south
african wine, part 2
Radford
Dale
Alex
Dale is a big bloke, much bigger than me. He’s also a Brit, and
one of the partners in Radford Dale (along with Aussie Ben Radford),
a new-ish venture aiming to make top quality wines from a variety of
vineyard sites in the Western Cape.
Alex has an interesting winey background. He did a
harvest in Burgundy when he was 15 years old, and lived and worked
for 12 years in the region. Prior to coming to the Cape he was
employed by Jacques Prieur in Meursault. After several visits, he
eventually moved to South Africa three months after Mandela became
president.
Radford Dale own some vineyards, but most of what they
do is work with growers, taking them out of the scenario of
supplying coops and helping them develop the potential of their
land. First vintage was 1998. Like Ken Forrester, who we met in the
last part of this series, Radford Dale believe strongly in Chenin
Blanc’s potential, and they are doing good things with it.
A word about names: the venture goes under a number of
monikers and brands, which can be a little confusing. It’s
‘Radford Dale’, ‘The Winery of Good Hope’, ‘The Winery’
and ‘Black Rock’.
Winery of Good Hope Chenin Blanc 2005 Stellenbosch
This is Radford Dale’s more affordable, everyday Chenin, which
is fermented in tank with some extended lees contact. Nice honeyed
nose with a trace of herby Chenin fruit. Lovely palate is quite rich
with some delicious cheesy, herbal fruit. Lots of personality to
this fruit-driven wine. Very good+ 87/100
Radford Dale Vinum Chenin 2004 Stellenbosch
With this, Alex is looking for a wine that will age longer, with
more minerality and flintiness and less fruit. A small proportion
goes into small French oak barrels. There’s lots of personality
here: it’s minerally, with notes of straw and herbs. The palate
has a lovely savoury, herbal character together with
nice minerality and weight. A lovely food wine. Very good+
89/100
Radford Dale Chardonnay 2003
Lovely weight and richness: an expressive, slightly nutty
Chardonnay with a toasty edge to it. The oak doesn’t overpower.
It’s rich, but not over the top; a nice wine, made with restraint.
After alcoholic fermentation this is kept at 4–7 ºC for five or
six months to delay malolactic and give the wine a chance to
interact with the lees and oak. Malolactic is inhibited with sulfur
dioxide after this. Very good+ 88/100
Black Rock 2004 Perderberg, Swartland
The first release of this wine, which comes from the up-coming
Perderberg region. It’s mainly Chenin (75%) with some Chardonnay
and a touch of Viognier. There’s a nice weight of cheesy,
straw-tinged herby fruit. It’s generously textured and has good
acidity. A really lovely wine that combines weight with freshness.
Very good/excellent 90/100
Radford Dale Shiraz 2003
Sweet dark fruits nose with a sweet vanilla and coconut edge,
together with some tarriness. The palate shows good concentration of
sweet, accessible red fruits. Perhaps just a touch confected but
very approachable. After a while there’s a bit of dark chocolatey
fruit. It’s tighter and more expressive. Very good/excellent
90/100
Radford Dale Gravity 2004
A blend of Cabernet (50%), Merlot (25%) and Shiraz (25%). Lovely
ripe dark fruits nose with a minerally, slightly leafy character and
a tarry edge. The palate is dominated by smooth sweet dark fruits.
Well defined with an earthy, spicy savouriness adding a lovely spicy
definition. Very good/excellent 92/100
Wines tasted 12/05
Find
these wines with wine-searcher.com
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