The tsunami of ultra-premium wine releases has (hopefully) run its course. Seen as if from space, it’s no bigger than a ripple running the length and breadth of an ocean of vastly more affordable wine enjoyed by enthusiasts daily. Even if you’re a PPE kingpin there’s only so much “fine, rare and unobtainable” wine you can drink before your body shouts out for something which is simply savoury and delicious.
In this respect South Africans are spoilt for choice: from the online and specialist retailers we can source the Cape’s vinous collectibles — and enjoy a far greater chance of success than Americans trying to secure a bottle of Harlan or Screaming Eagle at the time of release. But we can also buy wines of such exceptional value that we undervalue them, victims of the price-as-quality-proxy logic that fools many people into assuming that if it’s expensive it must be good, and if it’s inexpensive it must be junk.
A search through my recent blind tasting scores on Wine Wizard, with R80 per bottle retail set as the maximum price, yielded a long list of wines scoring in the high 80s or better. There were two Bonnievale River Collection wines — 2022 Chardonnay at 90 points and the Cinsault Rosé at 89 — both selling for R66. The De Wet Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2021 scored 88 and sells for R56. The 2021 Douglas Green Vineyard Friends Grey Duiker (what a name!) Sauvignon Blanc retails for R65 and garnered 91. The Van Loveren Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2021 came in at 90 points and costs R80.
White wines dominate the list — for no good reason, it’s no more expensive to make easy-drinking reds: KWV Chenin Blanc scores 89 points and sells for R65; Allée Bleu Blue Owl Chardonnay costs R75 and scores 90 points. Raise the price threshold slightly and R100 buys you the Zevenwacht Estate Sauvignon 2021, which scored 93 points. The current vintage is one of two Zevenwacht sauvignons which made the FNB Sauvignon challenge shortlist. With the same budget you can also buy the 91 point Tokara Sauvignon — a premium brand at a seriously affordable price.
It was with the idea of wine value in mind that I dedicated a morning to a fairly complete line-up of Perdeberg wines. The winery has long enjoyed a reputation for its chenins — but then it has access to some extraordinary fruit sources; many of its growers are owners of certified old vine sites.
I wasn’t disappointed. Perdeberg only bottles about 20% of its production. By far the greatest volume made in its cellars is sold to some of SA’s most reputable brand-owners, who bottle the wine under their own labels. Several of these “producers” win awards with wines which come from Perdeberg.
Chenin blanc is clearly Perdeberg’s most important variety: there are at least 10 different styles, from fizz to dessert wines. The Cap Classique is obviously not a wannabe Champagne — it has greater richness, its opulence the result of fruit from an old vine certified vineyard planted in 1977. In the Loire they use either chardonnay or cabernet franc blanc de noir to zip up the acidity. This is different: pure, plush and delicious, and well worth seeking out.
So is the 2022 Vineyard Collection Chenin, which sells for a mere R85. One hundred percent dry-land farmed, all the fruit from older, well-established vineyards. And if you feel you need to upgrade your purchase, for R135 you can buy the wine made from a vineyard on Eenzaamheid planted in 1985, the wine matured in older French oak barrels for 10 months.
Chenin is not your only choice. There’s an accessible 2022 Grenache Blanc which is savoury, lemony and fresh, retailing at the cellar for R85. You can also safely shop for the Grenache Noir, pretty and perfumed and a bargain at R95. Finally there’s the Longevity Natural Sweet Chenin to wrap up your meal or to sip as an aperitif: rich but not cloying, and worth the risk of hyperglycaemic shock.
• WineX is Back at the Sandton Convention Centre from 26-28 October. Book at Webtickets.
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