Late summer drinking
– mosly reds from
Longridge, Viljoensdrift, Swartland Winery, Woolworths and Welbedacht
27 February 2006

Longridge
• Pinotage 2003  R83 15.5 

Winecorp produces a range of varietal wines from their Helderberg vineyards under the premium Longridge label. Kobie Viljoen, the winemaker responsible for red wines, made this Absa Top Ten Pinotage medallist from low-yielding, 28-year-old pinotage bushvines. After a fermentation in stainless steel the wine matured for 14 months in a mix of new and older French and American oak, before being bottled unfiltered.

Since its 1995 debut, this seriously styled Pinotage has developed a loyal following. Understandable: the opaque core and magenta-ruby rim reveal solid extract and youth; while exciting, complex earthy aromas offer immediate appeal. Fresh and youthful on the palate, the firm tannin and rich, dense fruit impart impressive structure, balanced by sufficient acidity and a satisfying savouriness. The generous 14.5% alcohol is unobtrusive, combining well with the rich, though not overstated, style. This was, however, a controversial wine: CvZ was unimpressed, and although TJ and AL thought it well made neither think it would be easy to drink more than one glassful. - IM
Winecorp website  (see comment at end)

Swartland Winery
• Idelia 2003 R120 15.5

What we used to call simply co-ops are getting increasingly ambitious! As with this limited edition wine from Swartland Winery – only 480 of the 1800 bottles made have been earmarked for the local market. It is a blend of five red varieties – the winery is being coy about exactly which, but have disclosed that shiraz and cabernet sauvignon dominate. The five wines selected to go into the blend were initially aged separately for 18 months in 1^st and 2^nd fill French and American oak, blended and then aged for a further six months in 3^rd fill oak. The colour is dense, deep, diffuse ruby; the wine was not filtered prior to bottling. The nose is complex with spice, mint, and wafts of red and black berry fruit. Dry, with firm tannins and an unnoticeable 14% alcohol, the palate is balanced. TJ, although he thought the oak treatment too heavy-handed, found an impressive mineral core; AL was less impressed. This is a decent drink, but its price is less satisfactory. – CvZ
Swartland Winery website [though out of date and not including this wine]

Viljoensdrift
• Serenity 2003 R95 14.5

The Robertson valley might be making a name for its chardonnays, especially incorporated in sparkling wines, but the potential for high quality reds isn’t being left unexplored. Serenity, supposedly reflecting the atmosphere on Viljoensdrift’s vineyards along the Breede River, is the Viljoen brothers’ first attempt at a Bordeaux blend, a style they had long wanted to try. It unites 44% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 19% cabernet franc and 9% petit verdot, each variety aged in complementary new oak barrels for 24 months prior to blending. Aromatically it shows good promise, with an appealing smoky, macerated dark cherry character. Regrettably this promise isn’t fulfilled on the palate, where an overly high acid results in harshness but provides no core focus. This is a pity because oak and fruit are nicely matched and with better balance could have produced a wine with interesting potential. - AL
Viljoensdrift website

Welbedacht
• Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2005 R55 15
• Chardonnay 2005 R50 13
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 R75 13.5
• Merlot 2003 R75   14
• Cricket Pitch 2003 R85 15

Rugby players have played an honourable part in Cape winemaking for many decades, and here’s ex-Springbok Schalk Burger Snr coming out as a member of the club. The Welbedacht property on the slopes of the Groenberg in the Wellington area has apparently been producing wine-grapes since the mid nineteenth century, and now the Burgers have decided to make some wine themselves. On the whole we found the wines to be pretty well what the packaging intimates: fairly pleasant and fairly dull. We enjoyed the Chenin (screwcapped to help assure the continuity of the enjoyment factor): rich and intense, with lingering flavours – lifted by a perhaps too vibrant acidity not quite integrated with some heaviness. A hint of grapefruit pith on the finish will not please everyone, but the six months of new oak barrelling is unobtrusively supportive. The wood is similarly well handled in the Chardonnay, though this wine is less satisfying after its nice candied-fruit and orange-peel invitation: rather tart, a little thin, and sprawling across the palate. CM went even further away from enthusiasm than the rest of us.

The Merlot and the Cabernet are safe, commercial wines: ripe and soft, with a little too much sweetness for respectability by my standards, some obvious oak (especially in the Cab’s vanilla aromas and the Merlot’s toughly tannic finish) and quite a whack of alcohol. There’s decent fruit, making for no doubt enjoyable glassfuls around the braai after the rugby match. The Cricket Pitch (named for the Welbedacht Oval alongside the handsome homestead) aims higher in terms of seriousness. A blend of merlot and cab (with a tiny splash of pinotage), it is more conservatively styled, less obviously sweetly fruity and correspondingly more interesting. There’s a good savoury quality to the wine, firmly structured around a ripe tannin core. Although its colour and flavours are more advanced than one would ideally expect now from a 2003, it should keep very happily for a few years, though whether it will develop excitingly is less likely. – TJ
Welbedacht website

Woolworths
• Villiera Blanc de Blancs 2002 R69.95  15
• Hint of Red 2005 R39.95 11.5
• What? Shiraz 2002 R39.95 !!!  14.5
• Laibach ‘The Fennel’ Organic Reserve 2003 R79.95 16.5

A discussion about the most influential people in the local wine industry had us agreeing that, as far as retailers are concerned, Allan Mullins, Woolworths’ Selection Manager since 1991, would be a strong contender. He juggles a portfolio about the size of that of a small wine nation,  aiming to keep every conceivable type of person who could possibly be interested in wine interested and coming back for more. This sample hints at the diversity on offer. Villiera has supplied Cap Classique bubblies and much else to Woolworths for many years; these bespoke wines are as consistent as under their own label. Varietal provenance is clear in this 100% chardonnay MCC from Stellenbosch grapes. Attractive, gently creamy, leesy aromas are echoed in a richly textured palate enlivened by its fine, persistent bead. Although designated Brut, a suggestion of sweetness prevents the sort of incisive clean finish that would have encouraged a higher score. A little ageing may help this minor shortcoming. 
Hint of Red (a sop to those who don’t like to be seen drinking  rosé?) was the one disappointment, especially given the general improvement in local rosés of late. The rather vulgar cerise colour didn’t predispose us in its favour, and despite the screwcap closure it has strangely tired aromas. A high acid lifts minimal cabernet flavours, but overall this Franschhoek Vineyards wine lacks life and distinction and so seems overpriced.

Good, modestly-priced shiraz - an oxymoron? Not in this case. Sourced from Ken Forrester’s Stellenbosch vineyards, the wine lives up to the label’s explanation of What? Shiraz tastes like – red fruits, smoky, cherry, plum, spiced with black pepper. It is dry, savoury, unobtrusively oaked, has spine, an agreeably moderate 13.5% alcohol level, and is ready to drink. One could also add that it is ordinary and safe, but that would be missing the point, when so many shirazes are over-extracted, over-oaked and over-priced.

The Laibach Fennel is a smart wine regardless of its organic status (the back label tells us that  fennel attracts [good] wasps which control [bad] mealybugs in the vines). Although merlot-led (64%), it is the pervasive, spicy leafy fragrance of cabernet franc (19%) that drives its allure and distinction. Cabernet sauvignon completes this assured, all-Stellenbosch blend. It has the structure, complexity and balance to mature for at least four to five years, although already offers great enjoyment. - AL
Woolworths website

Scoring

Grape’s interpretation of the 20-point rating scale

0-10: Faulty or just unpleasant

10.5-11.5: Dull, uninteresting but sound

12-13.5: Pleasant enough, decent but basically simple quaffer

14-15.5: Good and enjoyable, but no real excitement

16-16.5 Very good wine, offering something special

17-17.5 Fine and beautiful world-class wine, among the best in SA

18-20  Truly excellent, some even among the world’s finest

!!! indicates especially good value

Prices
Prices given are approximate retail in South Africa, except where indicated as ex-farm by (f)

Tasters

TJ – Tim James
AL – Angela Lloyd
IM – Ingrid Motteux
CvZ – Cathy van Zyl