Boekenhoutskloof Syrah, Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon appraised by Angela Lloyd

Cabernet Sauvignon - WO Franschhoek
Syrah - WO Coastal Region
Winemaker: Marc Kent
Viticulturalist: Pieter Siebrits
Owners: Boekenhoutskloof Investments (Pty) Ltd

Image, that intangible asset, can be as important as quality in convincing of the desirability of a winery and its wines. While it is difficult to pin image onto any one feature, prestigious awards, press coverage, talk among industry people and consumers, the personality and visibility of key personnel and scarcity of the wines, must all contribute.

Elements of each certainly apply to Boekenhoutskloof, the Franschhoek winery that shot to prominence with its first, 1997, Syrah and is today rated among the Cape's leading producers. Winemaker Marc Kent will also mention a 'generosity of spirit' that attracts winelovers. 'There's no hard sell here and visitors are received personally', he explains. Selling is perhaps too dynamic a term for this Boekenhouts-kloof duo, where the paltry output - approximately 600 cases of the Syrah, 800 of the Cabernet - is allocated per bottle! No doubt Boekenhoutskloof's good standing with winelovers stems also from their enjoyable experiences with the more available second label, Porcupine Ridge.

The flagship range - which includes the very good Sémillon, also made in tiny quanitites - was consciously formulated through Kent's own preferences, grape availability and his desire to focus on Franschhoek. Steadiness of style since the start owes much to his own wine background and understanding. Formally trained at Elsenburg, Kent had the good fortune to be regularly exposed to many of the world's great wines, thanks to the generosity of Gerald Ludwinski formerly of the Black Marlin restaurant, where Kent worked. He now keeps his palate well informed by drinking two or three good foreign wines each week.

The vineyards
The majority of grapes for the Boeken-houtskloof range are bought in, the home vineyards still being too young or not yet bearing. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a single riverside property in Franschhoek (also the source of the Sémillon). The 15-year-old Cabernet vineyard lies on a slope, away from the river.

Shiraz is sourced outside of the Wine of Origin area. After the Somerset West vineyard which supplied grapes for the maiden 1997 was uprooted, Kent had some difficulty in finding a new, high quality source, due to the variety's popularity. The one in Welling-ton he did manage to secure is around 14 years old, planted to a single clone and yields seven tons per hectare.
Harvesting is dependent upon different factors, according to each variety. Cabernet is harvested on taste, while the signs of 'old mens' faces' wrinkling is the indication Shiraz is ready. All bunches are carefully checked on the sorting table to weed out anything other than the best grapes before going into the cellar.

The cellar
It becomes obvious as one tastes through the vintages of both of these wines that adjustments have been incremental; through fine-tuning rather than wild swings, the intrinsic style is retained, while quality is improved.

This steady progress is doubtless helped by the fact that Kent formulated a specific approach to the vinification of each variety before he started. This is not recipe winemaking, rather the desire to bring out the best in each variety and reflect the sense of place it grows in. The Cabernet Sauvignon is totally destemmed and crushed, inoculated with a selected yeast and fermented in stainless steel at temperatures varying between 30 and 34ºC. The wine receives three pumpovers daily and, after pressing, goes straight into all-new oak barrels, where it completes a natural malolactic fermentation. Eggwhite-fined after 18 months, the wine is bottled without either filtration or cold stabilisation. There has been some shuffling of coopers; today the main supplier is Sylvain (thin-staved château barrels for better integration) with some Demptos, the forests mainly Allier and Vosges with a little Nevers. Since 1999, oak maturation has increased from 24 to 27 months. Since that year too, a little homegrown Cabernet Franc has spiced up the blend.

Kent is something of a Rhône traditionalist in his approach to Shiraz, a trait evidenced in his benchmarks: 'Cornas wines because of their interest value; they don't have the cleanness of flavour or polish of Côte Rôtie', he says. The grapes are treated in a variety of ways. Some bunches are kept in a cold room for a week prior to crushing, for enzymatic breakdown; some juice is cold-soaked prior to fermentation and a small portion of whole berries is included for a carbonic maceration effect. Primary fermentation is allowed to start at its own pace and without inoculation in large open-top, wooden vats. The wine is left on the skins for around six days, whereafter malolactic is completed in barrel.

Significantly, Kent uses no new oak, believing it can easily swamp the grape's delicate character. The Shiraz is thus matured in a mix of second- and third-fill casks used for the Semillon or Cabernet. From 2000, the wine has spent longer in cask, up to 27 months, in an attempt to infuse extra savouriness. From there on, the process follows that of the Cabernet, although style and structure are clearly differentiated.

Boekenhoutskloof has opted out of the show circuit (the gold medal-winning Porcupine Ridge Cabernet 2002 on this year's International Wine Challenge, was entered by their UK agent) but much value is placed on the four John Platter Wine Guide five-star ratings: for 1997 Syrah and, uniquely in the Guide, the trio of vintages 1998-2000 of Cabernet Sauvignon. Awards here would anyway not be the most significant contribution towards image; it is rather the carefully thought-through individuality of each wine, the creative yet steadily applied improvements year on year that form the root of Boekenhoutskloof's success.
Important too is the wholehearted support of Kent's six partners, who, he says share a 'dream of having worldwide recognition for quality wines'. A collective goal that should keep Boekenhoutskloof a very desirable name in Cape wines.

The wines

Cabernet Sauvignon
1996 ** First wine made at Boekenhoutskloof. Developed bricking red, fading to garnet edge. Gentle leafy lift to red blood, iron notes on nose; still alive, though as good as its going to get. Supple entry to medium-bodied palate. Falls away quickly to drying finish. Drink up. 12.9% alc.

1997 ***½ Soft, clear ruby with garnet edge. Nose shows some secondary bouillon characters, cigar box whiffs. Elegant to extent of slight under-ripeness. Fresh core, light textured with charming red winey flavours. Acid a little pointed on finish. Food would be a great flatterer. Drink now to 2005. 13.5% alc

1998 ***** Star wine from a great red wine year. Strong, healthy, youthful colour. Intricate bouquet, more terroir- than variety-oriented; discreet tobacco, cigar box whiffs over warm, yet fresh vinosity. Beginning to show some development but far off full complexity. Sleek, clean style, light texture filled with layers of savoury concentration. Excellent solid yet understated structure. Complete wine with many years of development ahead. Should improve until at least 2008. 13.9% alc.

1999 **** Expressive of more forward, open vintage, aided by splash Cabernet Franc. Healthy, well-layered ruby hue. Aromatic, forthcoming spicy, leafy fragrance with further development possibilities. Big wine, more substantial feel than 1998, with sweeter fruit profile. Good structure for vintage. Plush texture reined in by well-balanced, taut core, still insistent tannins. Good potential to 2007. 13.8% alc.

2000 ***** Another stunner from a big vintage. Should eventually outshine the 1998. Very dark and intense but brilliantly clear. Rich, dark-fruited Cabernet nose, still primary character. Big, perfectly balance mouthful with confident firm feel typical of variety; oaking perfectly judged to add textural/flavour dimension without being obtrusive. Both oak and grape tannins well integrated, supportive of ripe fruit richness. Leave until 2005; should improve until at least 2010. 13.9% alc.

Syrah
1997 ***** An original in a class of its own! Amazingly this wine from the now up-rooted Somerset West vineyard just goes on improving. Soft ruby, not quite clear (sediment development?). Thoroughly intoxicating white pepper/spice fragrance. Still vibrant, has developed more complex base notes. Gorgeous delicate mouthfeel with pliable tannins, poised acid; very pure, clean with endless savoury length. Impossible to believe it can get better, yet still feels full of staying power. 14% alc.

1998 *** From this vintage, grape source a single Wellington vineyard. Sound ruby brilliance. The nose, initially a bit reductive, shows some roast red meat fullness. Good savoury rich entry to bold, well-weighted palate; thereafter, turns inward, becomes rather angular. Could open, fill out with time. Leave until 2004, may improve to 2006/2008. 14.7% alc.

1999 ****½ Youthful, clear ruby. Expressive, decadent bouquet; smoky bacon, animal, mushrooms, with enlivening spicy lift. Supple, muscular palate with well-integrated, gentle tannin; finishing fantail explosion of multi-layered spicy savouriness. A lingering suggestion of alcoholic sweetness is not a detraction, given the wine's overall drinking pleasure. Drink now or up to 2007. 14.9% alc.

2000 ***** A youngster with a glittering future. Announced by an intense purple-tinged ruby hue, brilliant and clear. Perfectly structured and proportioned, with great finesse, rounded tannins. Beguiling hints of spice and smoky bacon, backed by suffused warm ripeness and tapered, savoury length. At the early stages of development. For those who can wait until 2008/2010, it should mature into a classic. 14.5% alc.
 

Farm prices for the current vintage (no longer available): Cabernet Sauvignon: R110 per bottle Syrah: R130 per bottle