Best-Value Shiraz

Who's who in the zoo?

Obikwa 2009, with a distinctive ostrich motif on the label, offers the best value overall in the 2010 Global Trader Shiraz Challenge 2010, writes Christian Eedes.

 

Obikwa Shiraz 2009 with its colourful, somewhat crude drawing of an ostrich on its label is very much a ‘critter wine', the category spawned by the phenomenal success of Australian brand Yellow Tail (a type of wallaby) at the beginning of the new millennium.

Essentially, critter wines are intended to appeal to novice wine drinkers, typically being inexpensive and styled to be fruit-driven with a slight sweetness. While what's in the bottle is not too complicated, the packaging and marketing help drive sales by being unstuffy and fun.

The Obikwa range was originally conceived as an export-only brand by producer-wholesaler Distell in 2002 and today there are 18 different labels selling in over 43 countries around the world, the most important markets being Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It was launched in South Africa in March last year, and there are seven wines within the range available locally. In addition to the Shiraz, there is a Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The recommended retail price of all wines in the range is R23.95 a bottle, but consumers might fi nd the wine selling for as low as R20 a bottle.

Obikwa Shiraz 2009 certainly delivers on the brief of being ‘easy drinking', displaying plenty of juicy fruit and a touch of spice. Nobody at Distell wants to be quoted on what total annual production is, but it ain't small. This means winemaker Michael Bucholz, based at the Adam Tas cellars in Stellenbosch, is obliged to work with large tonnages, and has to think smart when it comes to managing his processing capacity.

Grapes are sourced from Malmesbury, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester and he admits that they arrive at a variety of ripeness levels. A key mandate is that the endwine should not be too high in alcohol, and Bucholz relates that the Obikwa team harvests a portion of the relevant fruit at a lower Balling (scale used to estimate the sugar content of the must). "We harvest early but not too early as we don't want the fi nal wine to show any green character." The 2009 has an alcohol by volume of a mere 12.5%, again making it forgiving to drink.

In the cellar, the wine was left to ferment for four days on the skins to extract sufficient colour and fruit but avoiding any harshness of tannin. Malolactic fermentation occurred after pressing, and the blend of all components was matured on American medium-toast oak staves and segments for two to three months prior to filtration and bottling.