Best Value 2009: Award winners

Value Award winners scored 3 Stars or better for quality:

Aan de Doorns
Cape Ruby 2006
CELLAR PRICE: R24
This is Aan de Doorns’ third appearance in the guide following selections in the 2006 and 2008 editions, their first Port to be selected and their first Value Award winner. The co-op’s name is derived from the nearby Doorn river, so named because of the many thorn trees along its banks. Established in 1954, it is a large producer with 58 members and 1370ha of vineyards from which to draw its grapes. It is no co-incidence that a number of Worcester co-operative cellars are featured in this book, nor that more than a few of the listings are sweet fortified wines: the area‘s sun-drenched vineyards are ideally suited for dessert winemaking and the production expertise has been handed down over generations. This Port from Portuguese varieties Tinta Barocca and Touriga Naçional perfectly demonstrates what the Ruby style is all about. Fruit-driven, unashamedly sweet and with oak a subsidiary component, it is uncomplicated and for drinking young – regarded as the ideal beginners’ port, or for more casual drinking.

Bain’s Way
Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
WAMAKERSVALLEI PRICE: R27.55
Bain’s Way is the medium-priced range produced by Wamakersvallei Winery in Wellington. By co-op standards, this is a small operation – only 700ha amongst 40 members – and one with a good track record when it comes to awards, the premium La Cave wines having done particularly well. Like most of the other Value Award winners, Wamakersvallei wines have appeared in numerous previous editions of the Best Value Wine Guide, although this is the first time they’ve won a Value Award with their Bain’s Way Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a full-bodied, ripe-fruited red which has spent around nine months in seasoned oak barrels. The name is taken from Andrew Geddes Bain, the Scotsman responsible for the Bain’s Kloof pass through the mountain range separating Wellington from Ceres and the Worcester Valley.

BC Hanepoot
Jerepigo NV
BRANDVLEI PRICE: R21
Brandvlei Cellar can be found on the R43 between Worcester and Villiersdorp in an area known for its hot springs, hence the name of this winery established in 1955. Boasting modern facilities, there is forward planning and professionalism in their marketing programme: special parcels of vineyards from the 1400ha belonging to their 32 farmers can be handled separately, and they are continually adding new labels to their range in order to keep up with market trends. That it is bearing fruit is proven by the fact that BC has featured with numerous wines in previous editions of the Best Value Wine Guide and has five wines included on the list this year. No mean feat, given the fierce competition and that the range was only introduced in 2004. Hanepoot is a synonym for Muscat d’Alexandrie and Jerepigo is the sweetest of the fortified wine categories – basically fortified grape juice, with fermentation stopped by the addition of spirit. You’d be correct, therefore, in expecting this to be a full-sweet dessert wine, best served chilled.

Bergwater
Rendezvous Red 2006
CELLAR PRICE: R25
Still not well known, and who could blame you… This cellar is a bit off the beaten track in Prince Albert. It’s the first wine producer in the Great Karoo, but the team doesn’t let remoteness get in the way of their plans. They’ve already made two appearances in the Best Value Wine Guide, with a Merlot in the 2008 edition and a Cabernet in the edition before that. Bergwater Vineyards is just nine years old and owned by Heimie and Stephan Schoeman, with some financial backing from Dutch investors. There are only 70ha of vineyards on this 3000ha farm, but some grapes are also bought in for the 10-wine range of mainly reds. The first bottling under the Bergwater label was in 2002 and the cellar was only completed in 2007. The winemaker is a young woman, Mariska Schreuder. Rendezvous Red is a blend of mainly Merlot with some Shiraz and 2006 is the first release of the wine. It has been lightly oaked on staves – at its price, barrels would be too costly – giving a bit of grip and a few years’ ageing potential to the well-defined fruit.

De Wet
Hanepoot 2006
CELLAR PRICE: R20
A first appearance in the guide, and they crack it with a Value Award! This is about knowing what the market wants, something the De Wet Co-op has had to learn since becoming part owner of the successful First Cape export collaboration involving five co-ops, Newton Johnson of Walker Bay and a UK distributor. A Worcester-based winery, it is situated beyond the town, on the N1 just before the mountain pass to the Hex River Valley. Originally established to pack table grapes for the export market, wine has now become its main focus: with 60 members and 1000ha of vineyards supplying the fruit, it is a large operation… There are three fortified wines among the five desserts to win Value Awards this year, and 31 of the 41 dessert wines selected for this guide are fortified – which tells you something about how seductive such wines can be. Think of the fat juicy Hanepoot grapes you find in stores in season, reduce that taste to a concentrated, syrupy form and you have a picture of what’s in this bottle. Serve it with dessert, the cheese platter or very chilled on a hot summer’s day.

Koelenbosch
Wooded Chenin Blanc 2007
KOELENHOF PRICE: R25
From Koelenhof Winery, Best Value Cellar Overall for the 2009 edition of the guide, this Chenin demonstrates subtle oaking – eight months in seasoned French barrels – so as not to overwhelm the fruit. Over-wooding is a big danger with Chenin; you have to start off with wine of sufficient weight and concentration to be able to handle the wood. Its contribution was a spiciness that gave more layers to the wine, a wider spectrum of flavours – which is not something one expects at the lower end of the price spectrum! There are two Value Award-winning Chenins that rated 3 Stars this year, both dry, both 2007 vintage (a particularly good white wine year) and both from Stellenbosch, the wineries being a short drive from each other. It gives you an ideal opportunity to compare the styles of this versatile grape variety at a very affordable price level.

Nuy White
Muscadel 2006
CELLAR PRICE: R25
A Worcester cellar tucked away in a mountain valley with such particular characteristics it was declared a ward in recognition of individual pockets of viticultural terroir. Nuy doesn’t just produce fortified wines but that’s where its fame lies: a winner of so many awards for its white and red Muscadels, it has long been regarded as an industry benchmark. The appearance in a guide such as this tells you that none of the accolades have gone to their heads, that value-for-money remains an intrinsic part of Nuy’s strategy. They last won a Value Award with their 2002 Sauvignon Blanc in the 2005 edition of the guide, and this dessert wine has been selected as Best Value almost every year since the book was first published in 2001. White Muscadel is made from Muscat de Frontignan, the grape variety that made Constantia famous in the 18th century when its sweet wine was drunk in the courts of Europe. The 2006 vintage again shows why these wines are so popular: full-sweet, packed with flavour, yet easy to drink because of the balancing, refreshing acidity.

Simonsig
Chenin Blanc 2007
APPROXIMATE RETAIL PRICE: R25
A large family-run estate in Stellenbosch which boasts an admirable track record of innovation and awards, including the first Cap Classique bubbly in South Africa (Kaapse Vonkel), Simonsig produces an extensive range of wines to meet all price points and styles. They are no strangers to the Best Value Wine Guide, and won a Value Award in 2003 with the Adelberg Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2002 as reviewed in the 2004 edition of the book. Their Chenin Blanc has featured before as a variety they understand very well, with Simonsig Chenin having been on the market for 40 years. This 2007 has now been selected twice, entered for the previous guide when it was freshly bottled and now again one year later, proving what good ageing potential Chenin has even at the value-for-money level. Older vines which give wines more concentration are one of the reasons, as is the variety’s natural acidity and balance. It is an unwooded style, to allow the fresh fruitiness of the Chenin full rein, and provides a good contrast to the other Chenin showcased on these pages, Koelenhof’s oaked version.

Slanghoek
Private Selection
Chardonnay 2008
CELLAR PRICE: R23.50
Situated in that pretty mountain-fringed area as you leave Du Toit’s Kloof pass behind and approach Worcester, Slanghoek Winery is a veteran of the Best Value Wine Guide. They have earned their selection every year since the 2004 edition with wines ranging from dry red and white to sparkling to sweet and fortified, and Vinay, their Natural Sweet Rosé, was a Value Award winner in the 2007 guide. A co-operative established in 1951, it has 25 members and 1830ha of vineyards. Only a small percentage of the crop is bottled under their own label, the majority sold in bulk. As a result of all its farmers committing to the conservation of natural vegetation, Slanghoek became a member of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative in 2007, one of only a handful of co-ops to do so. The Private Selection range includes the flagship wines from this cellar and is a good reflection of the quality of the vineyards under their control. Lightly oaked, the Chardonnay is characterful easy-drinking, a prime focus for everything under the Slanghoek label.

Y Merlot 2008
APPROXIMATE RETAIL PRICE: R21.95
The 2006 vintage of this wine was voted Superquaffer of the Year in the 2007 edition of Platter’s, so selection on the basis of a quality/value criterion is no stranger to Y Merlot, the second label in Yonder Hill’s range of wines. In fact, a number of vintages prior to the 2008 have been selected for inclusion in this guide over the years. An admirable track record. The main label is also highly rated and does consistently well in competitions, proving that this tiny Helderberg property has the right terroir for the variety. Merlot is notoriously picky about where it is grown and can quite easily become herbaceous or light textured under the wrong conditions. Avoiding the pitfalls of being too ambitious with the good quality grapes he harvested in 2008, the winemaker David Lockley allowed the wine’s fruity juiciness to be the hero. The result is a red made not to age but to drink soon with a great deal of pleasure.

Y Shiraz 2007
APPROXIMATE RETAIL PRICE: R21.95
With the exception of a barrel-aged Muscadel, Yonder Hill specialises in red wines, growing Cabernet, Merlot and Shiraz and bottling a Bordeaux-style blend as well as the individual varieties. Such specialisation is refreshing when most wine farms boast extensive ranges. The privately owned property on the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West was established in 1989, with the first bottling in 1993. From the outset the vision to be a specialist was in place. It’s a rare occurrence for a producer to achieve more than one 3 Star rating at this price tier and an achievement that Yonder Hill can be justifiably proud of. As with the Merlot, Y Shiraz has appeared in the guide before. Shiraz has become the darling of wine lovers locally, for the array of flavours that accompany the lush, easy drinkability, which about sums up this wine… The oak has added lovely chocolate, savoury tones, but it is a wine to drink and enjoy, not keep.