Is the Trip Over?

Hey Everyone,

So I have been back for nearly two weeks and I find myself wondering what happens next for the WynExplorer.  Is this South African venture to be a one off?  Will I go back next year and consolidate whatever I have managed to achieve?  Shall I at least go and pop in again on the lovely folks at Reyneke (and bring them a better whisky!) to see what the wines are doing in the barrels?  Absolutely!  But that's not all...

My aim as WynExplorer was not merely to go and enjoy a romp through South Africa, enjoy the wine and food and return back to reality.  I went there for a reason.  A reason that must be replicated elsewhere around the world of wine if it is to have any significance.  I wanted to find the best and most interesting wines in the world and at minimum I have not yet failed, merely taught myself that the search will be unending; Blessed with two vintages each year (Northern and Southern Hemisphere) I will have to take my travels elsewhere and find more wines, more personalities to inspire and more excitement in the world of wine.

While I was in South Africa, I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people and passing days with wine makers who are tremendously devoted to their craft and possessing great vision for what they want to create.  They constantly challenge each other to create better and encourage the best in South African wine.  I know that, as awesome as this is, it cannot be a unique culture among winemakers.  I know that in any given wine region there must be communities of neighbouring winemakers who push each other and as a result their wines are better.

That is what I mean to find in the rest of the world and in South Africa I was fortunate enough to encounter it for the first time.  My challenge to myself now, is to go out into the rest of the world and find it wherever it exists.  Be that Napa Valley, the Rousillon or the Maule Valley, I can only say that I am excited for what exactly these explorations might yield.

I am looking to find wines that are of exceptional quality and come from the hands of a caring and dedicated winemaker, and I was lucky to find such wines in South Africa.  Raats, Reyneke and Sijnn all showed me the inxcredible things South Africa's vines can achieve, whether that is the execution of a classic style, the implementation of high farming standards and fine wine making or the experimentation with completely new soils and varieties to produce an instant classic.

Wherever I go next (and I'll be sure to tell you all first as soon as I know myself) I am sure I will find something incredible!

Much Love,
George

Heaven on Earth- Hemel-En-Aarde

Hey everyone,

It's a rainy day at Reyneke and I'm happy to be inside writing to you rather than out in this preview of a Cape winter. I'm still catching up on my doings so todays post is again about the past week.

Journeying eastwards along the coast from Somerset West you pass along what I consider to be the most beautiful coast line in the entire world. I am comfortable with that statement because South Africa is a land of superlatives. As a wine country, it has been argued that this is the most dramatic for its landscapes and the south coast is among the most stunning places here. Great mountains rise up swiftly from the sea where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean and creates the lugubrious climate that defines the Cape.

The mountains continue along the coast with dramatic cliffs and tidy fishing villages, including the town of Hermanus which sits at the foot of the Hemel-En-Aarde valley. Afrikaans for Heaven on Earth, this stunningly beautiful valley is a funnel for the cooling winds coming off False Bay and the Oceans to the south allowing for a dramatically cooler climate compared to the farm lands just north in Overberg. As a result, the climate and the wines are almost a polar opposite from those of the Swartland (which I will talk about in my next post!) where the land is burnt by the sun and the wines are much bigger and Rhône-like in comparison with the delicate Burgundian cultivars in this valley.

Plenty of famous names dot the road up the valley with big hitters such as Hamilton Russel and Bouchard-Finlayson being the most familiar to the international market, and both known primarily for their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay bottlings (varieties both know as difficult to grow in most of South Africa). They excel in producing pleasant, complex and alluring Pinots to the point were wine-geeks the world over regularly feature them in that most controversial of tastings- the France v New World Taste Off! In fact Hamilton Russel has been said to resemble Olivier Leflaive with their estate Chardonnay.

Moving up the valley to the Upper Hemel-En-Aarde (and continuing with the double-barreled names) is Newton-Johnston. St. Andrews is lucky to have been visited in the past by Bevan Newton-Johnston when he came to talk about his wines and I have to say that I went in pretty much convinced already, as well as happy to have a chance to chat with Bevan and meet his winemaking brother Gordon.

The winery itself is the brainchild of our old friend at Kleinood, Gerard de Villiers and you can see his trade marks everywhere in the nearly invisible, unintrusive but thoroughly efficient machinery that help this small winery run at full capacity to produce excellent wines.

Now I confess that I am no great lover of Pinot Noir (generally I don't understand why it gets all the press as the 'best grape') but I really enjoy it for its merits as an intricate, floral and bright fruity red and appreciate its response to the ageing process. Here, however I saw some really fascinating Pinot! And because of just how much we tasted, I will give a quick succession of tasting notes for brevity's sake and just give you the bare bones of what I liked the most...

Sauvignon Blanc- Made in a softened, round style of Sauvignon. Not quite as big and zesty as Life from Stone or most Kiwi Sauvignon, but in general pleasant for the price. 75/100

Resonance Semillon/Sauvignon- Nice texture with bits of pepper on the finish. I am finiding that I prefer my Sauvignon when it's treated like Bordeaux Sauvignon and thats whats happened here. Touches of orange blossom come through on the finish. 80/100

South End Chardonnay- Rich with ripe fruit, red apples and pears. Very linear with nice acidity but with a full and balanced character. Not a bad entry level Chardonnay! Punches above its weight. 83/100

Family Vineyards Chardonnay- Very elegant! More Meursault than Mâcon with a beautifully tight herbal character that fills in excellently in lieu of a fatty oak style. Bits of orange peel and a nice kick of toast on the finish. 88/100

Felicité Pinot Noir- Newton-Johnston's more entry level Pinot Noir. Just as pale as the rest of the Pinot range but lacking the complexity and vibrance. Touches of funkiness weave in and out of raspberries and lead the palate to a straightforward, easy-going completion. Not bad.- 82/100

Single Vineyard Mrs. M. Pinot Noir- Coming from a sandy soil this shows a bright floral perfume, almost reminiscent of campari after a helthy dose of soda. very easy to appreciate, very difficult to spit out!- 85/100

Single Vineyard Block 6 Pinot Noir- More colour with a richer, darker fruit presence, maintaining the fruit all the way through to the finish. Wilted flower petals add to the richness while the acidity and light tannins carry the wine with great elegants and class. One of my favourite Pinots... ever! They've managed to execute a balanced, fully dry red wine in South Africa at 12.9%! Thats awesome.- 94/100

Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012- Very rich, full bodied and moreish. Nose of deep blackberries and possibly some garrigue(?) and a finishing hit of light woodiness. Very round and very nice!- 90/100

The Hemel-En-Aarde is really all about the Pinot and the Chardonnay (in my mind). If any part of south africa can pull off these varieties, it is here. I really like Hamilton Russel and I absolutely love Newton-Johnson. their wines are so lovingly crafted as they are in all the best wineries and I think that they are execellent value for top-class wines!

Next I'll be writing about my very brief visit to the newest viticultural ward in South Africa and the monopole creating a big stir and turning a lot of heads looking eastwards; Sijnn.

Much Love,

George

 

Posted with Blogsy

Catch Up! vol. 1

Hector- Guard Dog

Hey Everyone,

Heres a bit of a catch up on whats been happening over the past few days; I've been doing a lot lately! When last I updated this site, I had visited biodynamic producer Reyneke to the west of Stellenbosch. Things change so fast here that I am writing this to you from the office of the very same producer. It sounds like I've not accomplished even as much as getting back to my own flat to go to bed, but in fact there is much more that has happened between my two visits.

I paid a very interesting visit back to de Trafford and met a second time with our old friend Gerard at Kleinood, as well as visited Waterford Winery and legendary winemaker Kevin Arnold. I then went a bit further afield to the north and later to the east, but that will be covered on its own!

First things first; going to de Trafford a second time I was given the chance to try quite a few interesting vintages from this excellent winery. We delved into the library stock (after making it past the fearsome guard dog 'Hector'!) and arranged a flight of five vintages each of the Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and Elevation as well as some Straw Wine and Chenin Blanc. As far back as 2004 for some of the wines, I saw the measure of quality that truly lies behind the label of every bottle of David Trafford's wines. Tasting through a vertical of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet going back to 2004, I didn't necessarily see how the wine ages (Most still have years to go!), but I did see vintage variation.

Its is always the mark of a classic winery when the same wine varies year to year, not sacrificing anything in quality, but embracing the unique qualities of each vintage. A common theme running through the 2009 wines, which was a phenomenal year for South Africa is a hint of smokey savouriness. This owes to the raging wildfires that ravaged the countryside near Stellenbosch and for many this was a disaster. Any grapes contaminated with smoke were eliminated and the crop suffered. Not so with de Trafford. The wines are big enough and structured enough to actually carry the smoke with surprising ease, integrating the flavour as an integral aspect of the overall character.

I was truly impressed by the quality and youthful vigor in the 2006 Syrah as well as the Merlot, and the 2005 Cabernet has been developing extremely well. I would be particularly happy if we could get some of these reserve vintages on the shelves in St. Andrews! Perhaps if we ask very nicely we will see some aged Syrah or Cabernet on our shelves...

Beyond that we tasted a few excellent vintages of the Elevation blend, a Bordeaux style assemblage that screamed class and style in every vintage. This is a perfect case in point that South Africa is able to put forward some proper fine wines (whatever 'fine' actually means) and for me, this will be an exciting wine to keep an eye on as it matures. If you ever decide to spring for some Elevation, or any de Trafford for that matter, I would try and go for a second bottle to just put away and forget about for a good decade and check in one night with a nice roast leg of lamb.

Tomorrow I'll be writing about my great experiences on the road as I journeyed through Paarl, the Swartland and down the coast to the southernmost tip of Africa (and beyond!) to Cape Agulhas.

Until then...

Much Love,

George

 

Posted with Blogsy

End of the Road- de Trafford

Hey Everyone,

I capped off my week of winery visits with one that I am somewhat more familiar with. I had spent so many afternoons bouncing along the Blaauwklippen Road from Dornier to Keermont, that I figured it would make sense to finish off with the folks at the very end of the valley. Nestled up where the Helderberg and Stellenbosch Berg meet, de Trafford is the highly regarded operation by architect-turned-winemaker David Trafford and the source of several wines I am very fond of.

By now I've become accustomed to the bumpy improvised nature of this end of the Blaauwklippen Road where two vehicles coming in the opposite direction do well to be creative when it comes to getting past. Generally when I am traveling out this way, I will have one or two cars in front or behind, but by the time we reach Dornier they've turned off and certainly once I've passed Waterford I am alone on the road as I approach Keermont, the Mont Fleur conference centre and eventually de Trafford.

For my first visit to the winery, however there were a few surprises in store. I arrived at the quiet winery uring the very limited tasting times with the intention of introducing myself, maybe refreshing myself on a few of the wines I hadn't tasted in a while and maybe picking up a bottle of Chenin for my dinner. I saw a pair of visitors being served by a lone employee and joined them until they left. Hoping to chat a bit about the wines and maybe have a look around the cellars, but wave after crushing wave of visitors arrived, flooding the tasting room with at least twenty people at a time, all of them at a different point in the line-up of wines, some asking questions and others putting in order forms to buy wine direct. I have to say that the entire situation was handled with remarkable efficiency considering there was only one person on duty!

I can tell you that there is a reason for all this to-do about this winery. De Trafford's range rarely fails to be enjoyable and this visit to the winery was no different. My favourite of the range is still the Merlot for the combined style, quality and price. Sold for about £22 it has a big, tannic structure with plenty of bright fruit, but a balancing touch of spice, earth and wood, all while avoiding the overly sweet confected flavours that many full bodied Merlots develop.

I also liked the Chenin Blanc, for both the flavour and the use of Rita Trafford's artwork on the label, which changes from year to year. It's a barrel fermented Chenin that carries its oak delicately, while displaying big, full fruits and a bright acidity.

The other reds, including the estate Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and the Elevation were all superb renditions of style. The Syrah lead with its dark fruit, but subtle hints of peppery spice and violets show the layers of this tasty wine. The Cabernet is similarly faithful to it's varietal and I think it's one of my favourite South African Cabs. The Elevation, referring to David's architectural background was a marvellous red wine with nothing if not structure. A classy Bordeaux blend it is an elegant wine that certainly carries a lot of power behind its veil of polished tannins and acidity. I read an article in which four vintages of the Cabernet were tasted off against their counterparts from Chateau Latour, and by a narrow consensus view emerged triumphant.

Such blind tastings have their flaws but it shows that de Trafford wines can hold their own on the international stage when compared with the best of them. As new world wines generally fare better in taste offs I think that this tasting could be even more poignantly staged between de Trafford and a California great like Harlan or Screaming Eagle if we want to see where things stand and I personally wouldn't be too hesitant to put my money on de Trafford repeating its strong showing win or lose. Also, I would personally love to attend such a tasting if anyone with the resources decides to organise such an event!

While it did not take a tasting at the vineyard to say that de Trafford is a great winery, what it did show me is that even with its remote location and six hours each week of tasting time, the public recognise the quality inherent in this producer. Rightly so, in my book. I've not yet come across a wine from de Trafford I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. They make classy, poised wines that deserve all the positive press they can get. I'll be travelling next week to go out and have a look at their other operation out in Malgas; Sijnn. I've already done a post on the Sijnn wines based purely on tasting. I can't wait to go and have a look at the property itself, as it pioneers wine in the Malgas region.

This week I'll be heading to wineries Eikendal, Vergelegen and Reyneke so be sure to check in regularly for more details!

Much Love,

George

 

Posted with Blogsy