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south
african wine, part 8
Charles
Back and Fairview
I reckon Charles Back (above) is one of the heroes of South
African wine. With his Fairview, Goats du Roam, Spice Route and
latterly Charles Back wines he’s managed to make popular, flavour-full
wines that have a strong brand identity, are made in reasonable
quantities, and which don’t sacrifice quality.
 Charles
was raised on the Fairview farm, which his family had bought in the
late 1930s. He was trained in oenology and vitictulture at Elsenburg
Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, and then he returned to Fairview
in 1978. It was in 1981 that he built the trademark goat’s tower (right)
that has become Fairview’s symbol, and which in time was to lead to
the wonderful Goats du Roam name.
One
of the keys to Fairview’s vision was to break free of the
predominant estate model for quality South African wines. By owning
vineyards in Stellenbosch, Darling and the Swartland Charles has
access to a wide range of climates and soils from which to forge his
wines. He’s also made a shift away from the typical South African
focus on Bordeaux red varieties towards those of the South of France,
which he thinks are better suited to the Cape’s various terroirs.
Fairview’s
Paarl property has a sizeable 125 hectares of vines. In the warmer,
drier Swartland area he has another 125 hectares (the farm is called
Klein Amoskuil), planted with varieties such as Shiraz, Mourvèdre,
Carignan, Grenache and Viogner. Much of this is used to make the Spice
Route wines, although some of their grapes find their way to Fairview.
The 'view'
in Fairview
Spice
Route is an interesting project. Initially conceived as a partnership
between Back, along with Gyles Webb (Thelema), John Platter (wine
writer) and Jabulani Ntshangase, it is now fully owned by Back. The
first winemaker, from 1998–2001 was Eben Sadie (who we’ll meet
later in this series). Current winemaker is Charl du Pessis.
Back
also has 40 hectares in the cool-climate Darling hills, focusing on
white varieties. Finally, there are another 50 hectares in the
low-lying foothills of the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch, mainly
planted to Bordeaux-style red varieties. In addition to these
vineyards, Back also buys some grapes in from here and there.
The
team at Fairview: Anthony Jaeger (winemaker) is left, with Charl du
Plessis (winemaker
at Spice Route third from left, talking to Charles.
I don’t know whether it was for the cameras, but
despite his evident success, Charles Back seemed quite negative about
the way wine was going, with the increased dominance of cheap, big,
mediocre brands in the marketplace.
He says that in the UK he’s decided to pull his
Fairview wines from the supermarkets, reposition them with Liberty and
aiming them at the on-trade. He’s taken Goats du Roam out of this
package and he’ll be handling these himself. The current biggest
customer is Majestic; he may target the chain restaurants.
Spice Route Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Darling
2nd year vines. Very full, grassy nose – full, vivid and with
green pepper notes, and a hint of tinned pea. Quite rich herb-tinged
fruit on the palate which is pure and full with a grassy edge. A nice
modern style. Very good 82/100
Fairview Viognier 2005 Paarl
Some tank-fermented, some in barrels. Lovely nose of ripe tropical
peachy fruit with a nice melony character, together with a hint of
vanilla. The palate is quite full with lovely plump fruit but it’s
not over the top. Peachy and full with some citrussy freshness on the
finish. Very good+ 89/100
Fairview Rosé 2005 Paarl
Half Syrah from saignee (vat bleeding), half Gamay that was
dedicated to rosé production and picked greener. Full with a touch of
freshness to the fruit. Nice weight. Dry with a bit of grip and quite
food friendly. Very good+ 86/100
Spice Route Mourvèdre 2004 Malmesbury
From unirrigated vines in Swartland. Spice Route’s 18 ha Mourvèdre
vineyard is the largest planting of this useful grape in South Africa.
Lovely vivid intense nose which is spicy, with dense jammy raspberry
and blackberry fruit. The palate is generous, open and fruity with an
interesting spicy character. Accessible stuff with lovely fruit. Very
good+ 86/100
Charles Back Cool Climate Shiraz 2004
From a new cool-climate site, this is seriously good. Lovely nose
of beautifully pure black fruits – sweet, pure and spicy. The palate
shows wonderfully defined black fruits with good structure and
acidity. Very good/excellent 92/100
Fairview Solitude Shiraz 2003 Paarl
Fine, expressive nose with warm, spicy, perfumed dark fruits.
Complex and savoury. The palate is ripe and generous with supple red
and black fruits, great concentration, and sweet fruit. Spicy, fine
tannic structure. A really impressive wine that bears its weight and
ripeness without every going over the top. Very good/excellent 93/100
Spice Route Petite Syrah 2005 (cask sample)
Vivid bright fruit. The liqueur-like palate has lovely purity of
dark fruits. Savoury, grainy, smooth tannins and a lovely smoky
finish. Lovely. 89–91/100
Spice Route Malabar 2002
This is the top wine, and the blend changes with each vintage.
This year it is Merlot, Syrah and Grenache. Sweet, pure, elegant ripe
fruits on the nose. The palate is concentrated and sper-smooth with
pure liqueur-like fruit. A big, accessible style with lots of weight:
not for wimps. Very good/excellent 91/100
Fairview La Beryl Rouge 2004
This is made from Syrah grapes which have been dried on racks for
a few weeks. The normal yield of wine from a ton of grapes is about
700 litres, but here it was 125 litres. Perfumed nose is quite
delicate with sweet fruit. The palate is sweet and full with lovely
spicy, chocolatey rich fruit, nice tannins and good acidity. Unusual
and delicious. Excellent 95/100
Wines tasted 12/05
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these wines with wine-searcher.com
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