Boplaas

Boplaas in the Calitzdorp Countryside

There's a rusty red hue to the Calitzdorp countryside. Aloes and succulents abound, along with scrubby fynbos. In this arid Klein Karoo one would hardly expect to find a vinous bounty - but that's exactly what Boplaas offers. Fiona McDonald reports.

"Have you seen Carel's 'Stonehenge'?" one local asked when I arrived in Calitzdorp recently. I had no idea what she was talking about until I visited the Boplaas cellar of Carel Nel. There, standing in a circle like rocky little dwarfs, is a ring of stones. Each one of the distinctive blue-grey sandstone masses was selected from the Huisklip pass outside Calitzdorp and laboriously transported to this site outside the cellar. A block of Pinotage had to make way for this rock and gravel ring, an idea which was spawned on a visit to Ireland and the UK after last year's London Wine Trade Fair.

"I saw many of these stone circles in Ireland and they really made an impression on me," says Nel. "People took the time to observe nature, watch the movement of the sun, and used these circles to indicate the shortest and longest days of the year."

So he's done the same - but don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a folly or some New Age mumbo-jumbo. Nel belies his placid, mild-mannered exter-ior. He's a passionate man whose Klein Karoo roots run deep - back to 1880 when his great-grandfather Danie produced brandy for the export market. His passion is there in everything he does - from making some of South Africa's best ports, microlighting, conservation, his family and even his latest project - the stone circle.

People lose sight of Nel's achievements - and those of Boplaas - because of his mildness.

Last year this Calitzdorp cellar outperformed every other winery in the country to claim the honour of being the most successful producer at the Veritas national wine show, with three double gold, two gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Nel is not only a winemaker but a Cape Wine Master as well - and a member of the prestigious "by invitation only" Cape Wine-makers Guild. Port wise, Boplaas has won almost every award there is to win - the Peter Schulz trophy three years out of the past four, the SAA port trophy, Michelangelo kudos, WINE magazine 4 and 4½ Star ratings and Young Wine Show trophies galore.

He was one of the prime movers behind the establishment of the South African Port Producer's Association (Sappa), serving as its first chairman. He's also very involved with the Calitzdorp Port Festival, as well as closer to home, the Rooiberg conservancy.

Conservation, as they say in Afrikaans "lê baie na aan sy hart". He's convinced his fellow farmers in the area to protect and conserve 100 000 hectares around Calitzdorp because it's where three distinct biomes converge - fynbos, thicket and the succulent Karoo. He's proud of the fact that there are more individual plant species in the Klein Karoo than there are in all of Europe.

"I believe we should all try and leave this world a little bit better than it was when we found it. We might not see the benefits but our children and future generations hopefully will."

As we bound along dusty country tracks to the Boplaas vineyards, Nel points out 2 200ha of his own land that he's set aside for conservation. "It's beautiful and stretches right up into the kloof," he says pointing at an area of foothills and rugged red mountainside.

"Nothing's allowed in there - no donkeys or goats, no-one can chop firewood, we leave it as it is." In his low-key way he speaks of his excitement when leopard spoor are spotted in that area, or of having seen shy otters fishing in the river nearby.

When we get to the vineyards he's all business, showing how newer plantings correct the errors of the past. "We plant in an east-west row direction to avoid sunburn on the grapes."

There are critics who believe that Klein Karoo producers should stick to the sweet wines and not bother with dry table wines. Nel dismisses this instantly.

"I believe strongly that there are pockets - cool pockets - in the Klein Karoo which are capable of producing world-class wines." He points to the Langkloof and Outeniqua areas, a source of good cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc for him.

I tasted a tank sample of the 2006 Boplaas Sauvignon Blanc and was impressed by its fruit concentration, zesty acidity and minerality. "The fruit is from Morné Jonker who has 20ha in the Langkloof. I think there's great potential there," says Nel.

He also obviously has a soft spot for Touriga Nacional, a traditional Port variety, using it both for his fortified and still table wines.

"I don't care what other guys say, low yields equal quality. I stress the Touriga quite hectically, dropping off a lot of grapes before harvest and ensuring that it only bears five tons a hectare. We've seen that this has worked well over the years - the analyses of colour, acid and sugar are best at that level."

So where did the fascination with Port begin?

"It's actually quite funny - because it was the result of a mistake. My father ordered stokkies from the nursery and instead of sending him Shiraz they delivered Tinta Barocca! That was in the '80s, and I said we should make port, which we did."

Travel to Portugal followed and a close relationship with the Symington family of Graham's Port is the result. CEO Peter Symington was in Calitzdorp again recently, having spent some time here earlier in the year. "Frightfully good," was his pronouncement of the Boplaas 2004 Cape Vintage Reserve.

"It was quite funny, because his eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up," says Alwyn Liebenberg, the livewire winemaker who joined Boplaas in 2005.

"Peter said that South Africa is definitely leading the rest of the world and is getting the closest to true Portuguese port. The only thing that separates us from the Portuguese is in the use of the brandy spirit for fortification," Nel states. "If we were to use the same spirit as the Portuguese our wines would be on a par with theirs."

South Africa has long battled for international recognition of this category of wines and had been hampered by the European Union's ban on the use of the word "Port" - or even "Cape" - as a descriptor. However the EU declared earlier this year that there was a historic precedent and guaranteed South Africa's right to use the Cape descriptor, at least.

"I don't think people actually realize what fantastic news this is for all Port Producers Association members. We haven't been able to export for a few years - and now our wines labelled Cape Tawny, Cape Ruby or Cape Vintage will be accepted."

Nel is adamant that South Africa is more than capable of producing world-class port.

The key lies in the use of traditional varietals - Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Souzao, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Francisca, not others like Shiraz or even Pinotage.
"I'll show you my two secret weapons," he says, leading me through the cellar to two open kuipe, lower than any I've seen in other cellars.

"They're virtually identical to Portuguese lagares," he proudly admits. "The same size, the same depth - even the walls are the same thickness."

This is where those special Reserve ports are made. Over the years he's found that two special vineyard blocks produce the best fruit - and the 30-year-plus Tinta Barroca vines in particular.

"Each kuip takes about three tons of fruit. We cold soak it for a day and let the temperature rise to a peak of around 28 degrees. We also use natural yeasts for the fermentation."

One difference is that he doesn't advocate foot-treading. "I've found over the years that manual punchdowns work just as well, if not better. I get excellent colour extraction and the fruit is fantastic to start with."

And the wood the wine goes into after fortification with brandy spirit? A selection of port pipes and older wood. "There are just some barrels which give a better flavour. I don't understand it... A guy once said to me when I was starting out that if there's a barrel that's not right, saw it in half and make a blompot out of it! So ultimately you end up refining your selection and keeping your best barrels - and you'll see that there are lots of flowerpots around the Boplaas cellar!"

With Liebenberg having freed him up from some of the manual chores Nel is now able to focus even more closely on refining things. By way of example, the duo spent seven days tasting and finalizing the blend of the 2005 ports.

"We have a lot of options available to us because of the volumes we make.

So getting the fine-tuning of a blend right is essential. Just 5% or 10% of a certain barrel can make a difference."

That's one of the reasons he gives for the 2004 Cape Vintage pipping the 2004 Cape Vintage Reserve to win the Peter Schulz trophy this month (see page 75).

"I think our Reserve and our Vintage are now closer than ever before because we are paying so much attention to our blending. The standard of our Vintage port is getting better as a result. I believe the 2004 Reserve is the better wine, obviously, but its tannins are still prominent and it just needs time."

Why decide to become a Cape Wine Master when already in possession of a degree in winemaking?

"The more knowledge you have, the better the wines that you can make. You need to stay in touch with what's happening in the world."

It's obvious that standing in this cellar, surrounded by tanks of wine, is where Nel is happiest. He's also happy that Boplaas is in good hands with the next generation looking to take over. Daughter Rozanne completed a marketing qualification and assists with sales and marketing while Margaux is in her final year of winemaking studies at the University of Stellenbosch. At 14, Daniel still has a few years of school ahead but has also shown an affection for the cellar, getting involved and having had a few mishaps already.

"I was busy one evening when he opened up one of the taps on a tank. He couldn't have been more than four-years-old - and this wave of wine hit him and washed him across the cellar! I didn't know what to do first - pick him up or shut off the tap!

"I obviously made it all seem too good," he quips, but is pleased that the Boplaas reins will be handed over one day.

WINE magazine ratings: