As many of us stare down the barrel of wine regions that we don't have any personal relationship with and that we don't generally enjoy drinking wines from, studying begins to look more like masochistic punishment and less a way to increase our enjoyment and appreciation of wine. What we tend to do when confronted with these regions is to throw our hands up in the air and look at them sort of like dental work: a necessary evil.
In preparation for exams, I knew I’d have to study this sort of thing, and so I started looking for opportunities to make studying these countries more enjoyable, or at the very least to find sources of exterior motivation. I had a hunch that if I dug deep enough what I might find would surprise me. I wasn't wrong.
This past June, Wines of South Africa (WOSA) put on a national competition in New York, open to all Americans. A friend and mentor of mine, Master Sommelier Christopher Bates, had won two years prior and had nothing but positive things to say about it. I figured at the very least that this would be a good excuse to study something that at the time felt really onerous.
And so I sharpened my flashcards and readied for battle. I learned every ward, district, region, GU, and how they nested inside of each other. I learned about Nederburg Golden Edelkeur, the Pontac grape, districts surrounding the Hottentots-Holland mountains, labeling laws for South African brandies, and what crossing made Abraham Perold (in)famous.
I memorized the facts. But there was no sense of place, no living and breathing people, no faces of South African wine for me. Still, I did well enough in the competition, and WOSA sent me to South Africa to breathe some life into what were rote words on a page. Following is my story, and hopefully it can breathe a little life into South Africa for you, too.
Seventeen hours after takeoff in New York, my plane hummed over the vast expanse of dry scrubland that characterizes most of South Africa’s interior. I arrived in Johannesburg on a direct flight, then flew another 90 minutes to Cape Town, the closest major city to the winelands. In their spring, the temperature in Johannesburg was in the mid-70s. Stepping off the plane in gray, overcast Cape Town, a chill wind had me reaching for the leather jacket in my bag.
A taxi driver of East Indian descent picked me up for the 15-minute drive to Stellenbosch. A rugby announcer’s voice peaked excitedly in Afrikaans over the radio. We drove past a few townships, homes to Xhosa and Zulu natives. We passed the Van Ryn distillery, a famous producer of South African brandy, and the Spier winery with its large collection of lions (not to worry, there were none in the wild around Stellenbosch). We rolled into the old town, full of colonial Dutch architecture, and up to my hotel.
That small first step would serve as a microcosm of my trip as a whole: the intense combination of longstanding traditions and poly-cultural history occurs everywhere in South Africa, and the story of South African wine is no exception to this rule.
Over the course of our eight-day trip, we visited Stellenbosch, Paarl, the Swartland, the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Robertson, and Constantia. Looking at a map from afar may protract the distance, but none of these areas is really more than three or four hours away from another. Most of the Cape Winelands are within an area roughly the size of New York State.
The ward of Constantia began as the estate of Simon van der Stel, the Cape Colony’s first governor. Over the course of the last 400 years, the estate has been divided into smaller parcels of land, all of which are now under private ownership. (Check out its entry in the new 7th ed. World Atlas of Wine). Today there are about 10 producers in the ward. As we entered a small clearing on the picturesque grounds of the historic Groot Constantia estate, a light, cool breeze blew in from False Bay, visible a few miles to the south. To the west, a large escarpment of Table Mountain sandstone, the Constantiaberg, provided a leeward shelter from the rough Atlantic winds blowing in from the south.
We tasted a lot of Sauvignon Blanc, and this was a successful style across the board. The basic examples were all fresh, lower in alcohol, and mostly without the bad-thiol asparagus notes that are so common in affordable bottlings. Anyone looking for the next country to compete with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc should look no further; most of the examples we tasted were $7-$12 range wholesale. Some of the "fancy" (i.e., $20-$25) versions that saw extended lees contact and moderate amounts of new wood allowed me to continue my clandestine love affair with oaked Sauvignon Blanc. Buitenverwachting's "Maximus" did a pretty good Dagueneau impression for the money. A racy, perfumed Viognier from Eagle's Nest was a sign of good things to come as well. If a sommelier gives New World Viognier a second look, there's got to be something good going on! The Vin de Constance and Grand Constance from Klein and Groot Constantia, respectively, lived up to their reputation as two of the great dessert wines of the world. Not to be missed.
Muscat vines at Groot Constantia; Constantia wines
Stellenbosch lies about 30 minutes east of Constantia by car. In the northern side of the district, the Simonsberg separates Stellenbosch from Paarl (hence the Simonsberg-Stellenbosch and Simonsberg-Paarl wards). Most of the wards are in the rolling hills in the western portion of the appellation, which divide various valleys.
The Helderberg rises just southeast of the town of Stellenbosch, creating a ward-less (un-warded?) eastern valley between the Hottentots-Hollands in the far eastern part of the appellation. Some producers on the eastern side of the Helderberg are advocating for their own ward, if not their own district. Waterkloof and Vergelegen are two of the most prominent producers in this region; based solely on geography, they make a reasonable claim.
However, I saw very few producers utilizing the wards for labels in Stellenbosch, even if they could. Most I questioned indicated that focusing on "brand Stellenbosch" was smarter than trying to create "brand Papegaaiberg " or "brand Jonkershoek Valley."
We tasted a lot of Stellenbosch wines during the trip, and many were inevitably of variable quality, given the sheer quantities of wine produced in the region. Yet one of the most compelling producer visits of the trip occurred here: Reyneke Wines. A surfer's wetsuit hanging in the bathroom of Johann Reyneke's farmhouse set the tone for our visit. Johann obviously works hard and plays hard. He is currently transitioning his entire 40-acre estate in the rolling Polkadraai Hills to biodynamic practices. He's been producing wine on his farm for almost 20 years, and has slowly acquired more and more vineyard space around him, much of which was historically farmed conventionally. To quote Chistophe Ehrhart of Domaine Josmeyer in Alsace, “Taking a conventional vineyard into biodynamics is kind of like locking a heroin addict in a room and feeding him only carrot juice." It's financially risky. Farmers often lose much of their crop for the first few years since the plants don't have the natural resistance to disease that comes from organics.
Much of what Johann had to say echoed Christophe’s sentiment. Johann also discussed the importance of raising the organic content of his soils via organic compost. Healthy vineyards generally have around 5% organic material. Many of his vineyards had less than 1% organic material upon purchase, due to the heavy reliance on chemical herbicides and pesticides in conventional farming—which in turn necessitates systemic fertilization. A cycle of chemical dependency was established in these vineyards. When fully converted, his biodynamic vineyard will be relatively self-sustaining, with only inputs of manure and biodynamic preparations.
Johann, along with many other producers in the Western Cape, does not irrigate, taking advantage of 600-800 mm (23-31 inches) of annual rain. With the exception of deep interior regions like the Breede River Valley, dry-farming is common throughout South Africa.
Johann’s understanding of the process of conversion as well as the actual farming is deep. He husbands a herd of cows on his property to produce biodynamic preparation 500 and natural fertilizer. Many of his cover crops are also used in preparations, and are specifically chosen from an array of indigenous species to raise nitrogen levels in the soil. In addition, he's very involved in his farm laborers’ lives, helping their families achieve better education, healthcare, and housing. More than any producer I've ever met, he fully realizes the vision of farm-as-organism that Steiner envisioned. The wines are also pretty fantastic, especially the reserve-level bottlings, including a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet/Syrah blend. At Reyneke, farming-focused wine is alive and well.
Johann showing off old-vine Chenin; the making of bio-d preparation 500!
Just over an hour north from Stellenbosch lies the large district of Swartland. Named for the ubiquitous swart ("black") Renosterbos ground cover, this is one of South Africa's breadbasket areas. We passed vast expanses of wheat, and vast head-trained, gobelet-style vineyards. Many of the farmers can't afford posts and wires, so head-training is a financial necessity. In addition to this, head-trained vines tend to require less labor and are less water-sensitive.
At a 50-year-old Grenache vineyard owned by Adi Badenhorst (of A.A. Badenhorst) we met Rosa Kruger, widely recognized as South Africa's leading expert on old vineyards. A statuesque silver fox of a woman in her early 50s, she resembles a viticultural version of Emmylou Harris. A vineyard manager, she functions as a preservationist for vineyards by connecting the amazing sites she's found to winemakers who will realize their true potential. This preserves the site by making these old, low-yielding vineyards financially viable. Many of Eben Sadie's (Sadie Family) wines are made from vineyards either managed or originally discovered by Kruger.
Standing next to a slope of these gnarled bush vines, Rosa described the surrounding landscape, highlighting the various "Bergs" of the Swartland (as, unsurprisingly, most of the best vineyards are planted at elevation). The soils of these vineyards are derived from sandstone with highly decomposed quartz-granite sand. South Africa is exceptional as a New World wine region, with some of the oldest soils on the surface of the earth.
Kruger asserted that the most promising red varieties for the region were Portuguese grapes, Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre; but ultimately she believes that whites may provide the most exciting opportunity for the region and for South Africa. She doesn't deny Chenin's place as the chief white variety in the country, but she's increasingly interested in the potential of Semillon, Palomino, Roussanne, Marsanne, and a cornucopia of other grapes. South Africa is in an era of experimentation, and despite its long history of grape-growing it's a very new endeavor in a way—due to Apartheid, South Africa has really only been on the world’s stage for wine in the last two decades.
After the vineyard tour we arrived at Riebeek-Kasteel, located at the foot of (what else?) the Riebeeksberg. Here we tasted with a number of producers from the region, including the iconoclastic Eben Sadie. ("New York, man, every time I visit that town it tries to kill me. That city knows how to party!") His “Palladius” white blend, made from nine different grape varieties, was one of the highlights of the trip—a high-wire act of richness and levity to which all the great white wines of the world aspire.
Most of the producers were working in a relatively small-production, hands-off sort of way. We tasted some very successful Chenin Blanc ("Cartology" from Chris Alheit in particular) and Rhône whites, as well as GSM blends and the Portuguese varieties for which Rosa displayed such excitement. But my defining experience in Swartland occurred that afternoon, across the street in the cellars of Mullineux. With the twinkle in his eye that usually indicates something special, Christopher Bates MS grabbed me after lunch: "Get your notebook and follow me."
In Mullineux’s barrel room, hundreds of empty bottles line the walls: Chave, Clape, Allemand, Beaucastel, Rayas, Grange des Pères, Roulot, Coche-Dury, Egon Müller, Weil, Alejandro Fernandez… a library of the definitive producers of Europe. These are clearly people who understand wine in a global context. We're greeted by Andrea Mullineux, a young pony-tailed brunette, garbed in denim and work boots, clearly ready to get dirty at a moment's notice. Andrea is American, but she married a South African man, and still splits her time between a few projects in California as well as Swartland. Wasting no time, she immediately grabbed a thief and began pouring barrel samples. The three single-soil Syrah wines (“Granite,” “Schist,” and the soon-to-be-released “Iron”) are intense and perfumed, without being overburdened by their size or oak; each shows differences in structure that presumably issue from their distinct soil profiles (élevage is nearly identical). Two labels are made in-house: the Mullineux Family label and the Three Foxes, a side project for Chris (Andrea's husband) and two childhood friends. Recent wines include a sans-sulfur Chenin that puts many Loire examples to shame, a funky and herbal Tinta Barroca, sous-voile Roussanne (hipsters, eat your hearts out), and a kaleidoscopically flavored, staggeringly intense Eszencia-style Chenin with over 800 grams of residual sugar that they're still trying to figure out.
At Lammershoek Winery we tasted carbonic Pinotage, old-vine Hárslevelű, and wine made with barrels submerged underwater (no evaporation from air = no topping). Swartland is rife with experimentation! They've formed a growers collective organization called "Swartland Independent"; qualifying wineries can attach a proprietary neck label to wines if certain stringent, vineyard-focused, low-intervention guidelines set forth in their bylaws are followed. (Swartland Independent Producers Guidelines)
Swartland might just be the most exciting region in South Africa today. There's so much history here; when combined with the fresh approach many of the winemakers are taking in the vineyard and the winery, the district is headed toward great things.
Rosa Kruger; Old-vine Grenache at A.A. Badenhorst; Mullineux's barrel room
When traveling southeast from Stellenbosch, one ascends a mountain pass over the Hottentots-Holland mountains that empties downward into the bowl of Elgin, the gateway to the Cape South Coast. Elgin, Walker Bay, and Cape Agulhas form a battleship row of quality production from the northwestern side of the Cape South Coast down to the southernmost tip of the continent. The KWV used to prohibit planting in the Cape South Coast, so it wasn’t until the monopoly ended at the beginning of the 1990s that the whole area saw any significant plantings. It's a nascent region, finding its potential.
Elgin is historically an apple-producing region, and there remains a lot of mixed agriculture here, similar to Eastern Washington. The south side of the valley is just a few miles from the ocean. Elgin can be quite rainy and cold, especially as you get closer to the coast. Iona Wines, in the southernmost part of the valley, feels this influence most keenly.
In terms of grape plantings and climate, there are many similarities to California's Mendocino area. Paul Cluver's Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, both dry and sweet, are incredibly strong examples of the varieties by any standard.
Given the current market demand for Pinot Noir, it’s certainly in play here. Ginny Povall, who, like Andrea Mullineux, is an American living in South Africa, makes a particularly compelling example under her Botanica label. Botanica Pinot Noir is fermented with Assmanshausen yeast, with an aggressive punch-down regime in half-ton shallow fermenters for more surface area. Élevage is completed in 60% new, lightly toasted oak barrels. This Pinot Noir is a charming, perfumed, red fruit-focused rendition of the variety that still has lots of freshness nearly four years after the vintage. At 14.2% alcohol, the 2010 has the appealing plumpness of New World Pinot Noir that drinkers have come to expect. Ginny is particularly inspired by the wines of Williams-Selyem. Tasting around, one suspects a few more years of experience with the variety in the vineyard and the winery will yield great results.
South of Elgin, the Walker Bay District is centered around the breathtaking coastal town of Hermanus. The Walker Bay happens to be one of the principal calving sites for right whales, and whale tourism drives a lot of the region's economy. In terms of sub-regionality here, the Bot River Valley and all of the Hemel-en-Aarde wards offer distinctive character.
The Bot (“butter”) River Valley is a warmer, more inland ward within Walker Bay. Two of the most successful wines here were the complex, partial-skin-contact “Hope Marguerite” Chenin Blanc from Beaumont as well as the Luddite Syrah. Both of these are human-scale, smaller production wineries managed by families.
Moving south, the road opens out to the coast, gentle cliffs rise slightly inland, and a small plateau stretches out toward the ocean. Just before Hermanus, a small nook cuts into the cliffs and a road leads up the ravine to the east. This is the beginning of the Hemel-en-Aarde valley, which runs roughly east-west up into the hills above Hermanus.
Much like Santa Barbara in California, an inversion effect takes place here where cold air is drawn in from the ocean as the hot air rises in the interior, which means the valley is colder than it might be. Add to this a prevalence of clay-limestone complexes in the soil and you have the perfect recipe for Burgundian varieties. The wards run west to east up the valley: Hemel-en-Aarde is furthest west, followed by Upper Hemel-en-Aarde in the middle, and finally Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge is in the eastern sector of the valley. Elevation increases as you move eastward as well.
Some of the Chardonnay examples I tasted here were absolutely game-changing. The first plantings in the Hemel-en-Aarde were as recent as the very early ‘80s (Hamilton-Russell), but winemakers gained experience quickly, as they could work vintages in the northern hemisphere after completing their own harvests months earlier. The use of Coche- or Kongsgaard-like reduction-focused techniques to prevent oxidation and add richness by masterful use of the gross lees was widespread. I was particularly impressed by Restless River's Corton-like performance. I think many sommeliers would be very hard-pressed to call some of these wines anything other than top-flight white Burgundy in a blind setting. The Pinot Noir wines were slightly less thrilling, but I think the addition of another 10-20 years of experience with the variety in the vineyard and the winery will create some world-class Pinot Noir as well.
Is this what it would have been like on the deep Sonoma coast or Santa Barbara in the late ‘80s, when many producers had demonstrated that the region was commercially viable but still strove to realize the full potential of the land?
Lastly, we tasted a number of wines from Elim, the only ward of the southernmost district of Cape Agulhas. This is serious cool-climate wine making, and an incredibly young wine-growing region. The first vines went in the ground in 1996! Promising examples of Semillion and Pinot Noir were on display, as well as the ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc, all in very competently made, light-weight styles. That said, it's really too early to know the true potential of this region, beyond success with aperitif-style whites.
Moving into the warmer interior, we visited several Robertson producers gathered at Springfield Estate. It's hot here—really hot—but the Breede ("broad") River provides ample irrigation water, similar to Eastern Washington's Columbia River, California's Sacramento River Delta, or Australia's Murray Darling. The temptation to push ripeness is obvious here, and yields can be quite high.
As a large-production region, the problem of leaf-roll virus is widespread here. It's impossible to detect in budwood (at least without cost-prohibitive testing), and the vector for further vineyard infection, a type of aphid called the mealy bug, is difficult to manage. Leaf-roll is also much harder to detect in white varieties, as it manifests less intensely from a visual standpoint. The disease reduces yields and can create variable ripeness by disrupting foliation. If you're looking for some more in-depth reading on the topic, Tong magazine's South Africa issue featured a case study at Vergelegen on attempting to remove the disease. At Springfield, due to leaf-roll they are completely replanting most of their vineyards every 25 years. With the cost of the disease, new research is progressing, and the propagation of virus-free nursery stock is a focus of the industry.
At Springfield, a few of the producers on display were picking slightly earlier and making wines that resemble those of low-intervention producers in the Sierra Foothills (e.g., Donkey and Goat, La Clarine Farms, Clos Saron): sun-kissed and broad, yet varietally correct and generally not overburdened by alcohol or aggressive oak. Springfield makes several wild-ferment wines under their "Method Ancienne" line which were pretty exciting. For a producer like Springfield, this is simultaneously an ideological and a practical business concern: buying yeast at quantity can be quite expensive.
I imagine that in Robertson’s future, select, quality-focused producers will be making exciting vineyard-focused wines, but the bulk of wine from this region will remain internationally styled and aimed at the value-priced supermarket end of the spectrum. Curiously, there is also a lot of sparkling wine produced here, principally by Graham Beck; the wines are well-made, but quite broad and rich due to the hot climate. Cooler climate regions are likely a better source for good Method Cap Classique (often called “MCC” in the home country) in South Africa.
Paarl’s climate is quite similar to Stellenbosch, its neighbor to the south. The major geographical feature besides the Simonsberg is the Paarlberg, a massive lump of ancient granite mother rock, hinting at the geological history of the region. The valley floor is mostly flat.
In Paarl, we visited the historic Nederburg estate, one of South Africa's most storied properties—and one of its largest. They process an incredible 220,000 tons of grapes annually, and make a range of different products. The estate was founded in 1791, but really made a mark on the world wine scene through the work of Gunter Brozel, cellar master from 1956 to 1989. Brozel was a great iconoclast as well as an inventive winemaker, creating the first purposefully botrytized dessert wine in South Africa: the 1969 Chenin Blanc-based “Golden Edelkeur.” He started the Nederburg fine wine auction in 1975, creating an avenue for the sale of Nederburg “Golden Edelkeur” outside of the regular KWV-controlled market channels. He was one of the first producers in the modern era to say, "We make world-class wines in South Africa, and we'd like people to know it."
It's always a great reminder to see winemaking on this scale. The winery resembles a factory more than a traditional winery, yet the advantage of a place like Nederburg is in the capability to make affordable, technically correct wines. Despite our general preference as sommeliers for small-batch, artisanal wines, we are slow to recognize that wineries like Nederburg produce the lion’s share of what consumers drink—and enjoy. Due to technology, our ability to make sound wines at massive scale is unprecedented in history. Wineries like Nederburg often provide a consumer’s first taste of wine, and are key to starting people's journeys into our world. We are just as obligated as sommeliers to understand the big business of wine as we are the smaller-scale, hand-crafted producers.
The trip provided an interesting window into the history and the future of Pinotage, the crossing of Cinsaut and Pinot Noir created by Abraham Perold. According to South Africa's Pinotage Wine Guide, in 1925 Perold fertilized the flower of a Cinsault vine with pollen from a Pinot Noir vine. Perold, who held a PhD in Chemistry from a German university, planted a few vines in his backyard. Pinotage’s story was almost cut short, as the vines were nearly destroyed during a garden renovation in 1927.
In the late 1930s C.J. Theron planted a block of Pinotage at the Stellenbosch University's experimental vineyard site, Welgevallen, and there was a sufficient quantity of grapes to make wine. It was first vinified into a varietal wine in 1941, the year Perold died. The doctor never tasted wine made from his crossing. Rugby teammates of the winemaker, C.T. de Waal, tasted this first vintage and were so impressed by it that they decided to plant the variety at their Stellenbosch farms. These vineyards came online with viable quantities for sale in the late ‘50s, and the first commercially released bottle of Pinotage was the '59 Lanzerac. The fruit came from Bellevue and Kanonkop.
I was lucky enough to taste a ‘79 Zonnebloem out of magnum as well as an ‘84 Neethlingshof, both labeled at 12.5% alcohol. They were definitely still alive, and funky in a meaty, gamey, Rhône-like way. Sommeliers from the ten countries on the trip agreed that they were not bad wines, if not the most exciting things they had ever tasted from that age range.
At the Pinotage association tasting an oft-heard assertion—"everyone in South Africa has to acidify"—set off some alarm bells for me. Over the course of trip, the poor reputation of Pinotage among sommeliers was generally confirmed. Many of the producers, based on what was in the glass, believe Pinotage could be South Africa's answer to Argentina's Malbec or Australia's Shiraz in the international wine wars for the black-and-oaky wine drinker, but ultimately, I don't think the grape wants to be harvested that ripe, and this push for phenolic ripeness is likely where all of the iodine, asphalt, and tire-rubber notes come from. However, the producers themselves espoused the belief that Pinotage must be harvested fairly ripe to avoid “green” flavors in the wines, so they find themselves in a bit of a catch-22.
The benchmark Pinotage producers are attached to a black-and-oaky flavor profile, and have, in some cases, been rewarded with high point-scores. They might find it difficult to alter their current styles without a similar shift in the tastes of their consumer base. However, if they continue to have a market for these wines, who are we to tell them otherwise?
There are some producers who see a new way forward: Lammershoek in the Swartland produces a version via carbonic maceration (à la Jules Chauvet), and Waterkloof in Stellenbosch fashions a fresher, juicy version for their False Bay label. I'm sure there are other wines like this that I didn’t taste. Curiously, every producer I talked to confirmed the fact that Pinotage ferments extraordinarily quickly, sometimes in as few as two days, but none could say why: "That's just Pinotage." Most of the sommeliers on the trip agreed that there was no instance they could imagine in the dining room in which Pinotage would create a better pairing than a great South African Syrah.
At this point, you’re hopefully asking, “Where do I find these wines?” I’ve compiled a list of imported, (relatively) available producers that you can hopefully get into a glass of sometime soon! I would recommend any and all of these producers to anyone looking to expand the S.A. presence on their wine list or retail shelf.
Eben Sadie (Sadie Family Wines), Swartland: Eben Sadie has been working in the South African wine industry since the late ‘90s, and he has trained widely in the Northern Hemisphere. He cut his teeth making Spice Route wines, and his first vintages under his own Sadie Family label were in the early 2000s. He’s one of Swartland’s key figures: his intense, outgoing, borderline-lunatic personality may have something to do with this, but the proof is in the bottle as well. His two flagship bottlings are “Columella,” a Syrah-dominated Rhône blend and “Palladius.” Also included in the lineup are curiously named, old-vine, single vineyard wines: “Pofadder” (Cinsaut), “Treinspoor” (Tinta Barroca), “Mev. Kirsten” (Chenin), “Skurfberg” (Chenin), and “T’Voetpad” (105-year-old vineyard planted to Semillon, Palomino, Muscat d’Alexandria, and Chenin). His vineyard-focused winemaking yields wines of stunning concentration and finesse, unburdened by oak or aggressive alcohol. These are some of SA’s finest wines and they are priced accordingly. You’ll find them on wine lists between $90 and $150 usually, but production is extremely small. (Broadbent Selections)
Buitenwerwachting, Constantia: If for nothing other than their varietal, cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc and historic location, this estate is a bellwether for the quality of cool-climate South African winemaking. They produce a whole range of varietal wines, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better bottle of New World Sauvignon Blanc (hell, Sauvignon Blanc in general) for the seven-ish dollars this frontlines for in the states. The higher-end “Maximus” and “Husseys Vlei” Sauvignon Blanc bottlings show more concentration with equal finesse, and deft application of new oak. Also in the stable are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Chardonnay. These are sound, competently made wines, available in most U.S. markets at killer prices. They are now marketed under the “Bayten” brand as the estate’s name (meaning “beyond all expectations”) proved too cumbersome for Americans. (Cape Classics)
A.A. Badenhorst, Swartland: Along with Eben Sadie, Adi Badenhorst is a must-know winemaker in the Swartland. His A.A. Badenhorst Family wines are definitely vineyard-focused, and he owns multiple plots of 50-plus-year-old Grenache and Cinsaut vines. The wines almost always come in under 13.5% alcohol with very little (if any) new oak. The two flagship bottlings are red and white blends. The “Family Reserve” red, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and a little Tinta Barroca would give any Rhône purist shivers of pleasure. The white wine is based on Chenin, blended with eight other varieties. It’s definitely on the heftier side, but there’s a great backbone of natural acidity and savory flavors to back up the size. A.A. Badenhorst also makes the larger-production, ultra-affordable “Secateurs” range, which doesn’t thrill nearly as much, but they’re very easy on the wallet and the palate. These wines are available in many markets and the “high-end” bottlings barely break the $20 wholesale mark. (Broadbent Selections)
Mullineux Family Wines, Swartland: This young American-South African couple has only been producing wines since the 2007 vintage, but their star is ascendant, and the wines are new benchmarks for quality in S.A. The “Granite” and “Schist” single vineyard wines are phenomenally expensive due to domestic demand in S.A., but this is absolute gold-standard stuff. The blended vineyard estate Syrah and white blend are also quite good, and much more reasonably priced. Their sun-dried, “straw wine” Chenin provides more proof that the Old World doesn’t have a monopoly on quality dessert wine. The value-driven Kloof Street line is quite good as well. Again, in keeping with the Swartland ethos, the story here is told with indigenous yeast ferments, low levels of new oak, and a focus on vineyard-driven wines. Look out for the associated Three Foxes label as well. (Kysela)
Graham Beck, Robertson: Graham Beck was a self-made billionaire. Beck, an industrialist, made his money in mining and started a horse farm and vineyard in the warm, interior region of Robertson, while setting thousands of hectares of land aside for local wildlife. One of the biggest producers on this list, he’s here because the Cap Classique he makes is one of the most widely available, affordable, and consistently well-made wines out of SA. Will it blow your socks off? Probably not, but it certainly competes well with most Cava and Prosecco at the same price point. There are many dry, still table wines in his portfolio, some of which show considerable restraint for the hot climate. His wine business is proof positive of the social good that large-scale wineries can do for local economies and environment. (Maritime Wine)
Springfield, Robertson: Springfield is crafting some of the most singular hot-climate wines in South Africa. The family has owned land here since the 1680s, and their expertise as farmers shows. One of the rare large-scale producers to use natural yeasts, their “Méthod Ancienne” wines, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc are not to be missed. Bottle age is a big plus here, and there are clear parallels between these wines and old-school California producers such as Mayacamas, Dunn, and Stony Hill. The wines are competitively priced, with wholesale prices ranging from the mid-teens to the mid-20s.
Hamilton Russell, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley: Hamilton Russell is the pioneer of the Walker Bay Burgundy variety movement, with the winery’s first vintages appearing in the early ‘80s. Situated in the cool, western end of the valley, Hamilton Russell has been making fantastic varietal Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for years. The Pinot Noir is fruit-driven and kissed by the African sun, yet it retains freshness and the restraint of lower alcohol. The Chardonnay has similar proportions. In many ways the wines remind me of the best from Santa Barbara, and are very competitively priced. Also look out for the wines from their sister estate, Ashbourne. (Vineyard Brands)
Mulderbosch, Stellenbosch: Bought in 2010 by Charles Banks’ wine-focused VC firm, Terroir Capital, this property has gone from strength to strength. They make freshly styled, varietally correct examples of Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Chardonnay, and a Bordeaux-style blend. They’re all very affordable. Look for several concentrated, suave, single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc wines to hit the market in the next few years. They’re aiming to export a lot of wine into the U.S. market and have created a great range of “ambassador” wines, competitively priced and in line with domestic taste. (Terroir Capital)
Kanonkop, Stellenbosch: If you’re going to try classic Pinotage, this is the winery to try. They have some of the oldest plantings and the longest experience working with the variety. For my personal taste, I prefer the “Kadette” bottling—it’s cheaper, and has less intense levels of ripeness and oak. For high-octane, steakhouse crowd pleasers, the estate Pinotage and Cabernet are sure bets. (Cape Classics)
Ken Forrester, Stellenbosch: Over the last 20+ years of promoting Chenin in South Africa, Ken Forrester has emerged as one of the wine’s definitive producers. He makes wines across the price and style spectrum with fresher, easier drinking varietal wines coming from the “Ken Forrester” and “Petit” ranges. From his prestige “Icon” series, “The FMC” compares in quality and style to “Y” by d’Yquem. A product of his oldest Chenin vines, the wine is full-bodied, heavily oaked, and has about 10 grams of RS. Baroque but still well-balanced, the wine is of Wagnerian proportions. He also sees the potential for Rhône varieties, making a highly-acclaimed GSM blend from Piekenierskloof old vines, “The Gypsy.” (Cape Classics)
Sunset in the Hemel-en-Aarde
Outstanding, Nicely done Morgan!
Awesome stuff Morgan!