A new season of sauvignons 19 November 2007

Some fashionable single vineyards and new regions considered by Melvyn Minnaar

Of course, those who know and really appreciate it, consider good sauvignon blanc more as a wine which will pick up a healthy year of age before coming into full bloom and tantalising enjoyment. But because some top producers planted the ephemeral idea of ‘young, fresh and vibrant’ into every consumer ear (probably for cash flow reasons), just as they started making good sauvignon, we’re now stuck with the somewhat warped conception that South African sauvignon blanc wines should be drunk immediately after the vintage that produced them.

The naughty Nederburg Auction organisers’ decision this year to flog seven 2007 SBs in a new ‘category’, ‘Current Vintages’, (not too successful in sales, one might add), didn’t really help in that sense.

Most SB lovers have learn that fresh-and-now is not necessarily true, but unfortunately the young-and tender-vintage image has stuck to the market. The result: at the outbreak of the new summer, we’re flooded with youthful sauvignons, most of them so fresh and untogether that everything – like acid and fermentation aromas – stands out like adolescent pimples.

Cape Agulhas
Amidst the distant paradise that is the gorgeous fynbos-blessed Lomond property, last week, one of the partners in that enterprising vinous project admitted as much. On hand to usher in the 2007 releases of the range of Sauvignon Blancs – two single vineyards, one generic – from the one-and-only wine-of-origin Cape Agulhas producer, part-owner Wayne Gabb agreed that the wines show better after a year. Managers from Distell, a project partner which vinifies the grapes and markets the wines under the Cape Legends portfolio, remained tight lipped.

Tasting the new 2007 Lomond Pincushion and Sugarbush single-vineyard sauvignons next to a dramatic dam stocked with trout and surrounded by Overberg fynbos in full flower is clearly is to the advantage of the offerings. A helicopter flip earlier gave a bird’s eye view of these carefully managed vineyards, where the soil colours reflect the individuality pursued by the winemaker (in this case Distell’s smart Kobus Gerber).

The idea, say the Lomond people, is to focus on polishing that terroir expression in the winery. Although still fairly young, the vines are in a unique position near Gansbaai, barely eight kilometres from the sea, on the Uilenkraals river.

The differences between the somewhat shy winess, at this stage, seem to consist just in a shift sideways. Sugarbush comes with more grassy aromatics and minerals than the Pincushion, which is a little more floral, figgy. The generic Lomond Sauvignon Blanc has a small portion of nouvelle added. It may be the typical green crispness of this recently-invented grape that give that wine too a nice grip.

Smartly crafted, the wines came across more as work-in-progress. Whether that relates to getting more maturity in the vineyards, remains to be seen. That Lomond’s vines grow in a unique spot means it has all the offerings of future terroir adventure.  

Lamberts Bay, Durbanville and elsewhere

Very young too are the vines of another wine region that has made its debut. From a distant West Coast seaside ward comes the first wine-of-origin Lamberts Bay. Rather amusingly named Sir Lambert (after Admiral Sir Robert Lambert), this is the first wine from a partnership comprising Lamberts Bay GP John Hayes, Vredendal viticulturalist Johann Teubes and Durbanville’s Diemersdal wine family.

Diemersdal has, of course, walked the long walk with sauvignon, so the team was on a good wicket with the three-year-old, 10-hectare vineyard, a few kilometres from the sea and local help who pick the grapes by hand in early morning, capturing cool-climate characteristics, according to winemaker Thys Louw.

Louw, son of owner Tienie, is now in charge of the whole Diemersdal wine operation and sauvignon clearly gives him a thrill. Together with Mari van der Merwe, he has delivered a whole array of different sauvignons from the 2007 vintage, well-received by local critics: Diemersdal Estate, Eight Rows, Single Vineyard, as well as the Sir Lambert. Another new version is named MM Louw and offered as a top-end wine – which it certainly feel like with its more solid mouthfeel and length.

All the wines are, well, interesting – with Diemersdal flying the flag high for Durbanville terroir expression and the Lamberts Bay offering showing elements of that ‘sea breeze’ minerality. If the acids come across a little sharp right now, they should integrate and contribute to most drinkable wines after a few more months in bottle.

As the new season of sauvignons unfold we will see more. Value-for-money Dutoitskloof has released a most palate-friendly reserve version. And also in the vein of individuality is Nederburg’s new Manor House Sauvignon. In contrast to the single vineyard focus, this one celebrated the art of blending, with grapes from Durbanville, Darling and Stellenbosch. It’s a bold, well-structured wine with plenty of complex aromatics. It too will get better in the bottle.

It is such a pity that only Lomond has bottled these new wines under screwcap. For some reason the others still believe they must take a chance with cork on their best wines.

COMMENT

From Emile Joubert:
Once again, Melvyn aka "Stelvin" Minnaar cannot let a missive slip by without flaunting his cork paranoia. As in Michael Fridjhon's recent posting, we now have wine writers trying to tell wine makers what they should use as a closure and pontificating to consumers which closures are better. As far as I recall, any wine maker is better equipped in the technical department to select his or her product's preferred closure than these and other commentators who are slaves to fashion. If you deem cork inferior, please complement your personal issues with some technical and other facts. Or even better: stop accepting free samples from wineries who are not yet screwed-up.