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South Africa: Coming of Age, July 2011

A trip to South Africa in March was exciting and a little scary: exciting because the wines seem to be getting better and better (and more on the strengths below); and scary because South Africa, as any recent tourist knows, is becoming a more expensive place to do business. South Africa has often suffered from high domestic inflation. In the past this was off-set by a weakening rand, but not now: the strength of  commodity prices and other factors have propelled the rand upwards against sterling. This forced some  harsh choices. I wanted to ship wines from Elim, near Cape Agulhas, but just didn’t feel they represented great value. I gently had to point out to a good winemaker that he wanted more for his Sauvignon Blanc than we paid for Sancerre.

For years I have written about the South African wine industry having to reinvent itself after the apartheid years. I subtitled this list Coming of Age because I really do feel that all the changes we have seen since the 1990s are now paying off. It’s no one factor, but a combination of many: the huge investment in the cellars; the planting of the right varieties in the right soils and meso-climates; the increased experience - and greater understanding of international standards and practice - of the young generation of winemakers who have come to the fore; and, perhaps most important, the increasing age of the vines following the wholesale replanting of South African vineyards. (Even now, about 45% of the vineyards are under 10 years old). This is particularly important in the case of some varieties, notably Syrah, which rarely give of their best from young vines.

Among whites we celebrate Chenin Blanc, which really can claim to be a South African speciality: after all, there’s a lot more Chenin planted in the Cape than there is in its Loire homeland. We offer half a dozen pure or Chenin-dominated styles, from thrillingly crisp and mineral via fruity and weighty to a richly oaked example. And while there are a lot of poor Sauvignon Blancs in the Cape (it’s too hot in most of the winelands) the best successfully bestride the gap between Loire and New Zealand styles. Oaked Chardonnay is also a real strength as are the many South African white blends - usually combining Chenin, Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Viognier - which offer unusual alternatives, especially as lightly aromatic aperitifs.

We used to recommed Bordeaux blends as being perhaps the Cape’s strongest suit when it came to reds, and these remain excellent. However, we have wholly reviewed our opinion of Cape Syrah (or Shiraz, as it is often labelled there). We used to barely list a Syrah, but now we offer nine, from the honest example from False Bay to the heights of Adi Badenhorst’s Family Red. With Australian Shiraz becoming exorbitantly expensive, South Africa now offers a real alternative. Indeed South African Syrah is really taking on an identity of its own, offering robust cherry and blackcurrant fruit; and the addition of small quantities of other Rhône varieties - Carignan, Mourvèdre, Grenache or Cinsault - often delivers attractive seasoning.

As to where the action is now, there’s no doubt that it’s out in Swartland, the big zone north-west of Paarl which includes the districts of Voor-Paardeberg, Wellington and Malmesbury. Swartland is home to Adi Badenhorst and Vondeling, but in addition it’s surprising how many wines in this list from widely dispersed estates - the False Bay range made near Somerset West, or the Little J wines crafted at Joostenberg near Paarl, or the Solms wines of Franschhoek - are largely made from grapes grown in Swartland. Swartland is also the source for the wines of one of our newcomers, Pieter Walser of BLANKbottle, a man who brings new meaning to the phrase “hand-crafted wines”.

Finally, I really should mention that Stone, Vine & Sun was chosen last September as the International Wine Challenge 2010 Specialist Merchant for South Africa, testament to the work we have done over the years in picking the best from the Cape. We don’t have the largest range in the country, but this is a terrific selection. A list which pits Fryer’s Cove Sauvignon Blanc against the Cederberg Sauvignon; Cape Chamonix against Ataraxia Chardonnay; Adi Badenhorst’s Syrah against The Foundry’s, and Le Riche against Rustenberg, is a delight: on this basis South Africa can compete comfortably on the world stage.

We hope you will enjoy the wines too.

Simon Taylor
June 2011

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