Transcending the boundaries

The adventurous approach is working well at Solms-Delta and elsewhere

From Business Day, 16 July  2008

Mark Solms, who has taken Solms-Delta from vinous obscurity to front-of-mind awareness among wine cognoscenti in less than five years, is not frightened of the unconventional. As a renowned neurophysicist he presumably understands how to get the human brain to transcend the boundaries of the “box” — an exercise in agility that occupies the agendas of many motivational speakers.

Since returning to SA in the post-1994 era he has managed to get his rather unprepossessing site firmly fixed on the wine tourist route. For good reason: the property is small, charming, brilliantly located down the road from Boschendal and en route to Franschhoek. But with greater prescience than many of his neighbours, he has focused on the human history of the place as a paradigm for what the lives of workers must have been like from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

There is a very real risk that the revisionism now so a la mode will soon become indigestible. Before this happens, you owe it to yourself and to your overseas visitors to visit the museum at Solms-Delta where the oral as well as the visual traditions of a single site near the Berg River have been faithfully recorded. The experience is both moving and enlightening and it can be undertaken without a dollop of sanctimonious masochism.

While you're there, try a couple of the wines: the Amalie white blend — made with Viognier and vine-dried white Grenache — is remarkably southern French. (So much so that the closest comparison that comes to mind is made on the Domaine Grier property in the Cotes de Roussillon). The Lekkerwijn Rose is food-friendly (not a euphemism for “dull”) with ample spice and a lovely savoury vinosity — quite unlike the many quite bland apologies now flooding the market.

Two more recent releases — under the Solms-Astor label — are also worth tracking down: one is called Langarm and it is an intriguing blend of southern European varieties including Tannat (from the Pyrenees), Touriga Nacional from Portugal, Primitivo from southern Italy and our own robust Pinotage. This is not a wine for those frightened of a little rusticity, but it has the charm and weight to go with many a country casserole. The other — and perhaps the most interesting of all the Solms creations — is the (wait for it) “Cape Jazz (sparkling) Shiraz”, which is a more-than-petillant bubbly made in the South Australian style. Before you balk at the thought, give it a try: it's beautifully made and will certainly reward those willing to let it age a few years in the bottle.

Solms-Delta's unusually adventurous approach to unconventional cultivars, and its willingness to embrace the flavours that come only with more robust textures, sent me in search of a few wines that offer a comparable experience. De Krans Touriga Nacional — aromatic and softened with perhaps a hint too much ripeness — came straight to mind: it's a delicious winter wine and requires no cellaring at all.

In the same spirit, the Domaine Grier red — sold under the proprietary name of Galamus — has some fine grippy tannins and plenty of personality, which emerges after an hour or two in the glass. The Griers from Villiera have brought their winemaking professionalism to their southern French property and these wines are relatively easily found and well worth tracking down. If, however, it is something both familiar but pleasantly unusual that you seek to accompany a robust roast or a long-simmered potjie, the DeWaal (formerly Uiterwyk) CT de Waal is a brilliant Pinotage — sumptuously aromatic and free of the often jarring tannins associated with the variety.

On the other hand, if you are looking for something a slightly exotic and less difficult to source, there is the Zonnebloem Shiraz, Mourvedre, Viognier. This is much more Rhone-like than many similar blends and has all the unusual aromas, but it comes with the kind of polish that is the defining hallmark of recent vinifications from the Zonnebloem cellars.