Hemel & Aaarde is a leading South African wine region. It means heaven on earth which, most appropriately, is the name of Stellar Organic’s novel roobois-dried sweet wine. It scooped a Gold Medal in this year’s International Wine Challenge and a Silver Medal at Decanter World Wine Awards 2010. It’s one of four sweet wines that stood out for me at Wines of South Africa’s Taste the Earth tasting. You’ll find my tasting notes below, together with details of the earth which gave birth to these toothsome wines.
Stellar Organic Winery Heaven on Earth dessert wine NV (Western Cape) – 100% Muscat d’Alexandrie – it’s not the most finesseful wine but, at the price, there’s lots to like about this organic/fair trade wine which sports very ripe, spicy orange peel with pink grapefruit. In the mouth it’s rich with a gutsy tarte tatin edge to its orange peel/marmalade, dried strawberry and grapefruit pith. Only now I’m writing up my notes have I noticed where the strawberry comes from – “grapes have been dried on roobois tea leaves which gives the wine a unique flavour.” RRP: £8.99 at The Bottleneck, Vintage Roots
Winemaker Dudley Wilson says “the soil is extremely poor of the desertic type: arid with scanty vegetation, the vines grow on a mix of sand and stones. The stressed vines and the scorching sun give the grapes a unique flavour which is emphasized by the grapes being dried on a bed of roobois tea leaves ( which solely grows in Western Cape ) in the same method as a vin de paille. From the most “anaemic” soil is born the most luscious wine.”
Delheim Edelspatz “Noble Botrytis Riesling” 2009 (Simonsberg) – this single vineyard Riesling was produced in an exceptional year for botrytis. It’s tight and salty with grapefruit pith and a hint of brulee too. Good balancing freshness, well done. (Incidentally Delheim’s dry Gewurztraminer 2008 showed promise with good varietal character. Just lacked a bit of concentration to warrant inclusion in my highlights – one to keep an eye on as vine age plays its part). RRP: £10.95 at Jackson Nugent Vintners
Soil type: Oakleaf / Tukulu
Paul Cluver Noble Late Harvest Riesling 2009 (Elgin) – a honeyed nose suggests it may be showing some development on the palate but in fact it’s fine, tight and long with lime and lime blossom, some lime pith too. Lovely concentration and persistence with a whistle sharp clean finish. Very good indeed. RRP: £12.25
The Riesling vineyard has a higher stony fraction of ferricrete origin thus very high in iron content which gives the Riesling quite a structured mid palate and also some austerity due to the racy acidity from the high natural total acidity we get from these soils.
Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2005 (Constantia) – Constantia’s Muscat de Frontignan sweeties prompted Charles Dickens to speak of “the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit” and Jane Austen to encourage her forsaken heroine to try a little Constnatia for its “healing powers on a disappointed heart.” Sadly, I didn’t have a home-made biscuit and happily, I don’t have a disappointed heart, but the Constantia worked its magic on this 21st century writer anyway! Lovely orange and orange peel nose, a touch confit and, in the mouth, it has glorious perfume (jasmine/orange blossom), balance (pithy pithy, sweet sweet) and persistence. An absolute treat! RRP: £30 at Berry Bros, Harrods, Lea & Sandeman, Harvey Nichols, selected Waitrose stores
Soil type: Hutton (deep red clay-rich soils, derived from decomposed granite). For winemaker Adam Mason “The high clay content in the vineyard efficiently absorbs and stores our generous winter rainfall, making it available to the plants throughout the growing season and into late summer. The desiccation process taking place on the vine results in raisined Muscat de Frontignan berries and this places an enormous strain on the plant’s resources, but in our case they are well buffered thanks to this adequate soil water reserve.”
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
(Wines tasted 27 July 2010)
