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A Taste of South Africa with Richard Kelley

Fans of the wines of the Loire will know of Richard Kelley and his work in the region, tasting and selecting wines for the Richards Walford list, in particular the wines of Domaine Huet. This long association with the Loire can be traced back to Kelley's defining bottle, a 1969 Huet Vouvray, one that awakened him to wine as a passion and indeed ultimately as a career. But Kelley also has an intimate knowledge of all things South African, hardly surprising when we consider that this Master of Wine worked there for many years. His visit to the country in 1993 in order to prepare his MW dissertation on the importance of temperature in red winemaking evolved into a seven-year stint there, long enough to become intimately familiar with the nation's wines. Although he returned to the UK in 2002 to take up his post with Richards Walford he still clearly has South Africa in his blood, and to this day he continues to return there each year.

Kelley was recently up in Scotland, on something of a grand tour accompanied by proprietors and winemakers from four of Richards Walford's South African estates, and over a 'working lunch' I joined him and a number of other local retailers and restaurateurs to take a look at their wines. The four winemakers in question included Carl van der Merwe of Quoin Rock, Carla Kretzel of Lammershoek and Chris Williams of Meerlust, who brought along wines from his personal project which he runs alongside his Meerlust commitments under the title of The Foundry. The fourth member of the group was Tierhoek, represented by Roger Burton and Shelley Sandell, who as well as showing their admirable 2004 Chenin Blanc brought along the 2006 vintage of the estate's Straw Wine, which I have already featured as my wine of the week (by chance I had been drinking the same vintage at home only a week or two before this tasting). We savoured the wines over lunch at The Champany Inn, an old coaching house in Linlithgow which caused a few eyebrows to rise recently when it was awarded a Michelin star. It wasn't so much the award that surprised the pundits, more the fact that proprietors Anne and Clive Davidson admit that they haven't significantly altered their modus operandi (which focuses on superb quality steak and a secret-recipe marinade) in the 25 years they have been ensconced here, which begs the question why the guide took so long to notice them.

Our tasting and lunch was preceded, as we all gathered, by a cool drink, taken outside on what was an uncharacteristically bright, crisp and almost warm Scottish day. Then, inside the restaurant, we began to tackle the wines over the meal which I began with a stilton and bacon salad. This dish, dominated by iceberg lettuce and a milky dressing, was eclipsed, in terms of flavour, freshness and quality by the accompanying white wines, which were on the whole showing very well. With the reds came a ribeye steak which was delicious, flavoursome, sensitively cooked and served with a tasty selection of mustards, plenty of horseradish should you desire it and - most importantly - dish after dish of fabulous, thick-cut chips. It was all rounded off with a simple selection of cheeses and coffee.

As I have alluded the wines were tasted as was appropriate with the dishes, whites then reds and then the dessert wines, although I present my notes below according to the estate of origin. I have sampled a handful of wines from these estates before, in particular several bottles from Lammershoek (the tasty and good value Roulette Rouge, for example), as well as previous tastings of the other estates at the Wines of South Africa event when it visited Edinburgh last year. On the whole though this was an excellent opportunity to try new releases and different vintages, one that was even more enjoyable for the presence of the winemakers themselves. Sadly I forgot to take my camera, so there are no images of restaurant, dishes or winemakers here, but I have at least tried to give a flavour of how the winemakers introduced their wines in the write-up below. (10/11/09)

A Taste of South Africa with Richard Kelley - Tasting Notes

Tasted in October 2009. Click to locate stockists.

The Quoin Rock winery is located in Stellenbosch where the climate is continental (warm and dry summers, cool winters), although Carl van de Merwe was keen to stress that the summer temperatures are hot rather than merely warm. He clearly has no problems with ripeness of fruit, although he has had challenges protecting the sugar-rich fruit from the local baboon population prior to harvest; the marauding monkeys have a habit of responding to the sweet aromas of ripeness with a pillaging of the vineyard. The solution has been to install electric fences to protect the harvest and vines.

There were three wines on show from Quoin Rock, including recent vintages of the estate's Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Sauvignon Blanc is mostly fermented in steel, with a minor portion fermented in barrel. The wine is left on its lees for six months before bottling, the intention being to engender a fuller, more creamy mouthfeel. The Chardonnay meanwhile is 100% barrel-fermented, with 30% of the oak new in this vintage. The third wine was a 2004 Syrah.

Quoin Rock Sauvignon Blanc 2009: This year's vintage, only just released. Carl van der Merwe described the wine as being a little more mineral and austere than usual, a vintage characteristic. I thought it had some good creamy fruit on the nose, showing a little plumpness, with some very typical young Sauvignon capsicum. On the palate there certainly is a chalky-mineral aspect to it, with a little citrus fruit. A firmly textured mouthfeel, from the lees and barrel I guess, with a creamy but fresh character. Very good. 16/20

Quoin Rock Chardonnay 2006: Very much an oak-ferment nose here, with lots of orange, cardamom and fennel character. Full, rich and quite dry on the palate, expressive, a little creamy but overall fairly well restrained. Fine and fresh acidity keeps it buoyant and gives it a rather linear style despite the fat character evident on the nose. Spiced and attractive, although with a fairly short finish. Very good. 16+/20

Quoin Rock Simonsberg Syrah 2004: Very sweet and vibrant fruit on the nose here, quite pure, dark and spicy though, with hints of liquorice. Certainly evocative and appealing. Full, rich, firm on the palate, quiet pure and polished, even a touch silky. Flavoursome and structured, although savoury with an appealingly bitter, dark chocolate element, this is really very fine indeed. 16.5+/20

Tierhoek was represented by Roger Burton and proprietor Shelley Sandell, with Roger doing the talking. This is an estate that Richard Kelley and Richards Walford have been working with since 2003, and which is some way north of Cape Town in the Piekenierskloof region. I have already written something of the estate and this dinner when the 2006 Tierhoek Straw Wine was my wine of the week. Situated at 760 metres above sea level in a mountain range even just reaching the estate can be an ordeal, especially if the road is made unpassable by heavy rains and landslides, which is not unknown. In this event the only way in and out is by helicopter.

Like Quoin Rock, Burton also commented on how the wines reflect their origin, in this case high altitude and Atlantic breezes keeping the acidity from falling and thus contributing to an austere, minerally style. The yields are naturally low. Although not currently organic, the estate is active within the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, a partnership between the local wine industry and South African conservationists, and Burton is considering conversion to organic viticulture. Here the vineyard workers fend off not just baboons, but also leopards, an early sighting of which led to the misnomer tierhoek (tiger's corner).

There were two wines on show, a Chenin Blanc, which is partly barrel-fermented, the two portions blended before bottling, and the estate's superb Chenin Straw Wine.

Tierhoek Chenin Blanc 2004: A very exotic nose here, expressive and ripe, with honeyed fruit, a nicely defined powerhouse of a wine. Fine, furry, textured and similarly honeyed on the palate, full and fat but well framed. Good acids, soft texture although it has some grip, later showing a little more minerality and crispness of acid. A good wine. 16+/20

Tierhoek Chenin Blanc Straw Wine 2006: A wine already known to me. This has a wonderful orange glow, and a nose of orange citrus fruits and golden straw. Pungent, with notes of apricots, vibrant yet also clearly rich and expressive. Sweet, rounded, gentle but rich on the palate, with some appealing savoury biscuit elements, and little nuances of toffee at the end. Lovely quality here; what an excellent wine. 17.5+/20

Carla Kretzel explained that here family had acquired the Lammershoek estate in 1996, and thus found themselves in possession of several vineyards dominated by Chenin Blanc for the whites, and by a mix of Rhône varieties, particularly Grenache, Carignan and Syrah for the reds. They have also experimented with Zinfandel, and this variety featured in one of the wines on show. Like Tierhoek there is also a move to organic viticulture here, with a recent cessation in the use of fertilisers and herbicides.

First up was the latest vintage of Chenin Blanc which is sourced from old Chenin vines, 100% oak-fermented using only indigenous yeasts in lightly-toasted barrels, followed by blending and élevage in oak for nine months before bottling, followed by a red and the sweet straw wine, a blend of the Loire's Chenin Blanc and Tokay's Harslevlu.

Lammershoek Chenin Blanc 2008: A creamy suggestion of minerality on the nose, fine and a little more defined than the Tierhoek wine, with golden, lightly crystalline fruits. A great palate, broad and quite textured, with grippy golden fruit, spice and tingly acids. Good minerality, with a very long and firm finish. Very good. 16.5+/20

Lammershoek Zinfandel/Syrah 2006: This is an 80/20 blend of the two varieties, and it certainly presents a more stony style than the pure Syrahs from the other producers. Bright and with some perfume though, especially violets, later more sweet fruit. Firm on the palate, clean, rather attractive, but bright and crisp rather than broad or rich. Good fresh acidity. This has certainly opened up since I last tasted it just over a year ago. 15.5+/20

Lammershoek Chenin Blanc/Harslevlu Straw Wine 2008: This is brighter and lighter that the Tierhoek wine, with a fresher nose of oranges and other citrus fruits, presented in a very lifted and crystalline fashion. Gentle, more youthful, a touch creamy, bright and finely textured, this is clearly of very good quality, although I think it needs to be left alone in the cellar for a few years before approaching. 17+/20

Chris Williams of Meerlust and The Foundry (the latter his personal project) talked us through these wines. His own story starts as assistant winemaker for Meerlust, before he then left to work in Europe, where he created the False Bay brand for Boutinot. On the retirement of the head winemaker at Meerlust he was then invited back to take up this post, which he did on the condition that he could also work on his Foundry wines. He has certainly experienced success; the first vintage of his Syrah picked up a trophy from the respected South African Platter guide.

The vineyards from where he sources his fruit are located just 2.4 kilometres from the aforementioned False Bay, and thus climate here has a more maritime feel. The soils are granite and clay, and he has just two principle varieties, Viognier and Syrah (there is also a Grenache Blanc on the way in 2009 though). The wines are fermented in older oak, using a mix of indigenous and cultured yeasts. He favours small-batch fermentation and gentle pigeage, and tries to keep the alcohol level reined in with relevant techniques in the vineyard. We tasted two of his wines, one each of the Viognier (just 13.5 %) and the Syrah.

The Foundry Viognier 2007: A good, reserved nose for a Viognier; too many New World examples of this variety are over-perfumed or blowsy. Not this one; there is a little gingerbread spice and pine kernel on the nose, and a quite linear feel to it. The palate is dry although nicely textured, savoury, quite stylish, with some good grip. There is a gentle core of acidity. A good wine for this variety. 15.5/20

The Foundry Syrah 2005: An elegant, perfumed array of Syrah fruit on the nose, with hints of lilac. A lovely palate, silky, balanced, stylish, broad and yet linear and well-defined. This is certainly delicious, rich and yet well framed, giving an admirable and elegant style. Really very good indeed. 17+/20