Very few people I know feel like celebrating at the moment. Load-shedding hovers around stage 6 with winter still a month or two off; either through incompetence or something considerably more sinister the National Prosecuting Authority has failed to bring any of the known perpetrators of state capture close to retribution; tired of putting both his feet in his mouth our absent president has elected to plead the Fifth; our major metros are in the hands of brigands. Theft and corruption have become our national sport and constitute our best chance for gold at the Brics Olympics. Why would anyone even consider buying a bottle of fizz?
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the playwright who owned the Theatre Royal in London’s Drury Lane and stood watching as it burnt to the ground in 1809, reputedly remarked: “A man may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own fireside.” With very little to celebrate we may as well reach for the best.
Over the past few weeks I’ve tasted a couple of very good bottles of bubbly. The most impressive was the 2018 Plaisir de Merle (a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir) retailing at a little over R200 and scoring a creditable 92. It has fresh creamy mousse, baked apple aromas and whiffs of grilled hazelnuts and is already showing some development. In short, it is a big, quite rich and very friendly kind of fizz, perfect for the coming cool days of late autumn.
I also liked the Villiera Pearls of Nectar, which, as the name makes clear, is definitely on the sweeter side of the spectrum: tropical and showy, with honeysuckle notes layering candied grapefruit, its sweetness is held in check by purity and linearity.
Among the whites I sampled, the 2019 Nitida Golden Orb was the standout wine. Evolved but still fresh, with notes of quince and ginger on the palate, elusive and savoury. With its rounded nutty aromas it would pair well with antipasti, sashimi or poultry.
The 2021 Shannon Sanctuary Peak Sauvignon was equally striking: restrained wet stone whiffs, notes of cut hay, hints of iodine and blackcurrant bud, fabulous mid-palate textures, subtle but complete. I was also much taken with the 2022 La Motte Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc — the best of a vertical of vintages which included a 2016 and a 2018, both of which have aged beautifully: it’s pure, linear and fresh, with green apple notes and a lemony pithiness running the length of the palate.
Two other whites worth buying even as we move into winter are the De Wetshof Bon Vallon unwooded Chardonnay 2022 and the 2020 Muratie Laurens Campher white blend. The former combined real intensity and purity with exuberant lime-citrus aromas; the latter a concentrated compote of tangerine, apricot and quince delivering surprising complexity and uncompromising vinosity.
And so on to the reds, starting with a pretty, almost overly showy, 2022 Cinsaut from Nomoya showing lots of primary sweet fruit together with enough freshness to make it the ideal complement for game fish or poultry. It’s obviously lighter and less intense than its pinotage progeny. That said, the Rijk’s 2018 is not the kind of monster we have come to expect from the “show” wines which give the variety a bad name. It is still linear and pure, fresh and savoury, with ample primary fruit. It is that rare beast — a real pinotage which isn’t trying to be a “blockbuster”.
I was also impressed with Idiom’s 2016 “Iberico” blend (grenache, mourvedre, carignan and tempranillo) — now at the peak of maturity. Full, rich but not heavy, with lacy tannins and ample spice.
If, however, you are looking for more conventional opulence held in check through considered, nuanced winemaking, don’t disregard The Chocolate Block, the 2021 vintage of which scored an impressive 92 in one of my recent blind tastings. It delivers — in dollops — pretty much everything you would expect from a thoughtfully assembled red wine intended for immediate consumption.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.