team also tends a further 22ha just outside the ward. Swiss-born owner-winemaker JC Martin, meanwhile, sees leaf-roll virus as the ultimate hindrance to quality and has gone to great lengths to keep plantings virus free since first establishing vineyards in 2002 – Vititec inspects four or five times a year and Creation is in turn a source of clean clonal material to the industry.

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are increasingly the core focus here, tasting notes for the top-end wines as follows:

Creation The Art of Chardonnay 2020
Price: R920
Grapes from a single block. Matured for 11 months in French oak, 40% new. Citrus plus vanilla and spice on the nose while the palate is rich and round with well-integrated acidity and a nicely dry finish. Many will admire it for its almost perfect consistency, but I do wonder if it is but perhaps destined always to be a little impenetrable.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

Creation The Art of Chardonnay 2021
Not yet released.

Vinification as a above. Pear, peach, citrus and some struck-match reduction on the nose. The palate is impressively precise with pure fruit, a lovely line of acidity and a pithy finish. Dense yet lively at the same time. Moves that much better than the 2020.

CE’s rating: 95/100.

Creation The Art of Pinot Noir 2020
Price: R920

From a 2002 vineyard planted to clone 115. 60% whole-bunch fermentation. Intense musk precedes red and black cherry plus a hint of tea on the nose while the palate has pure fruit and plenty of drive thanks to snappy acidity. The tannins are fine, the finish long and dry. Wonderfully vivid but already quite accessible.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

Creation The Art of Pinot Noir 2021
Not yet released.

80% whole-bunch fermentation. The nose is properly complex with red and black cherry, subtle reduction plus hints of spice, fynbos, musk and Ceylon tea. The palate is relatively lean and energetic – bright acidity and nicely grippy tannins combine to good effect. This has impressive structure, the finish long and savoury. Very striking.

CE’s rating: 96/100.

Check out our South African wine ratings database.

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