South African Wine

Springfield Estate Methode Ancienne Chardonnay 2005

February 24, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

I rarely drink South African wine, partially based on availability and partially because while there are some very good wines out there, my preferences tend towards the old world. Springfield Estate, however, is one of the more interesting estates in South Africa.

Seriously Old School

Located in Robertson, SA, Springfield is a family winery owned by the Bruwers, descendants of French Huguenots immigrants to South Africa in the 17th century. Coming from a Loire-based wine making family, the tradition of the vine stems all the way back to that original immigration.

This spirit of adventure and do-what-it-takes is reflected in the Bruwer’s non-comformist approach to wine. A pioneer of using wild yeasts in South Africa, Springfield Estate uses very low intervention to ensure that these yeasts survive through the entire fermentation process. This includes night harvesting (the 15 degree nights are a far more ideal time to harvest than the 30 degree days as the grapes’ metabolisms shut down at night), and all the wines are unfined, unfiltered and unstabilized.

This ‘Method Ancienne’ Chardonnay is made in the Burgundy style and uses new and old Allier barrels along with 12 months on the lees to produce its luxurious texture.

These guys also make a fascinating sounding “Whole Berry” Cabernet Sauvignon that generally sits at about 13.5% abv and is made in an old school style, with whole berry maceration and gravity fed winemaking.

The Wine

The wine pours a very dark golden – so dark I thought there may be premox here, but there wasn’t. Aromas and flavours of butter, honey and lemon that are deep, rich and full-bodied but very balanced. There is a nice honeyed length with some orchard fruit and lemon squeezing out over the finish. The key to this wine’s success is the superb oak treatment – a feat that is not so easy to accomplish.

I wouldn’t call this “Burgundian”, but I would call it extremely well made Chardonnay that is also distinctive, interesting and delicious. For these reasons, it’s definitely worth a try.

Very Good+
$58 at Liberty Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $40-$60, Chardonnay, South African Wine, Very Good

Sadie Family Wines Palladius 2006

March 14, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

“100 points … perfect wine!” That’s what I might say about Eben Sadie’s Palladius were I the caricature of wine criticism that is James Suckling. But Sadie is decidedly anything but patina – his wines are made with minimal interference, almost to the level of a ‘natual wine’ producer. I found this revelation somewhat shocking given what I tasted a couple weekends ago: Sadie’s wines are clean, modern and immediately delicious. What makes them truly excel is the level of complexity, balance and elegance they achieve given the winemaking techniques.

Terroir as Wine Making Philosophy

South Africa is a warm climate, which for Mr. Sadie means it is better suited to blending than to single varietal wines. He also believes that South Africa’s soils are mostly too geologically old to produce good wine, and so he sought out the vineyards with the youngest geology in order to make his wine.

Sadie is also an extreme minimalist. He focuses on doing as little to his grapes as possible. He farms biodynamically, harvests by hand, ferments in neutral old wood or cement, does not add enzymes or commercial yeasts and even presses his grapes with a hand operated basket press. This is remarkably similar to the natural wine philosophy I discussed in my previous post. The most Sadie does beyond this is to control the fermentation temperatures with electricity. This is understandable given the climate in which he works – as I contended at the Natural Wine tasting, only some climates are conducive to completely neutral treatment of a wine. That said, Eben Sadie is making wines of such a level of quality that most ‘natural wine’ makers can right now only dream of making.

Burgundian Sophistication and South African Terroir

Sadie’s Palladius is a masterpiece of white wine making. A blend of several grapes, the predominant mix is one of Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Grenache Blanc. That a marriage of loire and rhone white varieties could be so successful is more a testament to Sadie’s masterful touch than to South Africa in particular.

This is a wine that drinks with the level of elegance and sophistication of Grand Cru white Burgundy, but with a flavour profile that is decidedly singular. The oak qualities in this wine are perfectly integrated with the strange marriage of orchard and citrus fruits that seem to coincide with this unique blending of grapes. This is the sort of wine with a subtlety that makes you love it while drinking but not realize its greatness until you juxtapose it with something you previously thought was great. That such great wines can seem faulty in the presence of Sadie’s creation is a testament to how amazing the wine actually is.

So, while I am certainly no James Suckling, I can say that Eben Sadie’s Palladius is amongst the best white wines I have ever tasted. It is a lucky individual whose palate experiences its pure and almost perfect expression of a blend that could probably be made nowhere else.

Excellent+
$90 at Everything Wine (purchased for $45 on sale)

Filed Under: $60+, Chenin Blanc, Excellent, Grenache Blanc, South African Wine, Viognier

Thelema Sauvignon Blanc 2007

June 18, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

Sauvignon Blanc at reasonable price points tends to fit into a few well delineated pockets: the acid driven steely basic mineral concoction from France, the super rich, fruit and alcoholic versions from California and the Zesty citrus and grass firebrands from New Zealand. This particular Sauv Blanc, however, comes to us not from one of these three classic regions, but from the oft-neglected South Africa.

Thelema is a highly regarded producer down there, and luckily we get a few of their offerings on the other side of the world in BC. This Sauvignon Blanc really shone past its price point with quince, baking spices and pine on the nose. Defying typicity for an under $30 wine, the palate was massively flavourful and much more complex than expected: zesty lemon, quince, spice, and cloves. Full in the mouth, but fresh and zippy on the finish, this should be a destination summer white.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended
$25 at BCLDB or Marquis

Filed Under: $20-$30, Highly Recommended Values, Sauvignon Blanc, South African Wine, Very Good

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

October 13, 2008 By Shea 2 Comments

Another South African wine, again from Thelema – a renowned producer. This was a classic Cab, perhaps lacking in concentration, despite having reasonable potential. The flavour profile revealed cedar-forest, cassis and red fruits. This had excellent balance and was quite elegant and polished, but it lacked a wow factor. It was, perhaps, too thin for this price point.

Very Good+

$50 at Marquis

Filed Under: $40-$60, Cabernet Sauvignon, South African Wine, Very Good

Rustenberg John X Merriman 2005

August 31, 2008 By Shea 5 Comments

Another experiment in South African wines, this comes from a well respected producer of red blends. The nose on this Cabernet based blend was oaky and heavy in cassis (I find a lot of SA wines to be a bit too oaky or woody). However, while this was perhaps too oaky, the oak DID give structure and depth to the fruit that probably would not have been there otherwise. Simple, but concentrated flavour, this is pretty good for the price point and worth a try for those interested in exploring a more worldly milieu.

Very Good

$35 at BCLDB

Filed Under: $30-$40, Red Blends, South African Wine, Very Good

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2007

August 31, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

Now here is a brilliant South African Producer. This Sauv Blanc was fresh, very aromatic and filled with complex rocky and stony mineral flavours, powerful pomello rind, and a touch of grassyness. Bone dry and unoaked, what made this so special was the exceptional structure and very robust depth to the flavour profile. If you like Sauv Blanc at all this is a must try and definitely a best in class type of bottle. I can’t wait to try their Cabernet.

Excellent

$25 at Marquis (also available at other private stores)

Filed Under: $20-$30, Excellent, Sauvignon Blanc, South African Wine

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2003

July 13, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

A rare venture into South Africa for me, and starting with one of the most renowned names for some reason put on sale at 30% off in a strange but wonderful discount program at BCL which seems to randomly select wines for 30-50% discounts regardless of quality. I think it has something to do with lack of information in the market, with many consumers not knowing about some of the slightly more ‘obscure’ producers from regions like Portugal and South Africa who are yet producing fantastic wines. Good for me.

This had blackberry and cassis on the nose, with the palate adding boysenberry or similar bitter berry. This also had an interesting almost funky fruit twist on the palate that I found it hard to identify. The finish concluded with a touch of menthol that rounded the wine out pretty nicely. Good stuff, but honestly far too pricey for what you get.

Very Good+

$70 at BCLDB (bought on sale for $50)

Filed Under: $60+, South African Wine, Syrah, Very Good