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Are
South African Wines Ageworthy?
Vinous
explorations and investigations in a prestige cellar
By
Greg
Sherwood
It’s the perennial wine anorak question… are South African wines age
worthy? In fact it’s a question asked of most new world red and
white wines by
collectors. More and more as winemakers explore and master their local terroirs
in break speed time, wineries are producing better wines with riper fruit and a
more harmonious tannin / acid balance, while simultaneously discovering nuanced
hints of terroir minerality. But are these wines really worth collecting and
cellaring, with an expectation that aging will actually improve the contents?
With my personal cellar filled with over 1,000 bottles of premium South African
wine, there are inevitably numerous bottles that are in need of drinking, and
perhaps even a few past their best as all hoarders eventually discover. So with
a family reunion in the offing, I decided to put my anal collector tendencies
behind me (pardon the pun) and set about on a course of serious wine exploration
and investigation.
First
to the guillotine was a bottle of 1991 Kanonkop Pinotage. I should add at
this point that most of my bottles have been purchased on release and have been
cellared since ‘new’ at a constant temperature that is more than optimal for
the hot South African climate – 12 degrees Centigrade constant. So no problem
with provenance. However, there are a few auction bottles purchased in 1998 that
were perfect when purchased and offered me no reason for concern.
Sadly
the 1991 Pinotage was tired, fruitless and down right dirty. I decided to give
it the benefit of the doubt, as you do, and decanted it and moved on to another
bottle only to return later and confirm my first impressions. So down the sink
it went. By this time, my blood was up and I grabbed a bottle of 1992 Uitkyk
Carlonet Cabernet Sauvignon and proceeded to yank the cork out. Straight
into the glass and a quick slurp. Hmmmmmm… that’s more like it! While not
quite Utopia, there were elements of bliss in the bouquet and the palate was
charged with a juicy acidity, lush dense cassis notes and lovely old world
minerality reminiscent of an ’83 or ‘85 Saint Julian or Paulliac. Most
importantly, the tertiary development did not over power the wine’s fruit or
fragrance and the herbaceous cassis and black berry notes shone. Fine silky
tannins suggested a wine on its plateau and with a few more good drinking years
left ahead of it. An easy 89+/100 success! And hey, not much quality from
Bordeaux
‘92 to compare in any
case!
This
only served to make me over eager and before family or guests could say enough,
I had pulled the cork on a bottle of 1991 Zonnebloem Shiraz with a
Stellenbosch provenance. With no takers, I nosed a glassful and “vacuvined”
it. At breakfast the following morning, the talk was firmly focused on what we
were eating for lunch and dinner with view to extracting something appropriate
from the cellar. Lunch was a slight rehash of cold chicken, cold BBQ’ed meats
and salad. Lovely with the
Shiraz
that was surprisingly
cassis fruit laden and showing very little development for a 14 year old wine.
At this quality, you would need to spend a substantial amount on an Old World
Hermitage or Cote Rotie to match this freshness. A healthy 88/100 score. Yet
another successful bottle adding to my ever rising moral. But this was nothing
compared to what was to follow with the evenings roast beef!
With
family and friends now eagerly poised, I decided it was time for some heavy
artillery - A 1995 Buitenverwachting Christine Bordeaux blend and a Grangehurst
Cabernet Merlot 1996. The 1995 vintage in general was a stunner and helped
shape South
Africa
’s extraction from the
vinous isolation of the Apartheid 1990’s era. All in all a hot, ripe vintage
with excellent balance and great potential longevity for premium bottles. Some
wines required added acidity, but on the best examples, it was either not
applied or not required. Admittedly, the 1996 SA vintage was a bit of a 1997
Bordeaux
copy with cool
conditions prevailing at harvest and unexpected rain during picking. But for
those growers that held on, dry weather followed and helped produce a handful of
stunning wines, worthy of a greater vintage. I would wager a bet that very few
wine enthusiasts have many 1996 bottles still lurking in their cellars, most
styles being obviously early drinking.
The
Christine was explosive from the word go, with classic Old World Bordeaux notes
to match the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend. Lush, dense
and fruit forward with an exciting fine grip of tannin still youthfully showing
on the wine’s finish. But the minerality was the surprise. Absolutely
stunning, and integrated with French oak, sweet fruit and tertiary development
perfectly. A potential score here of 92 - 93+/100! The Grangehurst was also a
revelation. Incredible fragrance of violets, grape notes and perfume filled the
glass and followed to a fruit filled, textured palate that was elegantly poised.
One could have been fooled into thinking they were drinking a 3rd
growth AOC Margaux such was the finesse, floral lift and elegance. No hesitation
in offering a score of 91+/100. Coffee was inevitably delayed to allow a few of
us to linger over our last mouthful of Grangehurst. Thank goodness I have
another bottle in the cellar for a future date.
If
ever there were any initial doubts about the ageability of South African reds,
then these were being put to bed at steady pace, and no doubt before my two week
family break was over, there would be a few more “dead marines” (empty
bottles) to lay to rest.
But
before I finish this installment of my vinous cellar discoveries, what of the
whites you may ask? Admittedly, I have been cautious to add nothing but the best
wooded Chardonnays, Chenin Blancs and Rieslings to my cellar list, with an odd
few Blanc Fumé wines
making a brief appearance. But needless to say, I was on a roll and the next
day’s lunchtime of cold hams, cheeses and assorted pickles was cleverly
matched with a 1997 Bouchard Finlayson Kaaimansgat (Crocodiles Lair for
UK
consumers) Chardonnay.
Now most will know already that 1997 was almost the longest and coolest vintage
on record and produced excellent whites with freshness, plump ripe fruit purity
and natural acids capable of allowing the best examples to last a good 5 to 7
years plus. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the bottled and tasted
what could have been a well oaked, well integrated, ripe, taught 1995/6 AOC
Saint Romain or AOC Saint Aubin 1er Cru white
Burgundy
! But no… just a humble
new world white scoring 91/100.
Now
for those starting to umm and ahhh with skepticism about my revelations and
scores, sensing some kind of promotional publicity stunt for Wines of South
Africa, I should set your minds at ease and tell you I am almost as surprised as
some of you readers may be. Yes, I am a proponent of aging SA wines, but the
sheer class, balance and complexity encountered on some of the above examples
was exemplary and surprised me. Not faultless but quite simply very high class!
Watch out
California
and
Australia
, the best examples from
South Africa
are stunning and will
reward patience and a little trust…. with the help of a nice cool cellar of
course. So, if you weren’t in the mood for a nice South African bottle before
reading this piece, I’m sure you will be now. Happy drinking!!
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