In search of wines past: Part 2 15 January 2007

Another 1997 wine (and story) opened by Angela Lloyd: this time an extraordinary semillon

Niche is nice. Winelovers with adventurous palates will know what I mean. While the majority stick to the safe and familiar, those who crave new taste sensations from unusual varieties, blends or styles, enthusiastically seek out the more obscure, finding delight in those that offer as much and often more than the mainstream.

Why is there so little exploration beyond these mainstream bounds? Okay, a few but important producers are mixing niche and mainstream in a small way, but where is the resolve, imagination and courage to experiment with quality varieties successful elsewhere in the world with similar conditions to our own? The Cape has much in common with southern Italy, for instance; who can say that the likes of nero d'avola, negroamaro, aglianico or fiano, among others, wouldn't add immensely to South African wine's prestige?

My rant is usually met with the answer that we should first be getting right what we already have. I don't buy that; what if others, including the above varieties, prove easier to grow (less water, fewer pesticides) and produce better results (lower alcohols, fresher, more characterful) with less manipulation? Heaven forbid we should throw out grapes that for centuries have proved their classic status but the future is long-term, as should be our crystal ball gazing.

The ‘satellite’ varieties we do have we do very well. It's perhaps strange to place semillon in this category, when the variety covered nearly the whole of the Cape's vineyards at the end of the 20^th century. Today it accounts for a mere 1.1 percent (around 1100 ha) drop in the Cape's ocean of vineyards but punches well above this meagre representation.

It's been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember; white Graves and Hunter Valley wines in particular. Some twenty years ago, when I expressed the view in hearing of Delheim's Spatz Sperling that I thought semillon was vastly underrated in South Africa, it led to my brief venture into winemaking….

Thank goodness semillon's future wasn't left in my hands! Today some of our smartest winemakers are showing the grape's true class and aging potential: among them, Duncan Savage from Cape Point Vineyards, Steenberg's John Loubser, Marc Kent of Boekenhoutskloof and André van Rensburg of Vergelegen; all fellow fanatics.

André is now so indelibly associated with Vergelegen many will forget he was previously at Stellenzicht (even fewer that he once made pinotage at Saxenburg!). Although the famous, Grange-beating 1994 Syrah is the best known legacy of his Stellenzicht era, he also crafted some wonderful and well-awarded semillons, including the 1997 Reserve. This picked up Best South African white wine at the 1998 International Wine and Spirits Competition and was also recognised by French palates on what was then known as the Prêteux Bourgeois Classic Trophy Show, where it received the white wine trophy.

Breathtaking

A decade later, I had absolutely no expectations about this wine before I opened it: it could be okay or over the hill. What I was not prepared for was a wine that took my breath away. The first encouraging signs were an excellent fill level and an almost dry cork, but that was before I poured a glass. It was as though the wine had stood still in time, so fresh is its sunny straw shot with green brilliance; the sort of colour one might expect from a youthful barrel-fermented wine. Where time has worked its mellowing magic is to  weave a savoury veil over semillon's characteristic lanolin, juicy peach/winter melon scents with their lemon peel overtones. Oaking is perfectly judged to provide extra dimension only. One of semillon's main attractions for me is its caressing texture; here that swish, satiny weight is set off by refreshing acid - obviously a trademark of the cool vintage - and elegantly moderate alcohol. It says 13% on the label and doesn't give the impression of much more. Memorable now, properly stored it should easily go another three to five years.

Back in 1998 the Platter Guide described this as a food wine. How right! I tossed together a delicious, cholesterol-rich pasta with asparagus, cream and ham, the recipe courtesy of Marcella Hazan; it proved a dream partner to this seductive semillon.