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| Danie de Wet |
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| De Wetshof terroir |
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| De Wetshof Chardonnay |
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| Anything but an antsy affair |
| 10 March 2010 by Nikki Lordan, WINE.CO.ZA |
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| One would not expect winemaking at De Wetshof to be an antsy affair.
But, with an empire basically built on anthills, it's precisely this
rich limestone soil, high in pH that provides the wine with its
incredibly unique elements of the Robertson terroir.
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Famous for his Chardonnay, Danie de Wet is part of a winemaking generation known for introducing the notion of terroir and, as rumour has it, smuggling vines into the country in his underpants. It must be hard for the current generation to live up to the standards.
The purple Jacaranda lane leads the way to Old World plattelandse styl paired with New World fruit-driven wines at the family run estate where every member of the family has a role to play - even the hyperactive fox terrier named Danny Boy. The first Chardonnay plantings took place in 1972 in the Robertson region because, as Danie de Wet explains, "by looking at nature" the soil and the climate of the region provides the "best circumstances for Chardonnay". The many awards and accolades certainly confirm his success as a winemaker driven to express the elements of the terroir and a personal style in his wines.
From "high calcareous hills" the Limestone Hill Chardonnay 2009 is made from vineyards rooted in clay soils, with a pH of approximately 8, which bring forth citrus and nutty elements to the wine. It's a cliché, but it's true, De Wet believes, "wine is made in the vineyard" and well known viticulturist and husband to Napa winemaker Zelma Long, Phil Freese, assists the De Wetshof team in assuring the eponymous Limestone Hill expresses the Robertson terroir to the detail. The American couple has many business ventures in South Africa, including the hugely successful US/SA joint venture, Vilafonté.
The De Wetshof D'Honneur 2006, from the 277 clone, draw from 18 year old vineyards in gravely, limestone soils and shows rich nutty and citrus flavours with a fat midpalate and a long lingering finish. One step ahead of wine writer Angela Lloyd who recently suggested if winelovers use "numbers and words to define wine, why not pictures," Danie draws his experience of a perfect wine on the back of the tasting sheet. Slightly lopsided, he shows a teardrop with the fat part on top showing an elongated tail towards the bottom. On entry level the wine should show "a slight sneak peek of the fat, fruitiness to follow on the mid-palate as it ends into an elongated, lingering finish," he explains. Turning the teardrop around, with the tail at the top, he refers to a "kortgat" wine - clean, well balanced entry with a fat and fruity mid-palate but no lingering finish. It's a simple recipe really and way more understandable than Angela Lloyd's piece of artwork.
Not only known for Chardonnay, De Wet harvested the first crop of Riesling vineyards in 1981, nine years after the first Chardonnay plantings and the same year as the Laingsburg flood. Infected with botrytis due to high humidity, a noble late harvest was made from the first crop of Riesling. It turned out to be a very successful vineyard as the 2005 Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest received a 5 star accolade and is according to wife and business partner Lesca de Wet, "a wine she wishes for every year". The dessert wine is made rarely and only in years when the humidity is high and, of course, when Lesca gets her way.
Despite tales of vine smuggling, red tape and stories of Steen (linked to Chenin blanc in 1972, contrary to what many people believe), veteran winemaker, Danie de Wet also has interesting stories to relate of many well known people in the industry. It is stories that should perhaps rather be buried deep in the limestone rich soils of Robertson.
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