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Cederberg
Ever since we first started shipping from the Cape we have prized our friendship with David Niewoudt, one of the kindest, big-hearted, amusing and passionate winemakers we know. In April 2009 I again enjoyed his tour of this remarkable estate, which David took over in 1997, wondering at the hillside vineyards planted into hard shale, the outlying field fenced against baboons (a couple lurked on top of the remarkable rock pillars of the area), and the surrounding amphitheatre of mountains.
The vineyards here are 1100-1150 metres up in the Cederberg mountains. Good natural rainfall, around 550-600mm, cool temperatures and occasionally snow-bound winters, with plenty of wind, mean that Cederberg enjoys a near perfect climate, in particular a long ripening period. The whites are mountain-fresh, with plentiful natural acidity: our favourite is the Chenin Blanc, which took one of the 40 Grand d’Or awards at the Michelangelo Wine Awards in the Cape late in 2008; but we also return to the medium-dry Bukettraube this year. The reds enjoy generous oak, and the Shiraz is undoubtedly the pick: the 2006 vintage, including 5% Mourvèdre and 3% Cinsaut, won the International Rhône Trophy over £10 at the Decanter World
Wine Awards in the autumn.
As if David didn’t have enough to do at Cederberg, has bought land in Elim on slate and granitic soils. He has branded his wines from there Ghost Corner, the name sailors used to give to nearby Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point of Africa. The oaked Semillon was picked for the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild Auction and also won the prize for Best Semillon at last year’s South African Terroir Wine Awards.
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