Stars of the 2013 SA Trip- Where are they now?

Hey Everybody,

One of the most important things in winemaking, at least in new world countries where vintage variation is less of a factor, is consistency.  As a writer I would rather be effective across a smaller range of topics than create a broad-ranging array of articles with little focus.  To that end I am writing today about a few tastings I've conducted over the past month with a few other South African wines with which I have become well-acquainted in recent years.  Keeping up on how wines age and how producers develop from vintage to vintage is very important to me.

Two wineries are in the spotlight here: Raats and De Trafford, both wineries I consider to be at the forefront of top-quality production.

I wrote last year upon my first encounter with Raats Wines (an article that can be found here) and was impressed by both a vineyard management style that can be described as 'harsh' and a range of wines that can be described as 'awesome.'  At last I managed to revisit two wines of the Raats lineup and was not disappointed by what I found.  The Old Vine Chenin Blanc and the Red Jasper both presented themselves marvellously with all the subtlety and power I remembered from them.

The Old Vine Chenin is still one of the true greats among South African Chenin.  As a varietal that is more and more frequently blended with Viognier and other Rhône varietals at the highest level (to great effect at Sijnn and Keermont), it is comforting to see that Bruwer Raats has put forward a Chenin that exhibits a freshness and linearity that is difficult to rival outside of the Loire Valley and Chablis.  Mineral-laced and lively, it shows off the great character of the decomposed dolomitic granite soils that make this regions terroir so exciting.  The 2012 vintage is easily as good as the 2011 I tasted last year and could easily age for a few years with excellent results.

The Red Jasper is a beautifully fresh, yet full-bodied example of Cabernet Franc in a leading role.  It is a rare thing to see Cab Franc take over the role of Cab Sauv or Merlot and lead a rich Bordeaux blend with such class and poise.  The Red Jasper is one of those wines that is effortlessly enjoyable upon release but has the balance and durability to spend a few years in a forgotten cellar before being gleefully rediscovered a decade later.  I may just neglect a bottle for a bit myself... if I can help myself!

Another wine I was particularly excited to taste again came about entirely by coincidence.  I was lucky enough last year to taste a definitive range of verticals from David Trafford's range.  Both his Stellenbosch wines and his Sijnn project (the 2007 of which I recently revisited here) are truly excellent wines, and I was very fortunate to be able to taste pretty much every vintage of every wine as well as several non-vintage blends.  I recalled tasting the 2005 Blueprint Shiraz as a surprising highlight of the tasting.

Even more surprising was finding two bottles in a loveless state liquor store in Pennsylvania.  I obviously bought them and was overwhelmingly satisfied with my purchase.  Showing beautiful earthy aromas, leather and dark chocolate, along with just a whiff of black olive and ferrous minerality.  I also know for a fact that the Merlot 2004 has withstood the test of time just as beautifully developing some of the qualities of mature bordeaux, while maintaining a smoky richness that is, for me, classically Stellenbosch.

I will continue to hunt for as many wines from my trip as I can, which may be difficult here in New York, but I will do my best and report my findings as I go along.  Til then...

Much Love,

G

One Year On- A year of the Grape Press

 

Hey Everyone,

So I have now come to the first year anniversary (well a bit past it) since I first posted. A lot changes in a year; graduation, and amazing summer in St. Andrews and the United States, time spent working in New York City and helping set up a new company in the Auld Grey Toon. Visa problems for myself - and it seems most of my friends and now I am at new heights in my wine experience. It has certainly been an interesting year for the Grape Press and myself.

I have been in South Africa now for 8 days and my experiences have been tremendous. I have seen the most beautiful landscapes I've ever laid eyes on, I've tasted some amazing food and meat some amazing people. My objective; to explore the wines of this country has been well under way for some time, with some exciting results. I have meat young, ambitious and energetic wine makers, old hands with tremendous experience and plenty of other characters in and around this great town of Stellenbosch.

The enthusiasm that these people breathe is infectious, and if you come to a wine farm ambivalent to the product, you will leave an hour later as devoted to the wines as the winemaker himself. It is easy to get caught up in things here in Stellenbosch; because everything about the place is emotive. Every night there is a carnival atmosphere in the town and you can't help but have fun. Beyond the streets of town there is the countryside where the most striking landscapes imaginable can stun you without fail every single day.

I for one am finding myself increasingly devoted to South Africa's wines and the people behind the bottles. There are stories here that ring true with everything I want wine to be. There is romance and there is love for the land as well as artistry and awareness. I know that wine, unlike any other product has a penchant for getting passion from it's devotees but there is an intensity in South Africa that vindicates my devotion to the subject. There are themes that are beyond my ability to vocalise so I will not attempt to do them justice, but suffice to say that they are as great as the Helderberg Mountains and as complex as the country's past.

I hope over the past year you have enjoyed my writing and I look forward to continuing in 2013 and into the future. To see the huge changes over the course of the year, I am filled with great hope to know that just as much can happen in the coming year. Tonight find a glass of something nice, be it wine, beer, juice (whatever!) and enjoy it. I'll be doing the same!

(As always) Much Love,

G

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Sweet Spot

In the grand scheme of things, wine is a luxury product.  Yes, there are plenty of wines at good value, some cheapies even selling for less than certain coffees at Starbucks, depending on where in the world you find yourself.  But in it's heart, the idea of modern wine is that it is a luxury and anything decent has to be too expensive.  The response; to torture ourselves with £5 bottles even though not much more money can get us something much more special.  Wine itself is produced quite cheaply, and for the bottom end of the price range, that is to say the bottles under £6, that price tag is built up with layer upon layer of tax, shipping costs, packaging and admin work. 

If you reduce it down, in fact, there is only about 30p worth of wine in that bottle of Anakena or Parrotfish.  So, even though you're paying a lot less for the bottle of wine, you're really taking the hit in a big way, paying more for all that extra cost.  For under £6 you're better off getting a couple of good beers and pay what they're actually worth.  I thought I'd do a bit of research into the various conceptions of what it means to be 'good value' and I've come up with a theory I think holds up pretty well.  It's called the Sweet Spot and it ranges from £9 up to £17, with of course a bit of flexibility.

In this day and age of pinching pennies, and denying ourselves the leisure-time activities we once enjoyed on a regular basis, like going to the movies, going out for dinner and the like, one thing that is still within reach is a decent bottle of wine.  Instead of paying for two people to go see a movie and footing the bill of popcorn, drinks etc. which can add up to nearly £30 all told, why not split a £15 bottle of a nice wine, cook dinner and make an evening of it? 

Lets look at what that £15 can get you... From the shop where I work (we have fairly standard prices across our range) that is more than enough for a nice white Burgundy, a bunch of damn good Rhone reds, great French country wines, a huge array of classic Italian bottles, and even some pretty yummy ports and pudding wines.  Split between two people, you can experience some truly delightful wines for not a whole lot of money, and use them to make a home-cooked meal all the more fun and interesting.

Lower down on the price range of the 'Sweet Spot,' you'll find some great South African Chenin Blanc like the Secateurs, and it's brother wine, the Secateurs red blend for about £9, some really saisfying Argentine Malbec or Chardonnay or even a surpisingly tasty Bulgarian Pinot Noir.  Even at this price, you're getting a vastly better value for your money.  The same amount of alcohol tax comes off an expensive bottle as it does for a cheap one, so a higher proportion of the price is actually for the liquid in the bottle.

Say you're planning a dinner party or may be going out for dinner and want to take a bottle along and want it to be something a bit special.  Lets say upwards of £17 for something great.  Easy!  You can get some beautiful Rioja like Vina Cubillo, really classic french wines like Bergerac and a few tasty, fun California Zinfandels.  Split that cost between a couple of peoplewho are already splitting the cost of the food and you have an essential ingredient for your meal, and one that can enhance the food like nothing else.

What I'm trying to get at is, you can splash out beyond the standard five pound bottles and realise that, in truth, the quality and pleasure gained from the wine goes up exponentially.  There is nothing quite so lovely as a great bottle of wine that was worth every penny you paid for it.  In this day and age, we can't afford to pay for something cheap and not get our money's worth.  The same goes for lousy wine.  Sure there are nice wines below the 'Sweet Spot,' but in terms of consistency, there's something to be said for this narrow price-band.

So go halfs with a friend and treat yourselves to something nice!

Much Love,
G

Here are a few recommendations for some really great value wines, though this is just a short list...
Around £9- Secateurs Red and White, Paul Jaboulet-Aine Parallel 45 Cotes du Rhone, Punto Final Malbec, Masi Corbec, Fatoria Lavacchio Chianti Rufina, and Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon, Tramontane Macabeu

Up to £15 (mind this price band contains a huge array of great wines so this is just a small selection)- Paul Jaboulet-Aine Crozes-Hermitage, Thelema Shiraz, O. Leflaive Les Setilles Chardonnay,Velvet Devil Merlot, Kung-Fu Girl Riesling, Dry Creek Zinfandel, Filles de Mai Macabeu and the Wild Boar Syrah. 

Also check out the Niepoort Tawny Dee.  A tawny port for about £14.  Great stuff.

Up to £17- Thelema Merlot, Pascual Toso Malbec Reserva, Chateau Thenac Bergerac Blanc, Ecole No. 41 Semillon, Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba, Badenhorst 'Wine', Lustau PX Sherry and the lovely Camins del Priorat.

South Africa- Old Soul, New World

Poised at the southern tip of the great African continent, South Africa is a land of breathtaking natural beauty and stunning possibilities for wine making.  It produces some of the best value wines on the market, and in some cases, it offers glimpses of what fine wine is like for a relatively light price tag.  In the (in my opinion) antiquated vocabulary of the wine world, South Africa is 'New World', meaning essentially anything outside a poorly defined area of the Eurasian supercontinent, but in it's heart, it is an old soul to be sure.

I qualify this of course, by mentioning the fact that South Africa is particularly prolific in the realms of producing big, jammy Shiraz, much-maligned Pinotage and plenty of other distinctively 'New World' wines.  But I believe that there is so much more to this dynamic region, capable of displaying excellent, classic examples of any given grape's potential.

I'll give a few examples of wines I believe show the old world soul of South Africa as a wine-producing country.  Thelema Mountain Vineyards, for instance, produces a line of marvelous wines in the most traditional of veins.  Thelema's Cabernet Sauvignon, though only 6 years old, is already showcasing what an elegantly aged Cabernet should be.  It is full of dark cherries, a hint of the fruit once prevalent, but the nose is now dominated by saddle leather and farm soil, with notes of mint and a minerality; characteristic of old-school Cabernet from Bordeaux or Bergerac.  The Merlot is like a wonderfully aged Pomerol, with big dark chocolate, velvety, grippy tannins and the gaminess lacking in Merlot from many other new world countries.

Very few producers are as committed to traditional style wines as Anthony Hamilton Russell.  In blind tastings, many thought his Chardonnay was an Olivier Leflaive white Burgundy.  His Pinot Noir is fragrantly floral as a red Burgundy should be.

But the best example, for me, is the affinity South African producers show for the varieties of the Rhône Valley.  In some ways, the shortcomings of many producers in the southern Rhône, in particular Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is highlighted by the successes of beautifully structured, well-balanced blends based on the Southern Rhône's holy trinity of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre.  Maintaining the Châteauneuf tradition of adding anything to the blend which might help, Malagas producer Sijnn (pron. 'sane') has crafted a red which shows a very modern vision for a very Old World wine.  Blending Shiraz and Mourvèdre, with the surprising appearance of Portuguese grapes in the form of Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira and a seasoning dash of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The end result; a beautiful classic which, in my opinion shows us what Châteauneuf should be!

Beyond that, producers of fine wines in South Africa are confident in their abilities and they clearly show a great level of innovation as they pursue the best expressions of their wines, whether its a Rhône blend, a Cabernet or even the inspiring Vin de Constance.  They are classics, and while the term New World applies for reasons of convenience and pure tradition, in practicality, the best of South Africa is old at heart.

"But George," you might say, "hasn't California also been trying to make old-world style wines for ages as well, but still they're New World?"  Well the answer is most certainly yes.  Perhaps what I'm going for is that a notion of Old and New Worlds from the age of Ferdinand and Isabella may be out of date.  Even France produces wine which a blind taster would think to be New World, and in a way, it is.  It is a style more than anything else.  South Africa as a wine-producing country deserves a bit more credit for it's classic styles of wine, and I hope you will agree with me, that if South African Wine were a person, it would certainly be an old soul.

Much Love,
G