My intention this month was to explore some of the exciting things going on in South Africa, where dedicated, innovative winemakers are making wonderful wines from some grape varieties we might not quite expect. We had a big focus on the region of Swartland, which has received less attention than the likes of Stellenbosch in the past, but is now coming to prominence with high quality wines from dry-farmed bush vines.
You can’t really do justice to South Africa without some Chenin Blanc, and we kicked off each evening with Adi Badenhorst’s Secateurs Chenin Blanc, sourced from 25 different parcels around the Paardeberg Mountain in Swartland, and fermented in a variety of vessels. It was fresh, complex and very good value!
Also from Swartland was a Grenache Blanc from Momento. Marelise Niemann, the winemaker, fell in love with white Grenache in Priorat, and has found old parcels of the variety back home. A very high quality wine wiht lots of evolution potential.
Our final white was a blend of Chenin Blanc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Semilllon Gris and Viognier, from the highly renowned Mullieneux winery in Swartland. A stunning wine.
Our reds kicked off with a Pinot Noir from Restless River, a winery we visited back in 2018 in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, part of the cool climate Walker Bay region close to Hermanus. Their wines have got better and better, and this was no exception.
Adi Badenhorst provided our second red, a Rhône blend with some Tinta Barroca (a Portugese variety) thrown in. Powerful and still youthful, it was excellent.
Back to Walker Bay for our final red, from the Bot River sub region, which is famed for the fynbos scrubland of the Kogelberg Biosphere, a UNESCO recognised nature refuge. The Gabriëlskloof winery (which we also visited in 2018) make glorious wines, and their ‘Syrah on Sandstone’ showed beautiful varietal character with a beautiful finish.
And to finish, a straw wine – made from bunches of Chenin Blanc and Muscat that have been dried on straw-lined racks for 3-4 weeks, before vinifcation of the raisin-like berries produces a sweet wine of great concentration. I have been presenting this wine, from Fairview in Paarl, for many years and this vintage (2023) really stood out for its concentration and unctuous sweetness – balanced with super acidity. At Teddington we enjoyed it with a lemon tart.
The variety and quality of wines we tasted was fantastic, it’s clearly time to get back to South Africa for an even deeper exploration.
Main course at Teddington was a cook Lasagne, while the Britannia served Richmond attendees with a smoked mackerel pâté and a chicken main.
For details of the wines please go to the Wines we have tasted page.
