Page 46 - Anna Doxie first new format

Surprising Wines of South Africa

By Deborah Damery Lazear, CSW

Why Do Goats Roam?
Today’s South African wines are said to reflect the classi-
cism of the Old World while at the same time being influ-
enced by the contemporary fruit-driven styles of the New
World.

I picked up the bottle off the shelf and began to
read the fable of the baobab tree. Its root system
appears to be reaching towards the sky and not
into the ground. What, I thought, did a tree have
to do with a bottle of South
African Syrah? And then it hit me; everything.
South Africa’s wine industry has one foot in its
history roots and one foot in its future where the
sky is the limit.

South Africa’s wine making history dates back three centu-
ries when the Dutch East India Company planted French
vine cuttings of Chenin Blanc, which they renamed Steen.
46 I tasted a bottle of Storyteller Chenin Blanc recently; it had
the raciness of citrus and the floral nose that reminded me
of an old world Vouvray with the new world price point of
US$10. I was intrigued. I hadn’t explored South Africa’s
wines past its signature Pinotage for quite some time. I
suppose this was due to lack of opportunity and also my
lack of knowledge about how far the wine industry has
come since 1994. Post apartheid, the wine industry is
exhibiting a New World attitude and receiving the global
recognition and increased presence on wine shop shelves
in all price ranges it deserves. Half the vine plantings are
less than a dozen years old, replanted with newer and
better clones of old world grapes such as Cabernet, Syrah, The Cape Wine Country is the 9th largest producer of wine
and Merlot. These new clones are more leaf-roll virus in the world. But don’t be fooled by the seemingly large
resistant, a constant problem in Cape vineyards. Also, the production. Only a tiny portion of that wine is of high quality
newer clones are more in line with new world palates; need and available for export. Much is turned into brandy.
I mention Robert Parker!
The Cape has a climate that is influenced by the Atlantic
Cooperatives such as KWV have less hold on the winer- Ocean on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. It
ies today, down to 25% from previous levels. This change is frequently compared to the Côte-du-Rhône region of
encourages bold young wine makers, such as Marc Kent, France. Be prepared for three distinct climates: cool and
Eben Sadie, and Gyles Webb, to strike out on their own. breezy Stellenbosch for Cabernet and Chenin Blanc; Paarl,
European wine aristocrats, such as Elaine de Lencquesa- Franschhoek for Syrah and Rhône varieties; and very cool
ing of Chateau Pichon-Longueville and Anne Cointreau, Walker Bay for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Soils vary
have lent an air of respectability and Old World style, espe- from region to region. This is reminiscent of France, espe-
cially in the Franschhoek “French corner”, whilst the young cially Burgundy, with its limestone, shale, and schist. Gran-
South African winemakers provide a fresh approach with ite is also evident, forcing the vines to struggle for nutrients
fruit forward wines of Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot, and Rhône and water making for more intense wines that speak of their
varietals, as well as a smattering of more unusual varieties terroir. The Cape area also has a mountainous influence
such as Nebbiolo. creating microclimates that remind me of Napa, California.
March/April 2008.Vol I