Van Niekerk Vintners new releases
By Christian Eedes, 20 June 2024
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Husband and wife Albert and Anmar van Niekerk are something of a dream team, he involved at a high level in the production of both Crystallum and Thorne & Daughters, she the Gabriëlskloof winemaker. Van Niekerk Vintners is their own label, tasting notes and ratings for the latest releases as follows:
Sonwater 2023
Price: R285
90% Swartland Chenin Blanc and 10% Clairette from Worcester. Matured for 10 months in older oak. The nose shows flinty reduction, peach, soft citrus, and hay while the palate is taut but equally not without weight. Dense fruit and snappy acidity, the finish wonderfully salty-savoury. As ever, the dash of Clairette works harder than you might expect to make this wine distinctive. Alc: 13.5%.
CE’s rating: 95/100.
Goue Rif 2023
Price: R285
From Overberg Chardonnay. Battonage once a week for about two months immediately after fermentation was completed (no lees stirring on the Crystallum wines). Lemon and orange but also notes of freshly baked bread, spice and some leesy complexity on the nose. The palate is old school being rich and round, smooth textured, the acidity well integrated, the finish gently savoury.
FedEx Next Generation Awards rating: 90/100.
Rebellie 2022
Price: R285
From Bot River Grenache. 40% whole-bunch fermentation before maturation lasting 10 months in older oak. Red cherry, cranberry and raspberry plus subtle notes of orange, fynbos, musk and earth on the nose. The palate is not too fragile but still remarkably poised – good fruit expression, fresh acidity and powdery tannins. Pleasing structure delivered at the modest alcohol of 13%.
CE’s rating: 94/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
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PK | 20 June 2024
Christian,
Would one be right in saying stylistically Chardonnay has very much moved into a certain style that is favoured at the moment by each and all, be that consumers and critics alike? I know scores and tasting are always done with a completely neutral hat on, but trends and preferences can never be removed from the subconscious and the most recent trend is far more with tighter and leaner especially with Chardonnay, than lets say 10 years ago when the richer and more generous style, would perhaps have received a slightly higher mark on the day?
It is interesting to look at scores and ratings from that point of view from time to time, I find. As at the end of the day the wines are tasted and rated by human beings and not AI right, so the human element definitely plays a much needed role and in doing so also reflects the market and stylistic trends at the time?
Would be interesting to get your opinion on that and also, not trying to put you on the spot or questioning the rating at all, it is just something that has come up in discussions with consumer and producers over the years.
Christian Eedes | 20 June 2024
Hi PK, I don’t think it’s that helpful to see wine styles in clearly defined. binary terms. Rather, wines fall somewhere in a stylistic spectrum, some categories having a broader spread of what’s considered legitimate than others. What I think does tend to happen is that different interest groups or cliques favour a more narrow wine aesthetic and then try to influence the public accordingly. I had an interesting chat with the Van Niekerks that while their own-label wine might be less likely to find favour with contemporary critics, there is still a big market segment that is going to like it very much, and the dilemma for them therefore becomes whether they chase ratings or commercial success, not to say the two are mutually exclusive but the one doesn’t necessarily imply the other.