A long way from the south of France, we toasted winemaker Matthew Copeland’s
passion on a granite outcrop defended by one of the Cape’s old bronze canons -
in one of the most remarkable launches of the year. Talk about wine with a
sense of place.
Ascending a precipitously steep gradient up Voor Paardeberg, viticulturist
Magnus Joubert told us the story behind vineyards with evocative names such as
the Bible Bloc (folded open on the slopes like a leathery old testament), the
Graveyard Chenin Bloc (after a grave with a history uncovered while clearing
weeds) and Gilbert’s vineyard (after a lame old worker who guarded it from
marauding baboons). The manor house was built in the 1750s by founder Olof
Bergh, one of the Cape’s legendary winemakers and distillers. In the 400 ha
conservancy, we were also shown leopard scratches on a tree and the fynbos
which inspired Vondeling’s flagship Babiana white blend and Erica Shiraz -
among 1000 flora species tagged on the farm.
Going out into the vineyards enriches a front-of-house tasting in the cellar in so many ways - imprinting the soils, slopes and history of the very landscape. It’s one thing to talk about terroir - another to walk the talk in the vineyards. At 750metres above sea level, Matthew spoke about the art of making a single fermented sparkling wine - he bottles the juice before fermentation is complete - from Chardonnay, picking later “to get a degree of physiological ripeness you don’t get with MCC”. And he used wild yeast to create “an artisanal, terroir expressive, champagne-style Brut” which spent sixteen months on its lees. “I wanted to make something equal to the best sparkling wine in the world. The key is not too much yeast autolysis and zero dosage … and a delicate pearl thread”.
Every wine tells a story. Vondeling - meaning foundling: an
abandoned child of unknown parents - conveys a strong sense of its history and
roots. The high-altitude fizz launch at Vondeling reminded me of a recent
tasting of the fifteenth vintage of Groote Post in vineyards planted on the
slopes of the Kapokberg, the mountain which resembled a snowy peak when covered
in white flowers - and which gives its name to their reserve Kapokberg range of
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.
A few days later I found myself on a tour of Delheim’s Vera Cruz
vineyards with viticulturist Etienne Terblanche and winemaker Reg
Holder. These twenty year-old vineyards, named after the grand dame of the
Sperling family, are the source of the farm’s acclaimed estate range of red
wines. Staring into a deep profile trench (which resembled a burial pit for a
hitman straight out of the Sopranos), we were given a practical lesson on the
structure and texture of decomposed granite soils, and how water stress and
canopy management affect the size and concentration of the berries. “We harvest
these vines by taste, using lab analysis as a guideline only” says Reg.
Today is a tutorial in bush vines. Delheim makes both bush vine Shiraz and
Pinotage (the maiden Vera Cruz 2012 vintage won a place in ABSA Top Ten
Pinotage 2014). Etienne talks passionately about “the bonsai concentration” of
bush vines and how they use less water, achieve even exposure by using all of
the canopy (compared to trellised vines) and how early stress creates smaller
berries with greater concentration. After working with “gobelet” (untrellised
vines shaped like a goblet) in the south of France, he shows us closer bush
vine plantings which increase yields and says he would like to lift the bush
vine higher in the French tradition. After pointing out a few of the bugs in
the vines - the evil weevil - which are especially attracted to bush vines
planted closer to the soil, we move onto the second profile trench at a site
planted with Shiraz, “an optimistic variety which always thinks there’s another
drink around”!
We apply our lesson in the vineyards, the flavour profiles and the
distinctiveness of the soils over a vertical flight of Vera Cruz Shiraz and
Pinotage back in the Delheim cellar. After a blisteringly hot walk in the
vineyards, I feel like one of those deep “survival (tap) roots” in search of
water we saw in the trench. “Pinotage planted on cooler sites with longer
hang-time shows better over time” says winemaker Reg Halder, explaining how
earlier picking of portions of the vineyard produce fresher fruit - and lots of
perfumed, floral fruit. While tasting the Vera Cruz Shiraz (maiden) 1998, 2001
and 2012, Etienne talks about how water stress affects the phenols and tannins
and how carotenoids produce distinctive white pepper: “I’d like to see
Stellenbosch claim certain varieties and styles as its own on the world wine
stage”.
People have been writing about viticulture in the Cape for centuries. At a
recent tasting at Glenelly Cellars in Stellenbosch, owner May
de Lencquesaing showed us a antiquarian book entitled “Topographie de tours les
Vignobles” (1832) which features vineyards from Madeira and Morocco to
Madagascar and the Cape. While discussing the wines (150 Rix dollars for one
demi-john of wine!) of cellars from Constantia to Drakenstein and Paarl, the
author praises grapes such as “haenapop” (hanepoot). In one of the highlights
on the wine circuit this year, winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain led a vertical
tasting of the flagship Lady May and Grand Vin de Glenelly red blends - which
included benchmarks from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Australia’s Barossa.
Overlooking the magnificent contours of Glenelly’s vineyards in Ida’s
Valley, Luke spoke about his natural approach to winemaking. “Let the fruit
express itself. My approach to winemaking is very hands-off. In our Chardonnay,
we’re looking for freshness and minerality. We use wild yeast - spontaneous
fermentations are bone-dry - and no batonage (it makes the wine too fat and
buttery). Wine must have nervousness, a taut focus, be light on its feet.”
Looking out at the tidy, manicured Cabernet Sauvignon bloc in front of the
tasting room, he quips that the viticulturist used to prune individual leaves
with nail scissors under the owner’s instructions!
He emphasises that each wine is at a different stage of evolution and still developing during a tasting - and that when visiting Chateau Lafite, they tasted six vintages at every stage over the course of the day. A perfectionist, Luke emphasises that “bottle ageing is important to let the varieties knit together in a blend. Shiraz shows earlier, Cabernet Sauvignon later as wine goes through a transition in the bottle”. He adds that newer, virus-free plantings give Glenelly the advantage of earlier ripening - and that he believes Petit Verdot has a great future in South Africa for its acidity, supple tannin and ripeness. He concludes that blending Cabernet and Shiraz into their Grand Vin de Glenelly is not new under the sun. Shiraz was once blended into Bordeaux for colour and flesh in austere vintages. You’re never too old to learn a new trick at a wine tasting.
The Glenelly wine label sums up the role of terroir and the winemaker: “The
character comes from the soil, the specificity comes from the elements, the
quality from man”.