Wineblog

@ElonaHess

It is inevitable that any mention of Beyers Truter ultimately concerns Pinotage – and so a group of wine media descended on Beyerskloof for an after-harvest lunch celebration and a mini-vertical of the highly acclaimed Diesel Pinotage.

Before getting around to tasting the three vintages made to date, Beyers proceeded to explain what a perfect vintage means to him – and why 2012 may well be one! In short, he wants good rain at the right times, cold winters and moderate heat in the summer.

Part of the Beyerskloof team – at the back is Buddy Hendricks, Beyers Truter and Anri Truter, with Travis Langley and André Frantzen in the front.

“This year was an interesting one – excellent, but very late. Although we experienced less rain than other parts of the country, it was enough,” he explains. “The cold units in May and June were also enough and we experienced near perfect budding.”

Beyers said that although the heat-wave in January was reason for concern, it was followed by cool conditions and no rain afterwards – the perfect antidote! It was a long vintage and although they started harvesting a bit earlier, they finished later than usual, just before Easter.

“It is a promising vintage – after malolactic fermentation, the colour of the wines are usually a bit lighter. Not this year; the colour is dark and the pHs are really good,” he explains. Anri Truter, Beyers’ son and winemaker since 2004, confirms this, saying that during his first vintage he got a real fright with the seemingly lighter colour after malolactic – “but the depth of the colour this year is so much better.”

When tasting the 2007, 2008 and 2009 vintages of the flagship Diesel Pinotage, vintage variation becomes even more evident. Beyers remembers 2007 being a good, above average vintage. When tasting the wine, it is fresh with a pure fruit character and well-integrated spicy oak. In 2008, they experienced a very hot January and March, with a high rainfall, resulting in an average vintage – personally, the least impressive of the three.

The 2009 vintage is known all around for being one of the best in recent years and Beyerskloof is no exception – it is a full and opulent wine, with good fruit, dark chocolate, sweet oak spice and a nice complexity. Will 2012 be any better? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Frank Menezes, chef at Beyerskloof’s restaurant The Red Leaf, with Beyers Truter. Lunch was based on traditional Burgundian cuisine, kicking off with Oeufs en meurette – a French favourite with poached eggs in red wine sauce, otherwise known as Beyers se eiers.

by Elona Hesseling

Categorising wine producing areas in terms of cultivars is nothing new – we tend to favour Cabs from Stellenbosch, Chardonnays from Elgin and Sauvignon from Durbanville. But Fleur du Cap undeniably believes, like Wosa, that variety is in our nature, with their Unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc comprising components from no less than five areas.

Terroir is a tough one – a very romantic notion of something we try, but often fail, to understand. A tasting held at Bergkelder with Fleur du Cap cellarmaster Andrea Freeborough and viticulturist Bennie Liebenberg, tried to shed some light on the effect of terroir, by tasting various wines from different areas.

Part of the Fleur du Cape team: Deidre Sampson (global marketing manager: super and ultra premium wines), Bennie Liebenberg (viticulturist) and Andrea Freeborough (cellarmaster).

Sauvignon samples of the 2012 harvest from Elgin, Stellenbosch, Lutzville, Darling and Cape Agulhas were tasted. Every area is unique and although I can merely rant and rave about the flavours and characteristics each delivers, it is interesting to note that aside from the effect of different soil types, sunlight exposure, rainfall or even rootstock, viticultural practices play just as an important part.

In Elgin, grapes are sourced from Deon Joubert at Palmiet Rivier, where the vines are trellised on Smart Dyson to cater for the vigorous soils. Although the wine has both tropical and greener flavours, Andrea admits that they had higher expectations from this area. It has been improving, however, with Bennie opening up the vineyards to increase sunlight exposure – producing a wine most likely fit for the final Unfiltered blend.

The Sauvignon from the Lomond vineyards in Cape Agulhas is smooth and round, with tropical hints and a prominent minerality. These vineyards are subject to windy conditions and very moderate temperatures. They were recently planted, on an array of soil types, with a different clone used than in the other areas – according to Andrea, the quality has also been improving.

When moving to South African whipping boy, Merlot, samples from Cape Agulhas and Stellenbosch were compared. Again completely different, with the Lomond grapes resulting in a more feminine, leaner and perfumy wine, while the Devon Valley Merlot is a classic example, with great tannins and rounded flavours.

Bennie has been experimenting with the Merlot vineyards as well, making use of Smart Dyson trellising and removing leaves and side shoots, thus exposing it more, resulting in a  wine that is less ‘green’. It is a promising technique, but extremely time consuming.

Although the Fleur du Cap wines are “inspired by nature”, it seemingly takes a knowledgeable hand in the vineyard, and ultimately the cellar, to make the most of the given terroir. Things take time and Bennie’s hard work will start to show in the near future – as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

by Edo Heyns

Laid-back surfer, Beaumont winemaker and popular Chenin dude, Sebastian Beaumont, has contagious confidence in Botrivier and the Cape. He suggests that there is a new generation of South African winemakers that are not copying the French, Aussies or Americans, but confidently embrace the South Africanness of their wines.

“There seemingly used to be an obsession with trying to keep up with the trends of other wine producing countries, but winemakers are now more often well-travelled and world-wise in wine terms – and they know that they can confidently take on the best,” explains Sebastian.

And he also puts his money where his mouth is: Chenin is Beaumont’s key varietal, followed by Pinotage, as the red flag-bearer.

“It is impossible to make a Loire Chenin in Botrivier, but it is possible to make world class Chenin here – which is exactly what we are intending to do.”

The Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc has earned its place among SA’s leading Chenins and the single block is now being rejuvenated by young vines, replacing the old stalwarts that didn’t endure the journey, which started in 1978.

Sebastian’s off the beaten track approach is also reflected in Beaumont’s unconventional blend, Vitruvian – a very distinct synergy of Mourvèdre, Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

The increasingly authoritative blend is Beaumont’s take on a ‘Cape Blend’, which is not just defined by its Pinotage content. “I want this wine to reflect the best of Botrivier and that is how the blend is assembled.”

Sebastian says that South African reds were first too green and later too ripe. The Vitruvian challenge is now to find the sweet spot in the middle; fruit purity and less oak.

The result is a wine that improves with age and is generous, authentic, structured, characterful, complex, and very distinctive. If that is what “South Africanness” entails, I’ll proudly wave the flag.