RECENT RELEASES
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A mixed late summer selection 2 April 2008
Wines from Bilton, Haut Espoir, Kloovenberg, Landskroon, Plaisir de Merle, Rooiberg, Simonsig, Slanghoek, The Winery of Good Hope
Bilton • Shiraz 2004 R85 (f) 15.5 Following a number of vintages made in an overly (for us) ripe and extracted style, this wine offers encouragement that the Helderberg’s much acclaimed ‘Golden Triangle’ terroir might finally be allowed to express itself in Bilton’s reds. Harvested and fermented by Adrean Naudé and consultant Giorgio dalla Cia, the young wine was then cared for by Rianie Strydom, during her brief stint here. The opaque core and narrow ruby rim hints at freshness and youth after 4 years. Ripe, spicy red fruit aromas and flavours are reined in by sufficient acidity, dense tannins and a savoury finish but not over-run by an 18 month sojourn in 300-litre French, American & Hungarian barrels. We all welcome this fresher, less overworked style. Ready to drink now, but will continue to offer enjoyment over the next 5 years. – IM
Haut Espoir • Chardonnay 2006 R96 (f) 14.5 • Semillon Reserve 2006 R59 CvZ 13.5, AL 14 IM/TJ 14.5 • Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2004 R110 (f) 14.5
Kloovenberg • Chardonnay 2007 R60 CvZ 12, AL/TJ 13, IM 13.5 • Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 R82 (f) 14 The consistently highly-rated Chardonnay from this Swartland wine and olive farm is sourced from 15-year old vines on the property, fermented in new 300-litre French barrels, whereafter it is left on its fine lees for four months. Our first bottle showed a disappointing oxidative and ‘dirty’ character, as if less than satisfactory grapes had been included in the fermentation, so we opened the second bottle, to find the same character still present. We may have been unlucky with two poor bottles, as the underlying fruit richness and oaky creaminess is unmistakable, these balanced by zippy grapefruit acidity and a warm, sweet finish from the 4.5g/l sugar and high 14.5% alcohol. On the red side, Kloovenberg is better known for its shiraz, but produces a decent Cabernet, with easy to understand ripe blackcurrant fruit pastille aromas and flavours and cheerfully unrestrained sweet and alcoholic (15%) finish. A year in new and second fill French oak adds density and some savouriness. It’s made in an unchallenging, unambitious style, which increases our reservations about the price tag. Drink whilst young and fresh. – IM
• Paul de Villiers Shiraz 2006 R52 (f) 14 Previous vintages of this wine, which pay homage to Paul de Villiers, cellarmaster at this 300 hectare Paarl property since the 1980 harvest, have impressed us with their vibrancy and juicy, lightly-wooded drinkability. The 2006, however, appears to be bedeviled by over-ripe fruit and harsher oak tannins, and is not nearly as convincing. Deep carmine, it shows strawberries, melon and banana notes on the nose. This banana character – which some find to be a pointer to the American oak in which 82% of the wine spent 18 months – follows on the palate, for us, too ripe (alcohol tops 14.5%) and too tannic to be refreshing. We’re hoping this vintage is just a blip on the screen, and that subsequent ones regain the unoretentious charm that Paul and assistant Abraham van Heerden have shown their wines can possess. – CvZ
Paul Cluver • Gewürztraminer 2007 R45 IM 15.5, CvZ 16, TJ/AL 16.5 !!! • Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2007 R140 375ml (f) 17 The previous vintage of Gewürztraminer we tasted from this Elgin property also found us declaring it offers exceptional value. Made in a delicately light, just off-dry style, its poise, length and charm had AL and TJ most enthusiastic. I was slightly less generous, wanting a bit more depth and complexity. The residual sugar has crept up slowly over the past few years to 11g/l, and is beautifully balanced by zippy, well-integrated acidity. A moderate 12% alcohol makes it an ideal as an unaccompanied or lunchtime drink, with the usual Asian food pairing recommendations. Last year we harboured a few doubts about the 2006 version of Andries Burger's much-acclaimed Noble Late Harvest, which proved us that it or we must have been having a bad day when it was awarded a Platter five star rating (voted for there by some of us!). We have no similar reservations about the 2007. Half the shrivelled, botrytised riesling grapes were harvested mid-March and cool-fermented in older oak for two months, before being blended with the tank portion. The straw-coloured limpidity and lack of aromatic development beyond simple primary fruit indicate the wine's current extreme youth, and belie the extraordinary depth and complexity immediately (and resolutely) offered on tasting the wine. Vibrant acidity effectively lifts the concentrated 125g/l of rich marmalade sweetness to ensure a fresh, clean and mouth-wateringly sweet-sour finish. Enjoy on its own as dessert over the next eight years, or pair with baked fruits, crème brûlée, rich-smelling cheeses etc. – IM
Plaisir de Merle • Sauvignon Blanc 2007 R60 15.5 It’s a welcome sign of our growing sophistication that more and more producers are able to release their sauvignons after a year or so bottle. Of course, it’s a sign of the quality of the wines that they are thereby improved…. This appealing example comes mostly from various home vineyards of Plaisir de Merle (that is, about as close to Franschhoek as you can get while remaining in Simonsberg-Paarl), with some grapes from cooler Koekenaap, up the West Coast. No doubt some of the expected greenness comes from the latter vines, blending with warmer-country tropicality and a dusty-fynbos character. It’s quite rich – the wine stayed on its lees for four months, which helps this – and there’s lots of fruit. Although there’s a substantial acidity (giving me, at least, a little sourness on the finish) it doesn’t have quite the focused zing that comes more easily to, say, Elgin examples. The alcohol in the balance worried AL a little, though its under 14%. But these are quibbles about a very appealing (and, for these days, not overpriced) wine. – TJ
• Chardonnay Reserve 2007 R32 (f) 14 !!! A chardonnay, a Reserve label too, matured wholly in new barriques, for closer to R30 than R40 might seem like an offer in a time warp; not in this case. Of course, many cost factors account for the final price tag, such as viticultural practices and yields, but there is no doubt that image is always factored in; this one is definitely priced to be consumer friendly, the ethos of the whole Rooiberg range. Chardonnays from Robertson are noted for a limey vibrancy thanks to the area's limestone soils. There are notes of refreshing citrus fruit in this single vineyard wine, though the effect of nine months' in oak dominates. Nonetheless, for all bar IM, who finds the wine confected, there is decent varietal character, along with a touch of consumer-friendly residual sugar. – AL
• Frans Malan Cape Blend 2004 R115 15.5 Johan Malan, seasoned cellar master at this generally good value, good quality Stellenbosch producer, reminds us that this wine started as ‘an innovative experiment with Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon for the Cape Winemakers Guild way back in 1991’ – certainly, then, one of the earliest of the so-called Cape blends. It’s now firmly established in their upper range, and accustomed to medals from all over the place. And it is consistently very good of its type, as in this vintage: big, hearty, sweet-fruited, oaky, with the rather dry and assertive tannin of pinotage (65% of the blend, with cab and a dollop of merlot). The (partial) American oak adds to the sweet effect (why winemakers abet pinotage’s inherent sweet jamminess with American oak is, for some of us, one of the enduring mysteries of life, but if Simonsig can sell it at this price, they must be right). The wine is just short of 15% alcohol, but so well made that it’s not unbalanced. Not quite serious, perhaps, but not quite fun either. – TJ
Slanghoek • Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 R28.50 (f) 11.5 This winery lies in a bucolic valley at the foot of the Slanghoek mountains at the western end of the Breede River Valley. The 25 owners (this ex co-op is now a company) have vineyards spread across a spread of soils and aspects, allowing them to grow a wide range of varieties, producing a wide range of wine styles. Although styling is primarily aimed to please undemanding consumers, the cellar is no stranger to the show podium. With its very noticeable residual sugar, this Cabernet is unlikely to appeal to the serious winelover. Sweetness and ripe fruit aromas are contrasted by a worrying greenness but little sign of the 40% new French oak in which the wine was apparently matured (something not reflected in the price either, given the cost of oak!). The maturity of the bushvines (between 10 and 25 years old) doesn’t show in the uncomplicated, light fruit. Open soon. – AL
The Winery of Good Hope • Radford Dale Viognier 2007 R125 16 Given that ‘individuality’ is the defining word in The Winery of Good Hope’s positioning (you’ll find the phrase ‘All about individuality’ on stationery, website and media releases) it is not surprising that this viognier is strikingly different. The fruit comes from low-yielding but youngish (nine year old) vines on the granitic slopes of the Helderberg; its style is set by head winemaker, Edouard Labeye, who consults to many French vineyard owners including one in Condrieu, the great home of viognier. Labeye barrel-fermented the wine using a Rhône-derived yeast, suppressed malolactic fermentation and aged both the free-run and the pressed wine (separately) in a mix of old and new (12%) barrels for six months. Stylistically, the wine is dry, with a lean minerality; it's also bold and assertive, quite stark but still with considerable depth and length. It’s a definite departure from the more perfumed and floral, rich and flirtatious examples favoured by most South Africa producers. Except for IM who immediately lauded its individuality, we took some time, discussing the wine and revisiting it, to acknowledge its positive difference. It is not for the faint-hearted but rather for those with an adventurous wine soul. The winery’s managing director, Alex Dale, had cleverly sent along a wedge of a rich and intense French Comté cheese; this proved an exciting combination with the wine, highlighting our belief that it would sit well on the dinner table. Several hours after the official tasting, with this viognier plus four other whites in front of me, I continually returned to the viognier for companionship; it certainly was the most interesting. – CvZ
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Scoring We continue to partly use the suggestion made by one of our readers: when the panel members' scores are not very close, following discussion, we have not noted a consensus score, but indicated the whole range of scores. (When this does not happen, it can be assumed that the scores were either identical, or close enough that nobody felt strongly about stressing a slight difference of opinion – given that we do not regard scores as scientifically precise, or the most important part of our appraisal of a wine.)
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 Tasters for these wines
TJ – Tim James IM – Regular guest taster Ingrid Motteux, Cape-based wine consultant; taster for the Platter Guide For more information regarding the tasting procedures, tasters, etc, see the Recent releases contents page
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We would welcome adding your opinions of these wines |
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‘High
hope’ is what the winery’s name means, and Franschhoek is surprising a
lot of people these days with, at last, a number of wines matching the
beauty of the landscape and the class of the finest restaurants there.
Haut Espoir should be amongst the best (it’s tucked in at the far end of
the valley, next door to splendid Boekenhoutskloof), but somehow hasn’t
yet fully delivered. In fact, the Cabernet is the only one of these
three wines produced from home-farm grapes – which provide here some
rich, flavourful fruitiness, though this is spoilt by much more new oak
than it can carry. The tannins are dry and rather at odds with, rather
than balanced by, the sweet element. If this wine is a trifle too big
and bold at 14.5% alcohol, the Semillon (drier, and 12.5%) could have
done with a little more substance. There’s some varietal character –
wax, honey, along with quince fruit and a light florality – but it’s all
a touch dilute, though fresh and pleasant enough. We liked the
Durbanville-origin Chardonnay most, for its pleasing, quietly
characteristic aromas not dominated by wood. It’s fairly rich and full
(IM particularly remarked on this, and its texture, pointing out that
many customers would much appreciate these aspects) – with bolder
flavours than the nose presages, and a bright acidity. Not an exciting
wine, but pretty decent. – TJ
Landskroon
Rooiberg
Simonsig
