We bring together all the champions from the 2000 vintage to judge which is best – and whether they are all they as good as they’re claimed to be

In recent years shiraz has been seen by many as embodying the future for South African wine at the highest level: the variety that was already beginning to represent Cape wine in the circles of international excellence. This year, shiraz has performed particularly well in both local and international competitions (apart from the Trophy Wine Show, where it failed to register on the gold medal list). Shiraz was the variety most represented in the ranks of Veritas Double Golds, for example, and in candidates for Platter five-star awards, and featured prominently in other important venues.

It seemed a good time for Grape to gather together all these award winners (we limited our choice to those from the 2000 vintage), primarily as an opportunity to survey the field of top Cape shiraz. Furthermore, it had been notable that there was little overlap among all these award-winners: no wine seemed to have performed outstandingly in more than one competition. In a confrontation of champions, which would triumph? We assembled a panel of eminent tasters to judge.

Their overall vote will probably disappoint those who fancy that the Cape is producing shiraz comparable to the best of France, or, in a very different style, Australia – the Rhône’s most widely recognised challenger in the quality stakes. Being sampled here were many of the Cape’s finest shirazes. Only a few of the established big names were missing, most notably Saxenburg and De Trafford, together. With only two wines being judged here as being of four-star level, and most falling well short of that, this panel seems to be not only indicating a major disagreement with the judges of the competitions that had praised these wines, but also suggesting some reservations about the success of Cape shiraz. The average score out of 20, across all the wines, was 14.9: a level which would result in a three-star rating for both Platter and Grape  – not very gratifying, considering the status of the wines present!

The feeling was not, however, necessarily negative, with some of the judges specifically noting progress being made in recent years. (See the judges’ comments in the box below and overleaf.) Angela Lloyd commented that ‘If we've judged harshly – and I don't think we have for a work in progress, which is what Shiraz is – I reckon it's because we know so much better is possible and that even a few years ago, the scores would have been lower still.’

Rod Easthope was particularly pleased that there was little sign of winemakers attempting to slavishly follow Australian styles, although he criticised some aspects of oak usage here – heavy toasting, for example, and American oak being used in such a way as to lead to a ‘man-made’, contrived element in the wine. Remington Norman noted (as did other tasters) pleasure in finding fewer over-oaked wines than expected. The only wine that was universally censured for over-oaking was the Neil Ellis Vineyard Selection. In contrast, the Glen Carlou was successful, despite the obviousness of its American oak, as this was integrated with other balancing components.

Other generalisations were not easy to make in the face of the diversity of the wines and the comparative smallness of the sample. No-one felt able to draw conclusions regarding regionality and suitability for shiraz; in fact, honours (such as they were) were shared amongst regions: nine of the thirteen wines tasted were from Stellenbosch vineyards, but only two of these were amongst the top four (Graham Beck and Delheim); the two single representatives from Paarl (Glen Carlou) and Wellington (Boekenhoutskloof) took the other two top spots.

The judges’ comments

Rod Easthope
The standard of SA Shiraz is high but has never really reached the heights that this variety is truly capable of. All these wines were missing real power, depth and length. Making an apology for the wines based on the so called 'dumb phase' takes us as into the realms of guesswork about what these wines will be like in a few years – not very useful, especially since these wines are in the market and will be consumed young by New World drinkers. Wines must be judged as they were on the day only - especially with little or no pedigree of previous vintages of SA shiraz blooming into great wines with time in the bottle.

Michael Fridjhon
We are seeing wines from young vines, the victims of plastic surgery in the absence of post-puberty bodybuilding. A connoisseur can tell a silicon implant from a 100 paces (so the Sunday Times assures me). I think we need to wait for older vines, we need to be more selective about site, we need to let the fruit do the work – a function of site, ripeness, pepperiness, sweetness of fruit, rather than being overblown. There’s nothing wrong that time won't fix.

Angela Lloyd
Possibly the variety is hyped in the media beyond what it can yet produce in the bottle. The vast majority of vines are pretty young and there's still a lot of experimentation with styles. On top of this, the 2000s are now going into a dumb phase; and that vintage was exceptionally brutish as far as tannins go – ripeness was a nightmare to guage. However, overall, I'd say today’s shirazes better express their varietal origin. But while the flavours reflect more shiraz character, generally the wines lack the necessary richness of texture.

Cathy van Zyl
It is likely that the wines have entered their 'development' phase, and are not exhibiting the aroma and flavour that earned them their accolades earlier in the year. While syrah is mooted by many as SA’s future for red wines, perhaps we are not as far down the path to success as we think we are – although we have taken several steps forward. These include a move away from the earlier earthy/oxidative style to one showing more fruit and a far rounder palate. I think great strides forward will be made when winegrowers and makers have learnt more about their sites and their grapes.

THE WINES RATED

****

Graham Beck Coastal Shiraz 2000
(Gold medal: International Wine & Spirits Competition)

Big, fleshy fruit and oak tannin complexity; ripe and structured (RE: 17). Ripe red, raisiny fruit; grippy tannin; long woody finish (CvZ: 16)

Glen Carlou Shiraz 2000
(Winner: Paarl Vintners Shiraz Challenge)

Sophisticated, polished, confidently structured; well oaked but not overdone (AL: 18). Foursquare flavours, dry tannins, lacks centre; high alcohol doesn’t help (RN: 13)

***(*)

Delheim Vera Cruz Shiraz 2000
(Double gold: Veritas)

Very good texture, with dense soft tannins, and good length (MF: 17). Firm hard tannins, angular palate at odds with ripe fruit on nose (RE: 14.5)

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2000
(Does not enter competitions; consistent Robert Parker 90+ ratings)

Lovely structure; slightly sweet finish – not for ageing (AL: 15). Nose dull; some minty notes and slight sweatiness; good mouthfeel (MF: 16)

Lievland Syrah 2000
(Double gold: Veritas)

Slight sweaty notes, peppery fruit, more Rhône-like; fine spicy long finish (MF: 18.5). Fine palate aromas; elegance in the wings, but impression of underripe fruit (RN: 14)

Anthony de Jager Homtini Shiraz 2000
(Five stars: Platter guide)

Austere tannin, fruit underneath, high alcohol; uncomplex now but may open up (CvZ: 16). Little nose; oaky, with fruit hidden, untextured (MF: 14)

Simonsig Syrah Merindol 2000
(Veritas double gold)

Lively clean palate, firm tannins, loads of fruit (CvZ: 17). Supple juicy palate, but short on concentration and one-dimensional (AL: 13).

***

Sadie Family Columella 2000
(Five stars: Platter guide )

Ripe and savoury yet fresh; with soft tannins and good presence; long finish (AL: 17). Astringent green oak tannin; some volatile acidity (RE: 13)

Stellenzicht Syrah 2000
(Double gold: Veritas)

Fine tannins, tight fruit, firm acids, medium weight and length; polished (RE: 16). Lean savoury flavours; lacks concentration and textural quality (RN: 13).

**(*)

Lievland Shiraz 2000
(At 86/100, the top-scoring shiraz on Trophy Wine Show)

Good palate richness with structure, but somewhat abrupt sweet alcoholic finish (AL: 15.5). Sweet raspberry fruit; some alcohol burn, short fruit finish (MF: 14.5)

**

Neil Ellis Vineyard Selection Shiraz 2000
(Double gold: Veritas)

Quite coarse tannins; fruit there but hiding (MF: 15); Strong barrel-ferment character; rides on wood rather than fruit – short oak-char finish (AL:13).

Blaauwklippen Vineyard Selection Shiraz 2000
(Grand gold: Michelangelo)

Very fruity, acidic; lack of structure on palate (CvZ: 15). Nice nose, but raw, lifeless, with over-worked fruit (RN: 12).

Hartenberg Shiraz 2000
(Red Wine Trophy: SAA selection)

Dull, musty TCA notes on palate, quite nice tannins (MF: 14); very dumb nose, musty cardboardy palate (RE: 11). (NB: A second bottled of this wine was opened)

The numbers given in brackets with extracts from the tasters’ notes are the score out of 20 given by the indicated taster. The wines were tasted blind.

The tasters

Rodney Easthope Winemaker and consultant

Michael Fridjhon Wine-writer, consultant and judge

Angela Lloyd Wine-writer, judge; Grape Associate Editor

Remington Norman MW British wine-writer and lecturer

Cathy van Zyl Grape Manager; MW student

We asked Remington Norman MW, author of Rhône Renaissance and with wide experience of shiraz from around the world, to speak further  about recent developments with this grape in South Africa.

How do you see the state of Cape shiraz in late 2002?

It must be remembered that the modern shiraz industry has been going for less than a decade in South Africa – since 1994, in fact. What has been achieved in the 1990s is nothing short of remarkable, given the difficult starting point. Then it was a question of mainly old, poor quality  clones; mainly local markets, wood of dubious quality; now we find excellent plant material, well-informed, more precise viticultural practices, good quality French and US oak.

Nonetheless, most SA Shiraz vineyards are still very young and will not be at optimal production (in terms of quality) for several years and, however focused the vineyard and cellar talents, you simply can’t produce the complexity and quality found in old vines from very young ones. Also, crops levels need reducing and fruit quality will be enhanced by more selective (block by block) harvesting.

Where problems remain in the current crop of wines, how do you see these?

There is a great diversity of perceptions and an equally broad scattering of ideas on how, technically, to set about growing and vinifying shiraz. What is now available reflects that ‘searching’. If I see one general deficiency in most of the wines now on offer, it is the lack of good texture and a tendency to ‘solid’ wines without much elegance. Shiraz is not always the ‘big, gutsy’ wine that many see as its main character; the greatest shirazes have notable elegance and freshness, allied to fine texture and a sparing use of new wood (in France) or the use of US oak as an integral component of the wine (in Australia). If you are going for elegance (which is probably what should be done at the top level) then you will tend to go for French oak. In general, however, the overall quality of South African Shiraz has improved markedly over the last few years and there is every indication this trend will continue.

So one must look for developments in the cellar as well as in the vineyard?

Perceptions among winemakers of what constitutes top quality shiraz are crucial. The prevalent idea that shiraz needs new wood is gradually diminishing and oak is being employed much more sensitively. But too often good fruit is overworked in the cellar – long maceration, too much punching down etc – to the detriment of quality. It is essential (and I really do appreciate the difficulties) for people to taste more widely wines that are generally regarded internationally as of top quality. Tastings of this kind I have conducted here have been revealing in the diversity of responses to unfamiliar French, Australian or Californian Shiraz – people often dismiss great wines as faulty or poor quality, or see fine qualities in sound, but fundamentally ordinary wines, so there is a strong need for more exposure to imported shirazes at all levels of quality. I get the impression that there is a strong and genuine desire to make world class wine, but this is difficult if you either don’t know where you are going, or consider ‘great’ wines as flawed or mediocre. Knowing where you are going is an essential pre-requisite of getting there; conversely, knowing what you are aiming at is no good unless you know what steps are required to achieve the goal