South african reds | thearticle

Back in 1991, at the time of my first visit to the Cape, I was invited to a press dinner at Neethlingshof in Stellenbosch by its German owner Hans-Joachim Schreiber. The dinner was laid on

to celebrate a large sum of money raised for deprived children and a suitably big cheque had been inscribed to Nelson Mandela. Mandela arrived in person to accept the award. He made a witty

speech about Robben Island and his troubled relationship with wine, did a tour of the tables and took the trouble to shake all our hands before he left. I had several bottles of wine on me

when I left South Africa and not just Neethlingshof. Neethlingshof had also given me two engraved glasses. I flew from the Cape to Miami, and from Miami to various islands in the Caribbean

before I returned again via Miami to London. The wine has all gone, but by some miracle I still have a souvenir in the form of one of those glasses and have placed it next to me as I write

these words. Schreiber was a man with a story. He’d been with the Dresdner Bank since the Third Reich, had played a leading role in the post-war “Cigarette Economy” and was a close friend of

Jürgen Ponto, the banker executed by the Baader Meinhofs in 1977. His family still owns Neethlingshof. Schreiber was a man of the world. The Cape was pretty provincial then. You could feel

the repression everywhere. As I recall it was Cabernet that tickled palates in the twilight days of the Ancien Régime, but that was beginning to change. Tim Hamilton Russell was already

making a name for himself with his Pinot Noir. He was an Oxford graduate who not only made good wine, but was also a vociferous opponent of Apartheid. Many people wouldn’t drink South

African wine then, but they made an exception for Hamilton Russell. Apartheid was wound up over a quarter of a century ago and South Africa has since opened up to new ideas in every field of

endeavour, including wine. South African wines have improved by leaps and bounds. There are still plenty of “Bordeaux-style” wines, and good ones too. The excellent Edwin Doran, for

example, has a 2018 The Romy D, a nicely balanced and attractively priced Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from Paarl; while the 2017 Mentors Orchestra is the Full Monty: Cabernets Sauvignon

and Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenère — that’s what a co-operative winery can do for you when you want to think big. It is a very attractive tangy wine with a robust

blackcurrant character. There were just 1,300 bottles made of the 2017 Mentors Carmenère, which would explain the higher price. The blackcurrants associated with the Bordeaux Left Bank are

there, but it is more grassy and peppery and with a lovely tickly finish. The original South African black grape is Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault and created in the

Twenties. The 2019 Beyerskloof Pinotage is a good introduction and is a bargain at £8. Painted Wolf’s 2018 Guillermo is a stylish wine with vibrant colour that has a distinct blackcurrant

smell. The 2018 Doran Pinotage is quite oaky, but has ebullient blackberry/raspberry fruit with a sprinkling of pepper. It is characteristically chunky. Painted Wolf’s 2018 Madach Cape

Hunting Red departs from any classic grape cocktail. It is based on Pinotage, but contains Grenache, Carignan, Tempranillo and Durif: so it is a cross between the Cape, the Mediterranean,

Spain and California. It was a slow-burner, but once it had opened up it began to show its mettle and finished with a pleasant chocolate-like aftertaste. As with new wave South African

whites the Rhone Valley seems to have provided inspiration of late. The 2020 House of Dreams Swartland Bush Vine Grenache (M&S £9) was made only this spring, so Beaujolais Nouveau might

be its model. It is light-hearted, fresh and fruity (as they used to say), and leads with an orange citrus aroma like Seville marmalade. The 2018 Doran Grenache (enquiries to

[email protected]) is made by their star winemaker André Badenhorst. It is cooling, complex and rich in cherry fruit. A simple 2016 Shiraz from Doran led with a frank, leathery

aroma but soon began to show its mettle, and revealed plenty of new facets as time went by. Perhaps my favourite wine of the series was the 2017 Pictus VII. Just 5,900 bottles were made of

this Châteauneuf-style blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan and it comes as no surprise that there is a whiff of wild thyme covering the dominant taste of morello cherries. It is a wine

that develops hugely in the glass. It might be a good idea to decant it into a clean jug half an hour or so before drinking. Finally here is a firework for the end of the garden party:

Laborie Blanc de Blancs from the giant co-operative at KWV — a pure Chardonnay champagne-style sparkler which smells of honey and tastes of plums. It is beautifully made, and a perfect

antidote to the vicissitudes of 2020.