In search of wines past: Part 8 29 June 2007

Angela Lloyd concludes her tastings of 1997s with, appropriately, a port – and some thoughts about 'sparkling champaigne' and other wine evocations

Ahhh, the port; at last, the port! The sigh of relief you might hear announces a respite between completing my Platter commitments for this year and resuming battle with the neglected pile in the inbox.

For port more than any other style of wine can induce a sense of calm, relaxation and meditation – a perfect state for restoring the battered brain cells and taste buds and allowing for reflection on what the fermented juice of the grape is all about.

Everyone who reads the Grape website must be aware of the issues that attract the most visitors; the hit rate soared during the debates on the Woman Winemaker of the Year, restaurant prices and Tim Atkin's views. By contrast, wine itself, whether a review or criticism, elicits little response. This is not unique to South Africa; reading through local and international wine publications, it's the controversial stuff pretty well exclusively that readers feel the need to rush to comment on.

And yet it is evocation, through the written word or speech, of the pleasures and diversity of wine (in moderation, of course!) that should inspire the opening of a bottle in the first place.

The following, wonderfully descriptive passage by 9-year old Daisy Ashford in her book The Young Visiters is the sort of writing that could offer such inspiration. (The spelling and grammar are hers.)

They arrived at Windsor very hot from the journey and Bernard at once hired a boat to row his beloved up the river. Ethel could not row but she much enjoyed seeing the tough sunburnt arms of Bernard tugging at the oars as she lay among the rich cushions of the dainty boat. She had a rarther lazy nature but Bernard did not know of this. However he soon got dog tired and suggested lunch by the mossy bank.

Oh yes said Ethel quickly opening the sparkling champaigne.

Don’t spill any cried Bernard as he carved some chichen.

They eat and drank deeply of the charming viands ending up with merangs and chocolates.

Let us now bask under the spreading trees said Bernard in a passionate tone.

Oh yes lets said Ethel and she opened her dainty parasole and sank down upon the long green grass. She closed her eyes but she was far from asleep. Bernard sat beside her in profound silence gazing at her pink face and long wavy eyelashes. He puffed at his pipe for some moments while the larks gaily caroled in the blue sky. Then he edged a trifle closer to Ethels form.

Ethel he murmered in a trembly voice.

Oh what is it said Ethel hastily sitting up.

Words fail me ejaculated Bernard horsly my passion for you is intense he added fervently. It has grown day and night since I first beheld you.

Oh said Ethel in supprise I am not prepared for this and she lent back against the trunk of the tree.

(taken from Quaffing Quotes and Wine Facts, Centaur Publishers)

Now, don't you feel the urge to open and enjoy a bottle of sparkling wine? There is no hyping of brand or ratings, nor any need for them, the story offers all the encouragement and the choice of sparkling wine perfectly matches the occasion and mood. Could more inspirational writing increase a wider enjoyment of wine? I'd like to think so.

Then there's the question of matching wine to mood. Bernard and Ethel's romantic encounter would not have been well-served by a gangly, energetic 2007 sauvignon blanc – neither would my need to restore brain cells and taste buds.

To the port
Boets and Stroebel Nel's 1997 De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve Port has proved an ideal restorative, even providing enjoyment over a week or two – during the heart of a desperately long, cold and wet winter – without fading. The spirit warms but warms with soothing richness; the fruit is mellow, authentic and quietly satisfying in a lighter mode reflecting the vintage. It's a wine that pleases with its genuine quality, reflecting both style and place; distinctive wild herbs and scrub, such as found in the arid land around Calitzdorp.

Calitzdorp ports win plenty of awards, but one has the feeling that the Calitzporters (as the producers are affectionately known) place more importance on improving quality, such is the consistency of their wines. Vintage differences apart, I fully expect the Nel's 2007 Vintage Reserve (2007 was a good port vintage, so I guess there'll be a De Krans Vintage Reserve) will offer similar satisfaction in ten and probably up to twenty years' time. Such a positive frame of mind ensures space will be found for this and other youngsters on our cellar shelves. (Note, of course, that the name of the property has now changed to ‘De Krans’ – when this wine was bottled it was still Die Krans.)

Ten years on
As mentioned in my previous piece on Cordoba Crescendo and Saxenburg Merlot, this contemplative dipping into ten year old wines has proved a worthwhile and fascinating experience. The surprises have come from the white wines, which have matured brilliantly. Positive comments about our white wines today would not astonish; they are receiving good reviews worldwide, but it is interesting they were obviously showing great promise – as yet unrecognised – ten years back.

My favourite? I just can't decide between the Stellenzicht Semillon and Klein Constantia Riesling and since both varieties are undeserved underdogs, I'll leave them as joint favourites. The reds are less of a problem; the Boekenhoutskloof Syrah remains as remarkable as it was ten years ago, it's my obvious choice as favourite red. But a commendation and thanks are due to the De Krans Vintage Reserve Port which has been such an effective source of calming and relaxation after a very pressured period.

We are too accustomed to drinking wines barely out of their grape skins; there are many rewards to be enjoyed from wines with the benefit of even a few years' mellowing, not least all the other memories from that vintage.

From Dave Ingram:
I invariably find that modern reds do not age as well. In the past a Zonnebloem cab of 15 years old was great. I remember enjoying a few cases of 1980. I now would not consider ageing Zonnebloem (in fact I do not buy it). What I have found is that more reds seem to have a cork taint, even if not corked as such. In essence cork is tree bark, which is effectively oak, which means that over years of exposure, cork will change the flavour of the wine. My question then is did you notice a cork flavour on the older whites?  They were probably oaked anyway so the cork may be less prominent. Tasting in Oz last year, where most wines are under Stelvin, the best/reserves were under cork. One could taste the cork effect/flavour. I find that most wines without cork, be it supreme corq or other plastic or stelvin are fresher and more consistent than wines under cork.

Angela replies:
Lots of points here, Dave. Firstly, if a cork is tainted with TCA (derived from funghi naturally present in cork), it will immediately become evident in the wine, not after a period of maturation. A taint free cork will not affect the wine in any way, other than allowing it to age or mature as a result of the composition of the wine. However, the wine itself may become tainted prior to bottling, caused by contamination in the winery. So unless all the wines you tasted were marred by some contamination, I'm not sure what you mean by tasting the cork effect/flavour. What you might be speaking of is random oxidation, more common in whites than reds and which can be but isn't exclusively due to cork problems, eg an incomplete seal with the bottle, which allowed oxygen into the wine. Cork is not the same as the oak wood itself, the bark being inert as opposed to the wood, which contains many extractable substances which find their way into wine during maturation.

While I agree many young wines closed with products other than cork, but probably mainly screwcaps, can taste much fresher, there remains much debate about how they will mature.

I'm glad to report there were certainly no cork problems with the older whites, neither the oaked semillon and chardonnay nor the unoaked riesling. In fact they had matured - ie gained in complexity - over the past ten years and were much more rewarding and interesting for that. My impression is that the reason the 1997 reds didn't perform so well was mainly due to the vintage - unusually cool - weather conditions local winemakers were unused to dealing with. This made judging the right time for harvesting difficult; many panicked and picked too early.

From Peter May:
Angela says 'A taint free cork will not affect the wine in any way, other than allowing it to age or mature as a result of the composition of the wine.' I disagree with Angela -- I think Dave Ingram is correct, corks do impart the taste of cork to wine. To taste it for yourself take a fresh cork or one just removed from a bottle, pour two glasses of water before you go to bed and drop the cork in one glass. Next morning take a drink from each glass. One reason screwcap closed wines taste fresher is because they don't have that cork taste.

From Angela again:
Never one to shy from experiment, I put Peter May's idea to the test. The cork came from a bottle of 2001 Boekenhoutskloof Semillon. The closure is in very good shape and looks as though it has a coating, which would be of silicone. As instructed, I placed it in one of two glasses of filtered water (our tap water has enough chlorine to make a cork taint on contact!) weighting it so that it was fully submerged and leaving both overnight.

The glass containing the cork had picked up a slight tint overnight, possibly from the wine residue on the bottom of the cork and this was possibly also the cause of the slightly different taste in the water containing the glass. There was no taste that I could associate with cork. Perhaps Dave and Peter should consider my experience as the reason for what they describe as the taste of cork.

From Dave Ingram:
I remember reading somewhere that Meerlust did a test on screw cap against cork from wayback, the 80's ring a bell. Maybe Chris Wiliams could confirm this?

A note from the editor:
There have been a number of comparative tests of different closures over time, particularly in Australia. The purpose has usually been to compare oxidation and taint levels; I cannot recall reading any comments on the taste of cork itself being discussed. If anyone else is better informed, perhaps they'd let us know. – TJ

Dave Ingram asked for the comments of Peter Godden, a researcher with The Australian Wine Research Institute, who has done extensive research into wine closures. This was the response:
There are many modifications to wine flavour and aroma that can be caused by several types of closure, including cork. While about 6 or 8 ‘cork taint’ compounds have been identified, one in particular, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) is of particular importance. However, the others (as with TCA) if present in very low concentrations, certainly have the capacity to modify the aroma and flavour of wine. There is also what we call ‘cork wood’ character, although our sensory panel members have proved to be quite inconsistent over the years in reliably rating its presence and intensity. But as you say, cork does have a flavour which is unrelated to what are recognized as exogenous compounds that can get into cork and cause ‘cork taint”. So yes, in short, there are a number of ways in which cork can modify a wine, and in some circumstances one can certainly taste it.