It’s extraordinary how many good wines there are about, many at reasonable prices (considering the basic costs of producing fine wine). If you’re looking for authenticity, ample complexity and thoughtful handling of quality grapes, the challenge is not to source the wine but to sift through the options. Simply reviewing my notes from several tastings — all open to the public — has produced a list so long that it’s impossible to do justice to all the candidates.
There are important reasons why we have gone in less than 10 years from a nation whose winemakers abused fruit in a (vain) effort to make a vinous statement, to the source of the best-value wines on the planet.
We have a new generation of technically competent winemakers in our cellars. Many are properly trained in matters of viticulture or have access to specialised viticultural expertise. Unlike the previous generation, most have learnt to taste properly, so they are conscious of the errors and faults that compromised Cape wines well into the 21st century. Almost all of them sample widely and travel extensively. If our politicians were as open-minded as our winemakers, SA would be in the same refreshingly creative and forward-thinking state as the wine industry.
If our politicians were as open-minded as our winemakers, SA would be in the same refreshingly creative and forward thinking state as the wine industry
For years Cape rosés were made as a commercial compromise — to meet demand or to dispose of surplus juice. With the arrival of the French-owned Pink Valley brand we now have a real rosé that competes comfortably with classic Provence wines.
It’s easy to find decent chardonnays: Vriesenhof 2016, Glenelly Reserve 2018, Hamilton Russell 2018, Rustenberg Stellenbosch Ataraxia 2017, Oak Valley Groenlandberg 2018, Glen Carlou 2019, Chamonix 2017, Lismore Reserve 2018, Neil Ellis Whitehall 2018 and several from Richard Kershaw. While many of these wines sell for more than R150, they are world class and worth at least (in world terms) what you will pay for them.
Regarding champagne-method sparkling wines there are several strong contenders. I was particularly impressed with the 2011 Jacques Bruére Rose from Bon Courage. Among white blends the choice is staggering. The Ashbourne Sandstone 2019 (semillon, sauvignon and chardonnay) is fabulous. So is the Constantia Glen Two 2018, a classic white Bordeaux marriage of semillon and sauvignon blanc.
Laibach has a very smart chardonnay (85%), chenin (15%) combination in its Ladybird range: inexpensive, beautifully textured and, for those for whom this matters, organically farmed. Cavalli’s Cremelo — a blend of chardonnay, chenin and verdelho — is edgy, fresh and food friendly. Old Road Wine Company’s French Corner 2018 is a refined, savoury blend of verdelho, viognier and grenache blanc. Shannon — best known for its Mount Bullet merlot — bottles a classically styled semillon-sauvignon blend known as Capall Ban (Gaelic for White Horse).
Moving on to varietal reds, it’s hard to beat three high-priced pinotages: the Ashbourne (R750), Flagstone Reserve (R950) and the Kanonkop Black Label (R1,800). For much less money there’s pleasure to be found in the Lyngrove 2017, the Cape Chamonix Greywacke 2015 and the Spier 21 Gables.
There’s an equally impressive choice with shiraz, some admittedly in the R500+ price range: the Lismore Reserve 2018, a couple from Richard Kershaw and the 2016 and 2017 Porseleinberg, to mention a few. However, for those who haven’t been recent beneficiaries of government contracts, and must husband their resources more carefully, the Glen Carlou 2017, the Leeuwenkuil Heritage and the Boekenhoutskloof 2017 are worth seeking out.
Cabernet and cabernet blends have always been a strong category in the world of Cape wine. Our cabernet plantings date back more than a century, whereas most of the other Bordeaux varieties have only really been with us in commercial quantities since about 1980. The Constantia Glen 5 and the less expensive Constantia Glen 3 are both very good. So is the Buitenverwachting Meifort 2017 (a bargain at about R120 per bottle) and the Tokara Director’s Reserve 2016.
No-one can say we’re not spoilt for choice.
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