Cape crusades with Schalk Burger, Jean Daneel & Luddite’s Niels Verburg

26 November 2009

Not a photo you’d usually associate with me or wine, but bear with me!

I’d timed my Western Australia trip so I got back for the annual South Africa “mega-tasting” in London but things didn’t go according to plan.  I picked up a flu bug  and, with a palate as dead as  a dodo, no mega-tasting for me….Fortunately,  Cape withdrawal symptoms have been overcome thanks to a run of top tastings, kicking off at Wembley.  All may become clear when I mention the producer’s name:

Schalk Burger & Sons

I’d not heard of Schalk Burger wines or, for that matter Springbok legends Schalk Burger senior and junior (junior pictured – Flickr photo by jomike).  Nor had I been to a rugby match before, so when I accepted an invitation to this tasting at the Springboks –v- Saracens match, it was very much in a spirit of adventure.  I was not disappointed.

Schalk senior bought Welbedacht Estate in Wellington, Paarl in 1997.  Its winemaking history dates back to the 1830s but Schalk initially sold the grapes.  Welbedachts’s vineyards, planted to no less than 19 varieties, have been the source of some famous Cape wines, notably Boekenhoutskloof’s Syrah and Chocolate Block.  Unsurprisingly, in 2003, Schalk decided to make his own wines and he’s clearly not a man to do things by halves.  The range includes the flagship No. 6 and Myra, red and white Rhone blends with a twist (a style I much admire, as do a number of you – see my report of July’s tasting of said genre here), Welbedacht single varietal wines and blends and Meerkat, the entry-level “critter brand.”

In his day, Schalk senior was a “lock,” so he is a man of no little size.  As my hand was engulfed in his handshake I wondered if the wines would reflect the man, powerful and robust.  But appearances can be deceptive – Schalk is a considered man and his wines are striking for their balance and restraint. He attributes this to his europhile palate and I noticed that his winemaker’s notes are peppered with references to their softly, softly approach: gentle destemming, delicate filtration and moderate fermentation temperatures “to promote elegance and temper harsh tannin extraction.”  All used to good effect.

Welbedacht Chenin Blanc 2007 – 30 year old bush vines and super-selection make for a ripe, honeyed melon and stone fruits with a creamy but well-balanced palate.  Well done and a good buy at £7.99

Welbedacht Chardonnay 2007 – again, good balance with ripe fig and pineapple, cashew and cream.  Not my favourite style of Cape Chardonnay but it’s well made for this genre.  £7.99

Myra 2007 -  a blend of 50% Viognier, 40% Chenin Blanc and 10% Chardonnay fermented and aged in 500l barrels.  This flagship white shows oxidative handling with its golden yellow hue.  A glorious lifted nose showing apple blossom, apricot, honey and quince, as it opens up, showing Loire-like poire tapee and honey.  The palate is sweeter, with white peach and apricot with a slightly singed, caramelised edge to it/burnt honey balanced by present acidity.  As on the nose, concentrated poire tapee comes to the fore in the mouth which remains well-balanced. I’d venture to say it’s very Schalk given it’s got a whack of Viognier but wears it so lightly…no doubt also the stamp of 40 year old Chenin bush vines.  I’ll be interested to see how this wine develops, both the 07 vintage, and future vintages. £24.99

Welbedacht Pinotage 2007 – fruit compote nose, shows plum and darker black fruits, warm earth, liquorice and chocolate on the palate supported by ripe but firm tannins.  Drier than most, with a dark spectrum of flavours.  A serious Pinotage. £9.99

Welbedacht Syrah 2006 – a lifted, floral, inky nose and palate with lively blackberry fruit and fine tannins.  Good persistence and spicy complexity to the finish which has an attractive freshness. £9.99

Welbedacht Cricket Pitch 2006 – a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah.  A spicy, slightly smoky balsamic-edged blackcurrant and red berry and plum nose and palate.  Quite tightly wound, long and mineral though there’s also a pronounced chocolate character to the finish.  A keeper.  Very good. £12.99

Welbedacht Hat Trick  2006 – this wine just picked up a Gold medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards.  It’s a complex, well balanced mouthful made up of 50% Pinotage, 41% Syrah & 9% of Merlot and on song now with its fleshy dark fruits layered with warm earth and lots of liquorice and dark chocolate.  Good length, well supported by firm ripe tannins.  Very good. £13.99

No. 6 2005 – a blend of Syrah, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Mourvedre, Pinotage and Viognier – I think my first blend of said 6!  A quite delicate spicy nose to this, fynbos and liquorice with a hint of chocolate rather than sweet fruit or lashings of oak.  In the mouth, it shows fine, powdery tannins, well-defined sappy blackberry and raspberry fruit to the mid-palate and a lingering savoury, earthy finish animated by lively acidity.  Only 6 barrels of this vintage and it’s an interesting wine, not exactly feather-light but yes, there’s a delicacy to it….For this price, it perhaps warrants a little more depth of flavour, but I’m excited by it nonetheless and would much prefer a wine erred on the side of elegance than go all showy blockbuster…a winery to watch! £49.99

Retailer (and distributor): Emperor Wines

Jean Daneel

I first came across Jean Daneel when Oddbins landed a tiny quantity of his Signature Merlot – the staff rumour mill went into overdrive and I’m not sure many customers beat them to buy it!  A few years later, I met Jean in the Cape during a fortnight of Chenin Blanc-focused research and his Signature Chenin emerged at the top of the pile.  It brilliantly combines power and finesse – the 2006 is a terrific example.

Incidentally, I took along two Loire Chenins from AOC Jasnières to tickle Jean’s palate, a traditional, demi-sec 1989 from Jean-Baptiste Pinon and Eric Nicolas’ Domaine de Bellivière Les Rosiers 2002.  Both impressed with their purity, structure and persistence.  The Nicolas was very pretty on the nose and palate, which dances with honey, apple blossom and quince – a youngster!  The Pinon, which I’d bought years ago when I was still a lawyer (!) built as it sat in the glass, showing a marvellous almond/almond paste character to its (attractively) vegetal/white truffle and stone fruit palate.

JD Initial White 2008 – this vintage augments Chenin, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc with Colombar for the first time – as Jean sainguinely explained, there’s not enough Sauvignon to go around.  The nose shows honey, aniseed and ginger.  A rich, subtly honey-edged palate features white peach and juicy lychee with good balancing acidity.  Its stoney mineral finish shows aniseed, a character I associate with good Cape Chenin.

Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc 2006 – a complex and persistent wine with honey/dried honey and nougat to its silky stone fruits.  Rich but by no means heavy, beautifully integrated acidity carries a long finish.  Lovely now but will keep going a few years yet.

JD Initial Red 2007 – this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and, oh not Bordeaux, Shiraz, has an aromatic nose with perfumed blueberry following through on the palate (something I often notice with Jean’s reds), together with warm earth/mineral notes.  It’s well structured despite being the baby – a reflection of a cooler year, plus Jean says in retrospect he’d use less Malbec which he found a little aggressive, it seems more solid and sturdy Cahors than fleshy Argentine.

Jean Daneel Signature Red 2005 – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot blend with a judicious dash of Shiraz for mid-palate weight.  A lovely floral, perfumed nose with blueberry joined on the palate by balsamic-edged plum, blackberry and mineral notes.  Tightly wound, with taut tannins, this needs time – lots of potential.  Very good.

You’ll find Jean Daneel wines at Harvey Nichols and good independents like Swig, Green & Blue and Wines of the World.

Luddite

Niels Verburg is the affable winemaker behind Luddite and, having given up juggling his own project with winemaking responsibilities elsewhere, is loving doing his own thing and focusing on Shiraz.   For his European tour he’s dug deep to demonstrate how the wine has evolved since the first 2000 vintage.

In overview, aside from vintage variation (odd years were cooler), the principal change has been the introduction of fruit from Luddite’s Bot River farm, which is owned by the Verburg and Meyer family. Bot River, a quite new ward in Walker Bay is located in a river valley, giving a choice of aspects (cool south eastern slopes for Luddite Shiraz) and, though hot in the daytime, by 4pm the vineyard has cooled down 5-6 degrees.  When Niels spoke at the Cape Fair last year he explained that this makes for a longer hang time and helps him “nurse the wine into bottle without fiddling.”  By the same token, shale on cool clay based soils retain sufficient moisture to obviate the need to irrigate, so no fiddling there either!

I certainly picked up an extra notch of brightness to the 2004 when Bot River fruit made its debut.  In 2009, Luddite Shiraz comprised 100% estate fruit and Niels hopes to continue in this vein.  He has also shifted towards a higher percentage of French oak which has increased since the advent of Bot River fruit from 70-75% to 80-95%.

Luddite Shiraz 2000 – garnet hue, with a smoky, spicy nose and palate with sweet plum,woodsmoke, liquorice and chocolate.  Ripe but well-balanced – I reckon it may not develop much more complexity, but it will hold for some years yet.  Good.

Luddite Shiraz 2001 – deep red hue, less developed looking than the 2000, this was my favourite of the line up.  Very vinous in the mouth, the oak has integrated well yet the fruit remains bright with red and black berries and spicy carraway.  Lovely length, persistence and minerality.  Niels likens this vintage to the 2005.  Terrific

Luddite Shiraz 2002 – a deeper colour with an opaque core. This was a difficult vintage, hit by mildew.  Malmesbury fruit from drier, warmer Swartland entered the equation for the first time, as did (first and last time) a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, which introduced a different green note (dried green peppercorn/herb sausage) and firmer tannins.  Robust with smoky dark fruits, chocolate and warm earth.

Luddite Shiraz 2003 – a real depth of flavour/intensity to this textured wine, it’s broadand long, showing spicy red and black fruits, plum, chocolate, iron earth/blood.  Very good.

Luddite Shiraz 2004 – crimson, opaque wine.  A savoury, gamey nose and generous, yielding palate shows bright red fruits and fleshy plum with milk chocolate – less dark, more lifted.  Good.

Luddite Shiraz 2005 – sinewy, persistent and long this shows lots of potential with its tight-knit fruit and mineral finish.  Impressive.

Luddite Shiraz 2006 – deep crimson with youthful purple flashes.  Broad fleshy plum and black cherryfruit backed by firm, supple tannins.  A little dumb now – needs time to build in complexity though its quite approachable now.

Luddite Shiraz 2007 – bright crimson/purple, fresh and youthful in hue, nose and palate with a sheen of vanilla oak.  Lovely freshness beneath with bright red and black fruits, this is finely structured with good persistence.  Very promising.

Stockists (and distributors) - Les Caves de Pyrene.

Sundry sups from Thierrys (importers)

Excelsior Sauvignon Blanc 2009, WO Robertson – South Africa does Sauvignon well – not in yer face, sky high aromatics, more citrus and mineral, so a little nearer the Loire than NZ.  This is a good example showing a ripe citrus and lemon zest nose and palate balanced by fresh, mineral acidity.  Value for money at £5.99 in Waitrose.

Oak Valley OV Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008, WO Elgin – I’m a big fan of South Africa’s Sauv/Sem blends and they’re gaining ground and kudos with every year. This 60/40 blend shows a fresh, mineral nose with complex layers of quite funky fynbos edged lime/lime zest, lemon and fresh cut apple/apple core.  It has a bosky minerality, not for everyone, but I like it – distinctly dry  and grown up  – we’re into grapefruit sorbet territory – with well integrated oak revealing a hint of vanilla.  Not currently listed in the UK, UK RRP £10-15

Excelsior Paddock Shiraz 2006, WO Robertson – well made for a £5.99 Shiraz, a little more in a Syrah mold with fleshy, earthy plum and dried spice notes.  It’s not earth-shattering but, like the Sauvignon, it’s got decent life and character to it at this price point, which all too often suffers from same’y,  sugared up, sprayed-on-oak wines.

Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective

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