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Parlez-vous Vino?
Lianda Beyers-Cronje, world traveller,
passionate wine lover
and wine columnist on Nosy Rosy.
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Parlez-vous Vino?
The colour of winter is red
One
of my best winter things to do, is to spend endless hours in front
of a warm fire with a glass of red wine and good company . Forgive
me therefore, for spending some time in the months to come on our
exquisite red wines!
At
Old Mutual’s SA Trophy wine show recently, overseas wine
connoisseurs lavished praise on South Africa’s very own Pinotage.
This, at a time when we are all trying to keep things proudly
South African in view of the overseas visitors expected at our
shores during the Soccer World Cup in June. With
Pinotage so hot at the moment, I went on a quest to find producers
of this wine in the Walker Bay area.
I
f you are a lover of this truly South African wine, you will be able
to get hold of your favourite tipple at quite a few of the wine
farms near Hermanus, notably Southern Right, Whalehaven,
Sumaridge, Misty Mountain Wines, Wildekrans Estate,
Beaumont Wines, Springfontein Estate and Stanford
Hills.
I
did not have time to visit all these farms but tried my luck at
Whalehaven, Southern Right and Sumaridge.
Situated
behind the Hemel-en- Aarde Village at the entrance to the
entrancing Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Whalehaven is probably the most
assessable of the cellars if you are travelling from the Hermanus
direction. Unfortunately the cellar was closed during my
visit on Workers Day but the newly release Whalehaven Pinotage 2007,
described as ‘sweet candy with hints of mocha on the nose’,
sounds worth hunting for! Expect a medium bodied wine with
strong raspberry and cherry fruit flavours balanced by smooth fine
tannins.
Further
down the road and one of the first wine stops in the Hemel-en-Aarde
valley, the Southern Right Cellar can be found on top of a hill
overlooking an historic brick-making factory.
Charming
Chelina Gxagxa poured some of the Southern Right 2008 Pinotage for
us to taste while telling us about all the awards being bestowed on
the Southern Right Pinotage since its inception. While still
young, the 2008 has found a balance between ripe berry fruit, spicy
aromas and intense fruitiness.
Anthony
Hamilton Russell, the founder of Southern Right, believes that as an
early ripening grape, Pinotage is best suited to cooler areas. He
is also convinced that the stony, high clay content,
shale-derived soils on the sites he chose for the Pinotage vineyards
at Southern Right are best suited to creating the more classic style
he is aiming for. He has been proven right, judged on the
success achieved by this grape.
Southern
Right Pinotage was rated by the editor of Decanter Magazine as one
of the Top Ten Red wines in South Africa and was included on their
Calendar showing the 38 most interesting wines from around the world
in 2005. In addition, Southern Right Pinotage achieved the
highest Pinotage score to date in the Wine Spectator, won only one
of two Decanter gold medals for Pinotage and was named Best New
World Red in Decanter in 2009. The wine was also rated 4 and
a half stars in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 John Platter Wine Guide.
The 2009 Pinotage was only bottled last week and will be
available later this year.
I
only had time to visit one more Pinotage producing farm in the
Hemel-en-Aarde valley, namely the stately Sumaridge cellar. To
my disappointment, Bianca Brand, the passionate tasting room
assistant at Sumaridge told me that the popular Sumaridge Pinotage
is sold out and will in future only be produced in small
quantities to be consumed at the cellar or specific restaurants.
Instead, I tasted the Epitome 2007, described as a Cape blend
consisting of 60% Syrah, 30 % Pinotage and 10% Merlot. The
wine won a Diamond Winemaker’s Award in 2009 as well as a Silver
Veritas award.
According
to winemaker Gavin Patterson, the Epitome embodies Sumaridge as a
location – gracious, open and inviting. A bit young still,
but definitely an interesting and complex wine with promise.
An
inviting open fire and the interesting black board menu at in-house
restaurant Warwicks at Sumaridge, convinced us to enjoy a
light lunch before rushing back to Hermanus where I had work waiting
– Saturday afternoon nonetheless!
I
had the fascinating and delicious warm scallop nicoise salad while
my husband enjoyed the wild mushroom, smoked garlic and spinach
tagliatelle that is served with a small side salad. Beautifully
plated and brimming with complimentary flavours, the food at this
small restaurant is a joy to behold and an ode to the taste buds.
What
I can’t understand, is that this little jewel of a restaurant is not
overflowing with eager patrons at any given time! According
to Bianca, most of the visitors are from overseas , Gauteng and Cape
Town. It seems if our locals never venture out and never
explore their beautiful home ground. Please Hermanus, you
don’t know what you are missing!
I
have not tasted the other Pinotage on offer in the Walker Bay area
this time but here is a short summary of each of the wines. I
can however, personally vouch for the Beaumont as well as the Misty
Mountains Pinotage!
Beaumont Wines Pinotage 2007
– Intense Pinotage fruit and yummy red berry aromas with a
supremely elegant fruit driven palate backed by rich grainy tannins.
Wildekrans Estate Pinotage 2008
(Gold Veritas Award winner) – Silky texture which is
characterised by flavours of red berries and spice that linger on
the palate.
Wildekrans Estate Pinotage Barrel Selection 2007
– Rich, powerful and elegant wine, deep garnet in colour with
aromas of smoky black cherries and spice that are revealed with a
subtle complexity on the palate.
Springfontein Wine Estate Jonathan’s Ridge Pinotage
- One of the flagship wines of the estate.
Misty
Mountains Wines Pinotage
– Full-ripe plum to cherry flavours overlaid by vanilla are rounded
off by careful French oaking.
Other news on the wine front...
Finlayson forté
Bouchard
Finlayson was awarded the Trophy for the Wine of the Year for its
Galpin Peak Pinot Noir, scoring 97.5% in the newly launched web
based South African Superieur Wine Rating Index (SASWRI) - a world
first. The
South African Superieur Wine Rating Index aims to enable lovers of
the juice of the vine to make informed choices and so firmly
establish the image of the most superior South African wines among
the key contenders in the global market. Bouchard Finlayson’s
Galpin Peak Pinot Noir heads the 96+ Club list in the first SASWRI.
This well-known winery has two wines in the top 10 category with
its Hannibal blend of sangiovese, pinot noir, shiraz, mourvedre,
nebbiolo and barbera scoring an equally impressive 96.7%. Finally,
Bouchard Finlayson winemaker Peter Finlayson was named Viticulturist
of the Year to round off a hugely impressive debut on the SASWRI.
A love
affair
Hermanuspietersfontein’s
Kleinboet is flirting with Flick du Toit’s boerewors at the
Hermanuspietersfontein Food and Wine Market. Go and have a
peep...
Creation’s creative new wine pairing menu
It
will definitely be worth your while to visit stunning Creation Wines
in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley to taste their range of wines while
nibbling on chefs’ André and Anri Van Vuuren’s new extended wine
pairing menu. There is also something for the tiny tots to
nibble on! Don’t forget to keep 29 May open in your calendar
to attend the Harvest Festival at Creation!
Here is a
toast to approaching winter, warm fires, hot reds and long
evenings...!
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