- Faced with tastings of categorically EPIC site-specific wines last week, we thought it time to address the topic of old vine wines with our Gen Z audience and just why they have catapulted SA wine into the stratosphere.
- With a selection of old vine wines to prove the point, Nthabi, strap in.
- In keeping with our intended monthly series of Gen Z-focused wine selections, please note that Nthabi represents the face of Gen Z and is meant to refer to the collective rather than an individual.
How many vines make a vineyard? Or, how big does a piece of land need to be to be representative of a place?
These are the questions running through the Cape Winelands at the moment. Site specificity, meaning wines made from one place, potentially a single soil type, single grape variety, single aspect, altitude, lovingly vinified in the most unobtrusive way, think no new oak, minimal sulphur, or additives, natural yeast, to be like Dr Seuss would say: "The youest of you."
These wines are currently making headlines in the wine press and are considered benchmark wines in most cases, depending on who made them and from where (look, not all grapes are made to stand alone). While the French have long made a tradition of naming small geographical areas, they call it "lieu-dits", named vineyards. Here in South Africa, we're still growing them, trying to keep them virus-free, discovering them, and figuring out what to call them.
The point being that when a grapevine is OLD (as in 35 years or older as defined by the Old Vine Project), then the resulting juice stands to be a unique representation, not just of the year and the grape variety, but of the site, the place, and a truly LEKKER wine. Such a grapevine has a well-developed root system, having withstood whatever the elements have thrown at it and still managed to remain relatively healthy and productive, offering a good yearly crop.
Now, Nthabi, conscious of your support of quintessentially local produce, I'd like to throw the proverbial hat in the ring for these wines and your consideration. The Old Vine Project, established by our (she is "our") Rosa Kruger in 2016, has grown exponentially since inception, with a 65% increase in old vine vineyard hectares. It now numbers over 130 Old Vine Members, with an average of 300 old vine vineyards registered annually.
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More than the focus on finding these old vines, the Old Vine Project's ethos has expanded to include the concept of planting to grow old, and these days, even propagating new plant material from healthy old vines, using proven genetic material to plant the vines of the future, BETTER.
While vines are not immortal (this is not an episode of Highlander... Nthabi, look it up, required 90s TV show), it makes sense that old vines may become virus-prone or merely die of old age somewhere along the line. Thus, the concept of planting to grow old has drawn the spotlight onto smarter viticultural practices to extend the lifespan of a vine and ensure healthy, vigorous vines that benefit from maturity - a practice that now extends beyond old vines.
While virus pressure still threatens the majority of South African vines, winemakers have become more proactive in pulling out affected shoots as they occur to protect the collective and planting young vines to fill their spot - definitely muddying the water as to the collective age of the vineyard, though, as a collective, the motto is better healthy than slowly poisoning the whole block.
As wine origins become more and more defined, going from district to ward, to estate, and now sometimes to 0.4ha somewhere on a specific aspect, at a specific altitude, farmed by a specific family/man/woman - things are really getting into your wheelhouse of authenticity Nthabi - the literal fruits of the land, YOUR land, which you really should get to know.
As such, I consulted with the Old Vine Project for recently registered old vine wines and thought I'd offer you this selection for consideration. Before you @ me on the price, do note that time, effort, financial investment, and potentially small yields all play a role in making these wines valuable commensurate with - or sometimes even more so - than reflected in the price. But taste and see what they mean to you.
A selection of "new" old vine wines:
Rock of Eye Chenin Blanc 2022 - R350 per bottle
Coenie Snyman (previously of Rust en Vrede, the 2009 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year, and a Cape Winemakers Guild Member) recently started his own brand, Rock of Eye, named for an old tailor's term meaning to create garments through feel and not precise measurements, instinct born of experience. The Rock of Eye Chenin Blanc is made from a site on the Simonsberg, planted in 1980, and made in the minimal interventionist way that has come to define these top-rated, single-site wines - quintessential Simonsberg Chenin Blanc.
Mulderbosch Vineyards Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc Block W 2021 - R315 per bottle
Another Stellenbosch Chenin, this time more Polkadraai, is sourced from one of Muldersbosch's longest-standing growers, Rustenhof, planted in 1978, bush vine, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Decanter rated it 93 points and wrote: "A broody, slightly savour nose shows hints of apple skins, peach, and lemon citrus. Palate continues in a similar vein, with assertive fruit, good concentration, and citric acidity."
Jordan Wines Timepiece Sauvignon blanc 2022 - R429 per bottle
The Jordans in Stellenboschkloof have recently introduced their range of estate, old-vine wines under the Timepiece label. Including the wine of these 40-year-old Sauvignon Blanc vines on a cool south-facing vineyard 226m above sea level. Sold out almost everywhere, they ration you to only two bottles per person.
Black Elephant Vintners The Dark Side of the Vine Semillon 2023 - R450 per bottle
Made from a vineyard planted in 1905, the historic Landau du Val vineyard in Franschhoek, they couldn't produce wine from it in 2018 and were forced to skip a vintage. This is their fifth bottling of the Franschhoek old vine Semillon, which, if you haven't heard, is fast becoming the trademark grape of Franschhoek. Greg Sherwood MW wrote of the 2017 vintage: "This is one of the most impressive old vine Semillons produced in South Africa."
Sakkie Mouton Vloedvlak Colombar 2022 - R650 per bottle
Made from vines planted in 1978 by Mr Karel Voigt's father on the farm Dwarsdeur, 35km from the Atlantic, just outside Vredendal on the West Coast. Named for the old irrigation method where vineyards are flooded until they reach saturation, these vines have been under water more times than it can count, and has survived THIS long, making for some pretty unique juice. Of the 2022 vintage Greg Sherwood MW rated it 94 + points and wrote: "Sakkie Mouton once again succeeds in expressing his own unique winemaking genius with a wine that boasts a classic West Coast terroir character."
Naud Soutbos White blend 2023 - R425 per bottle
Ian loves the West Coast and old vines, though he'll be the first to tell you that not all old people are nice people. His first new white blend release in 14 years, the Soutbos Old Vine 83% Chenin Blanc (planted in 1988) and 17% Colombard (planted in 1985) blend, is set to be a cracker. Greg rated it 97 points and wrote: "One of the most exciting and thought-provoking new releases on the South African white wine landscape since possibly the launch of Eben Sadie's Old Vine Skerpioen."
Natte Valleij Darling Cinsault 2023- R325 per bottle
You don't know old vine Cinsault until you've tried Alex Milner's old vine, site-specific Cinsaults. He does two, one from Stellenbosch and one from Darling. Tamlyn Currin of Jancis Robinson MW once wrote of his Cinsault: "It was a coup de coeur. It was not just that. It was seismic. It was the first time I'd tasted Cinsault. It was the first time I actually understood the variety. It was a lightning strike. Alex Milner was the person who taught me that Cinsault is not a blending grape. It transmits terroir with spine-tingling clarity. It has haunting purity. It's refined and delicate but speaks its stories with persistence and confidence. It's the hot-climate answer to Pinot Noir. I was spellbound." Made from a vineyard planted in 1978, 16km from the Atlantic in Darling, Tamlyn calls it her darling Cinsault.
Metzer Family Montane Chenin Blanc 2021- R360 per bottle
Wade Metzer is effortlessly cool and a skater to boot. He found some of the last standing old vines on the Helderberg and vinified them winningly. The 2021 Montane Chenin from a parcel planted in 1964 on the foothills of the Helderberg West Peak is one of my favourite. Tim Atkin MW rated it 96 points.
Let's start there, Nthabi. See what you think.
