| Posted on Wednesday, 08 June 2011
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| Lammershoek Estate: A journey to the 'Black Land' |
Tim James, a wine writer and judge recently eloquently exclaimed: 'What is extraordinary about the Swartland as a wine region in its modern incarnation is not just the quality that is pouring out, not just the dedication of a small group of winemakers, but the energy and creativity, the determination to extend the parameters of South African wine. There is no one model here, no stylistic unity'. Furthermore, it is absolutely awesome that every Shiraz I recently tasted from five different Swartland cellars had an unmistakably Swartland’s feel. Among all these scents of white and black pepper, spices, truffles, there was something unique, palpable, tangible and unmistakably pointing out to the soil of the ‘Black Land’. Is this really an ultimate notion of terroir? I think yes it is! I felt it and it was extremely exciting revelation.
As a part of my visit to the region I met a young winemaker Craig Hawkins from Lammershoek Estate and had an opportunity to taste his beautifully crafted wines. Craig specified that the Lammershoek basic viticultural principles are:
* Retaining a balance between the vine growth and indigenous growth
** Optimising soil microbial life without chemicals, using compost sprays, teas and a lot of love
*** Achieving healthy and stable pHs and producing balanced wines in the cellar
Natural balance in the vineyards implies use of sulphur and copper, without systemic sprays. Lammershoek vineyards are not irrigated! An indigenous tea mixture was put throughout the vineyards. They not only pick everything ‘ripe’ but also some grapes that are ‘under-ripe’, ‘perfect’, and ‘a touch riper’, as per the old Burgundian model or formula of picking: 30/40/30. There are no pre-modeled recipes for making wine as everything is picked on taste. At the very end fruits from different vineyards are blended together according to what Lammershoek wizards ultimately would like to achieve in the finished wines.
In the cellar there is an inclination towards ‘natural winemaking’ and avoiding additives such as sulphur. Such wines are sometimes called ‘orange wines’ due to the colour of white wines kept for long in contact with their skins. Their colour deviates from the gold or yellow of oxidative, oxidized or botrytised wines: it is actually orange colour!
Craig first bottled El Bandito Cortez, one of the two extraordinary wines he’s making under his own label, Testalonga. The second vintage of the version is named El Bandito. Tim James concluded that ‘Craig's El Bandito wines are white wines made like red wines, but with even longer skin contact than is possible with black grapes. The 2009 Bandito comes from Chenin grapes, totally un-destemmed bunches, which spent nearly two years in a few old oak barrels just like that. It has a different array of flavours from the 2008 version (which was on the grapeskins for only six weeks). The Cortez 2009 is a little more conventional in its winemaking and its character. Both wines have a remarkable, brilliant acidity which is central to their delights.’
When tasting El Bandito 2009, after carefully decanting the orange liquid, my nose had a huge shock! The scents were different than anything else I ever smelled. I recalled the aromas of a brandy that spent some significant amount of time in a mulberry-made barrel. That was not an extremely inviting scent; however on the palate the wine was divine. Sublime acidity paired with arrays of green apples, unripe pears, quinces, subtle minerality and never-ending zesty finish. El Bandito is cheeky, geeky, extremely complex and powerful wine indeed! Strongly recommended, but not for the faint-hearted!
They will also be releasing a small ‘specialist range’ in tiny quantities meant for the wine geeks. This range will consist of Hárslevelü (12%, 1.5g/l sugar, huge acidity, no SO2), 100% Mourvèdre (13%, nearly 100% whole bunch and only 8 days skin fermentation) and a skin-macerated Chenin Blanc. There is also a special ‘underwater’ wine, whereby four 225 liters Syrah barriques were submerged under water in the concrete tanks to age for at least a year, under completely reductive conditions. I was told that the Hárslevelü and Mourvèdre 2010 will be released first, followed by the 2011 skin-macerated Chenin Blanc.
In the Lammershoek Vintage Report 2011 there is a note on Hárslevelü: ‘Hárslevelü is a Hungarian grape brought to the Cape and planted on Lammershoek by the late DP Pongracz in the 70’s. Traditionally used in the sweet Tokaji wines of Hungary together with Furmint, we have chosen to ferment our Hárslevelü dry as we feel it gives a better expression of the hard granite soils of Lammershoek. Through many travels to Hungary to try and understand this grape we have found that Hárslevelü is like a chameleon, adaptable to many different climates and soils, expressing where it is planted to the maximum. Thus we have re-grafted some 30 year old Sauvignon Blanc vines over to Hárslevelü to expand our current plantings of 0.8ha to roughly 1.7 ha and thus explore further avenues with this grape (perhaps even a straight sweet Hárslevelü wine one day). But the underlying tone of Hárslevelü is definitely its acidity and low stable pH (which demonstrates a cultivar’s suitability to a specific region/soil). We are excited with what we currently see with Hárslevelü on the farm.’
I was in awe after seeing various smart vinous experiments and the contagious exuberance of youth demonstrated by Craig and his team. ‘The sheer range of approaches undertaken in the past decade and continuing still, the exploration of nooks and crannies of terroir and of winemaking practice, are not to be found elsewhere in the Cape, even though excellence and devotion undoubtedly is,’ concluded Tim James about this wine region. I couldn’t agree more!
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POST # 137-2530
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Wednesday, 08 June 2011
Lammershoek Estate: A journey to the 'Black Land' |
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