South Africa is my go to place in the New World for Sauvignon Blanc. At a recent Wines of South Africa (WOSA) tasting, Sauvignon Blancs, Semillons and blends of the two, really shone.
I’ve picked out my highlights below, grouped under WOSA’s “style reference” headings. WOSA’s aim was to highlight that South Africa’s diverse regionality allows its producers to draw comparisons with many classic wine styles from around the world.
While I didn’t always agree with the style reference, especially for straight Semillons, the range of styles was attractively diverse by reason of site, different harvest dates and, no doubt, different winemaking techniques too (super-reductive or with more oxidative juice handling, with solids and extended lees contact).
What’s more, top wines like Tokara Directors Reserve White and Steenberg Magna Carta (pictured) impressed with their sheer individuality. Not Bordeaux or Margaret River wannabees, these terrific wines go their own way!
Style reference: Loire Sauvignon Blanc
Ataraxia Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Western Cape) – quite dusty and herbal with fresh pea pod too on a subtly textured palate with steely, grapefruity acidity. Alcohol:13.5% UK Stockists / Importer: Stone, Vine & Sun, RRP: £10.75
Quote from winemaker, Kevin Grant: “Minerality is the signature characteristic of cool climate wines. It is the hallmark of top Sancerre wines. This wine also has great minerality.”
Tokara Walker Bay Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Walker Bay) – though its shows herbaceous notes on the nose, in the mouth it possesses a lovely richness of juicy ripe gooseberry fruit with fresh grass cuttings bringing lift to the finish. Alcohol: 14% UK Stockists: SWIG, Slurp – RRP: £13.99
Quote from winemaker, Miles Mossop: “This is a true expression of where the grapes are grown. Walker Bay has younger soils, where Stellenbosch and Elgin have richer, older soils. Wines from Walker Bay are more “Sancerre style” wines, where Elgin produces more New World style wines, with a lot more upfront fruit.”
Lomond Sugarbush Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Cape Agulhas) – a grassy, pungent nose and palate fleshed out with ripe gooseberry and juicy fresh cut apple. Good persistence. Very good. Alcohol: 14% RRP: £12.49 (Incidentally, I preferred this to the New Zealand referenced Lomond Pincushion Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2010, also from Cape Agulhas which I found a little “sticky” with its guava and passionfruit). UK Stockists / Importer: Forth Wines Ltd
Quote from winemaker, Kobus Gerber: “Brilliantly clear colour with green tinges. Intense ripe figs, asparagus and granadilla aromas. Full-bodied with an intense concentration of fruit flavours with a flinty and mineral aftertaste.”
Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Constantia) – a dusty, herbaceous edge to its very steely, juicy grapefruit palate. Good minerally persistence. Very good. Alcohol: 12.5%. Armit Wines Ltd. RRP: £12.99
Quote from winemaker, JD Pretorius: “Very similar to Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. Flint and minerality dominates the flavour profile. Elegant style of Sauvignon with a New World freshness.”
Iona Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Elgin) – ripe golden delicious, with wild apple blossom on nose and palate, honey hints too. Lovely freshness. Very good. Alcohol: 13.5% RRP: £12.99 Stockists: SWIG, Slurp
Quote from John Seccombe, winemaker: “Iona is significantly cooler than any other vineyard site in South Africa. We harvest our Sauvignon Blanc in late March/early April, up to 2 months later than other vineyards. The long, cool ripening of the grapes results in phenolically ripe grapes with complex flavours of white fruit, with delicate grassy undertones, supported by good minerality and natural acidity.”
Style reference: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Lands End Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Elim, Agulhas) – 93% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Semillon and an attractive synthesis of the pair, with fresh grassy herbs as well as spicy bay leaf and a richness to the palate which shows waxy ripe lemon fruit. Alcohol: 14%, RRP: £10.99, UK Stockists: Imbribos, Chester Beer and Wine, The Vineking
Quote from Louis Nel, winemaker: “This well-balanced wine with a pure, flinty character is interwoven with defined gooseberry, nettle and fig notes. A hint of Semillon lends weight to the palate, while the elegant minerality follows through to a long lasting finish.”
Tokara Directors Reserve White 2008 (Simonsberg Mountain, Stellenbosch) – this powerhouse is a blend of 72% Sauvignon Blanc 28% Semillon. While the oak is quite dominant now, there’s plenty of depth and layer beneath with lemon oil, waxy ripe lemon and an attractive funky leesy quality which lends a savoury tang to the textured mid-palate. Long and broad with terrific structure and mouthfeel. A very singular wine. Excellent. Alcohol: 14%. RRP: £19.99 UK Stockists: SWIG, Slurp
Quote from Miles Mossop, winemaker: “Our terroir in Stellenbosch is colder climate Stellenbosch as the vineyard sites high up on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountains have a longer ripening period than the warmer climate Stellenbosch terroirs, and thus produces wines with a lot of fruit flavours, but still with good acidities to make them last longer and mature into great wines with elegance.”
Steenberg Magna Carta 2009 (Coastal Region) – another powerful, textured blend of 57% Sauvignon Blanc, 43% Semillon. Though it has sweet, ripe, fat gooseberry core with waxy lemon notes, it’s also mineral and herbaceous with steely, dusty grapefruit and dried herbs/ sweet talc. Very intense. Excellent. Alcohol: 13.5%
Quote from JD Pretorius, winemaker: “Herbaceous on first sight, with asparagus and nettles. Opening up into limes and lemongrass with tangerines and apricots on the palate.” RRP: £39.95 UK Stockist: Armit Wines Ltd.
Style reference: Hunter Valley Semillon, Australia
You’ll find plenty of recent tasting notes of top Hunter Valley Semillon on my Australia regional report page here and I’m bound to say that this pair are quite different from anything I’ve ever tasted from the Hunter. I’d say the Cape’s cool climate regions produce wines which are closer in style to Margaret River or Bordeaux, perhaps because there’s a herbaceous edge suggestive of Sauvignon to them, though both are 100% Semillon.
David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2008 (Elim) - a pungent nose shows dried herbs, sweet talc, lemon zest and pea pod which racily follow through on a lively palate with good length and mineral persistence. Great vitality and nuance. 13.5% abv. £17.20 at Bancroft Wines (incidentally, I notice that the 2007 vintage [not tasted] is £13.29 at Waitrose)
Quote from David Nieuwoudt, winemaker: “The Grapes are grown in the distinctive cool climate area of Elim which is expressed in the wine with aromas of minerals, nettles, figs and dusty dry fynbos. These flavour components are typical of the Elim provenance.”
Steenberg Semillon 2010 (Constantia) – A rounder, riper textured palate shows subtle stone fruits, with hints of dried herbs, flint and smoke. A lovely, long, very poised wine; beautifully textured. 13% abv. £135.58 /case of 6 at Armit Wines.
Quote from JD Pretorius, winemaker: “Peach and apricot flavours on the nose, with hints of cream caramel. The palate shows quince and tangerines, with a melt in your mouth creaminess.”
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
(Wines tasted 23 March 2011)
