....recently asked which wine region offers the best bang for your buck. My questioner wasn’t talking about branded, commoditized wine—or I would have suggested South America or Central California—but the fine-wine sector. I didn’t hesitate: the one country that consistently offers outstanding value is South Africa.
There’s
been a lot of chatter in the industry recently about the new breed of
winemakers in Swartland, an area north of Cape Town, on South Africa’s
west coast. Pioneers like Eben Sadie have been making a name for themselves with Chenin Blanc, cool-climate Chardonnay and Mediterranean-style red blends.
While there’s no doubt that this is the region of the
moment—especially when it comes to Syrah-based Rhône varietals, which
have been delighting critics—it would be a mistake to overlook the
classics: South Africa’s Bordeaux-style blends.
These dark,
sumptuous red wines offer the structure and freshness of their European
counterparts while having their own identity. You can taste something
distinctly South African in these wines.
As Master of Wine and South African importer Greg Sherwood,
of Hanford Wines in London, says: “They can have a little sunshine on
the fruit but the very best, with age, are difficult to distinguish from
their Bordeaux counterparts.”
“The wines which put South Africa
on the map were either Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux-style blends, and
that still has not changed,” he adds. “It’s great that there are a new
bunch of young winemakers making a name for themselves, but let’s not
lose perspective on the regions and wines which excelled in the past.”
To read more and see Will Lyons' South African picks, click here