Top Ten Wine Tastings & Trends In 2016

Thursday, 26 January, 2017
Graham Howe
Graham Howe reports on his pick of the top wine tastings on the winelands circuit during 2016 - and the major trends in new plantings and alternative grape varieties.

The spotlight fell on single varietal tastings in 2016 - with a strong focus on hero varieties like Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and on Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Shiraz. One of the trends of the year was towards comparative showcases of signature varieties by specific wine regions - say, Chardonnay by the Robertson Wine Valley, Chenin Blanc by Breedekloof, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage by the Durbanville Wine Valley. At the winery level, there was a strong trend to vertical flights of flagship wines (both key varieties and blends) and to single vineyard terroir, cool-climate viticulture, organics and alternate varieties.    

The bi-annual Celebration of Chardonnay at De Wetshof in the Robertson Wine Valley has become one of the highlights of the wine calendar in South Africa. Guest speaker Jay McInerney, best-selling American novelist and wine writer - joined the ranks of wine gurus Remington Norman, Andrew Jefford and Phil Freese who have given the keynote address at preceding events. The opportunity to taste and compare  four comparative flights of top-notch Chardonnay presented by the winemakers themselves - sparkling, unwooded, wooded and older vintages - from France, the USA and South Africa makes this event one of the great tastings of the year.

Discussing “the world’s most famous grape”, McInerney described Chardonnay as an “enigma wrapped in a mystery” and as a “transparent medium of terroir”. “We are seeking the unconscious of the earth, from the minerality of the subterranean earth to the sky”. Focusing on “the incredibly diverse terroir of the Cape” this self-confessed Burgundy lover noted that over the last two decades South Africa has come to produce high-quality premium Chardonnay that easily competes on the world stage - even with grand cru Chardonnay in a great vintage. “Plant more Chardonnay!”

The guest speaker and leading South African winemakers all commented on the shift from riper, buttery, over-oaked Chardonnay to lean, nervy, balanced, focused wines “Buxom and voluptuous Chardonnay is out, thin and even anorexic is in, in a post-ABC (Anything but Chardonnay) world” quipped McInerney. “I don’t want to live in a world where Chardonnay tastes the same everywhere … but I do like a little fruit.” The highlight of the tasting was the cult classic De Wetshof Finesse 1993. Johann de Wet commented, “This shows new world Chardonnay can age - the citrus comes from the vineyard not the cellar”. Acclaimed winemaker Kevin Grant of Ataraxia added, “Wine is about where from, not what from. We are soil farmers before anything else.”

One of the top appellation tastings was the surprise of 2016 - showcasing the wines of another country by region. The Top Italian Wines Roadshow came to the V&A Waterfront in style in December for the first time - tempting wine writers to one of the best-attended events of the year. Some seventy producers from across Italy offer tastings of over 200 wines in a global road show around the world every year. Sponsored by Gambero Rosso, whose 70 tasters rated 45 000 wines for its thirtieth annual wine guide, in 2017 it launches the first global guide to Top Italian Restaurants in 30 countries worldwide - awarding chef-patron Giorgio Nava of 95 Keerom in Cape Town best Italian fine dining in SA - and Magica Roma for best Italian trattoria. Workshops on Italian wine regions from north to south, Piedmont and Lombardy to Tuscany and Sicily, offered tutored tastings of indigenous Italian varieties and styles from Amarone and Barolo to Barbera, Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Vermentino.       

Chenin Blanc was under the spotlight at key tastings in 2016 led by the Chenin Blanc Association and The Breedekloof Makers, a new partnership of wine cellars focusing on Chenin as the signature brand of the valley. The “purveyors of Chenin Blanc” unveiled a dozen wines which express the versatility of “the varietal which has found its true home in this region”. The Breedekloof Chenin Blanc Initiative focuses on innovative winemaking and the expression of terroir, especially older vineyards. Winemaker Attie Louw of Opstal, asks, “Why Chenin? There is a buzz about Chenin, a growing demand. Chenin is ‘die boer se kultivar’. We’ve identified the hidden gems - low trellised vines, bush vines on steroids. The common thread is clarity of fruit”.

And Pinotage was the focus of a comparative tasting led by winemakers of the Durbanville Wine Valley. Made in a cool-climate style from some of the oldest vineyards in the Cape, Pinotage is a signature red variety in Durbanville. Bennie Howard, GM of Meerendal, says, “Pinotage is very special in this valley - and produces a wine of many dimensions. The cool climate in the growing season, clay soils, low hills and slopes of Durbanville produce a distinct style of Pinotage in the elegant Burgundian tradition. Durbanville Pinotage is lighter and easier-drinking in the contemporary style with good fruit concentration - not heavy or overpowering”. 

Nederburg focused on alternate varieties at two of the top tastings I attended in 2016. Firstly we tasted the flagship Ingenuity blends of Italian, Spanish and Rhône varieties. Wine writers planted a row of vines in an experimental vineyard of newer hybrids like Chambourcin, Seyval Blanc and Villard Blanc. It was a learning curve at the coalface of viticulture - Nederburg’s veteran Bertie Faure told me his crew plant up to 2000 vines per day. Winemakers Razvan Macici and Andrea Freeborough demonstrated the evolution of winemaking styles over a novel tasting of old and new vintages of signature varieties - Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and NLH - and Heritage Heroes Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Bordeaux and Rhône reds.

Alternate varieties are spearheading the renaissance at Rhebokskloof in Paarl which has undertaken major replantings to reposition the brand. One of the highlights of the tasting circuit last year was hosted by Francois Naude, celebrated winemaker and consultant. High on the granite slopes of Paarl Rock, he pointed out vineyards of the farm’s signature Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinotage - and new plantings of Marsanne, Roussanne, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Durif and Viognier. Our eyrie offered the most spectacular location of 2016 for tasting Rhebokskloof MCC Brut 2008 with oysters and kreef. “The Rhône varieties are the way to go looking at weather patterns” he says, “We’ve replanted to blending components. I want to make a blend where you can’t identify any variety - like our five-way Hillside White and Flat Rock Red.”    

Another memorable event on the circuit in 2016 was the tasting of new single vineyard wines and blends high on the Helderberg at Stellenzicht. Guy Webber who has spent two decades here led a tasting which showcased the terroir of Stellenbosch’s golden triangle - under an innovative “specialties” tier of new labels inspired by innovative viticulture. The new Vine Post Pinotage 2014 grown in one of the highest Pinotage vineyards in the area is inspired by the one-vine, one-post (“stok by paaltjie”) method of viticulture common in Europe - joining the iconic Plum Pudding Hills Syrah. Every wine tells a story from the fabulous The Ratio Sauvignon/Semillon 2015 - a blend based on the exact proportions of da Vinci’s classic golden ratio of Nature - to The Mistaken Identity Shiraz/Pinotage 2013 blend of signature red grapes.

The year 2016 also reflected the zeitgeist of global warming and organic, biodynamic, sustainable and FairTrade viticulture with major tastings by Avondale, Earthbound Organic Wines, Bosman Family Vineyards (producers of the country’s first Nero d’Avola as single variety and blending component in benchmark Adama Red), Waverley Hills and Getaway Nedbank’s Green Wine Awards. Cellarmaster Johan Delport, winemaker at Waverley Hills, a BWI champion, comments, “We are one of eleven certified organic wine producers in South Africa. To make organic wines is no excuse to make bad organic wines. We’re part of the Grenache revolution - up to 45 producers now grow it in SA. Young vines produce a lighter style, lightly extracted and oaked in old-fill barrels”.    

A rare vertical tasting of Magna Carta, Steenberg’s iconic Bordeaux-style flagship, stands out as another highlight among some sixty tastings I attended in 2016. GM John Loubser and cellar master JD Pretorius demonstrated the evolution and staying power of this benchmark South African white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon made only in great years - demonstrating the role of maturing vineyards and vintage variation between 2007 - 2015. Originally held back for three years, Magna Carta 2015 is now made with less steely acidity, the same minerality and purity but more upfront fruit for sooner release. Only six out of nine vintages were made since 2007.

New chef Archie Maclean of Catharina’s at Steenberg created a six-course lunch to complement the subtle distinctions between each vintage of Magna Carta. A vertical tasting of Constantia Glen’s Two, Three and Four blends was another stand-out in the valley - a lesson in cool-climate viticulture continued over a maiden flight of Elgin Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - 2015 over a memorable food pairing at Aubergine.

Graham Howe

Graham Howe is a well-known gourmet travel writer based in Cape Town. One of South Africa's most experienced lifestyle journalists, he has contributed hundreds of food, wine and travel features to South African and British publications over the last 25 years.

He is a wine and food contributor for wine.co.za, which is likely the longest continuous wine column in the world, having published over 500 articles on this extensive South African wine portal. Graham also writes a popular monthly print column for WineLand called Howe-zat.

When not exploring the Cape Winelands, this adventurous globetrotter reports on exotic destinations around the world as a travel correspondent for a wide variety of print media, online, and radio.

Over the last decade, he has visited over seventy countries on travel assignments from the Aran Islands and the Arctic to Borneo and Tristan da Cunha - and entertained readers with his adventures through the winelands of the world from the Mosel to the Yarra.

subscribe to news
Nederburg tasting
Nederburg tasting

Jay McInerney, speaker at the  Celebration of Chardonnay at De Wetshof in the Robertson Wine Valley
Jay McInerney, speaker at the Celebration of Chardonnay at De Wetshof in the Robertson Wine Valley



The Breedekloof Makers
The Breedekloof Makers

The Breedekloof Makers
The Breedekloof Makers

Steenberg Magna Carta 2015 LR
Steenberg Magna Carta 2015 LR

more news