Cape Point Vineyards

Cape Point Vineyards

Cape Point Vineyards was the most successful producer at the 2007 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, having been runner-up in 2006. Christian Eedes interviewed winemaker Duncan Savage.

 

Cape Point Vineyards. Has any South African winery enjoyed such a rapid rise to fame of late? Until recently, this cellar had a devoted but essentially fringe following. Then it placed second on the list of most successful producers at the 2006 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show behind high-profile Vergelegen, and a lot more punters sat up and took notice.

After this year's competition, CPV is sure to increase its fan base even more, taking the Fairbairn Capital trophy for most successful producer - only the second time in the competition's six-year history that Vergelegen hasn't won it (Wellington farm Diemersfontein emerged triumphant in 2005 - De Trafford sharing the spoils in 2002).

Awards received by CPV this time around included the trophy for best Sauvignon Blanc (the 2006 vintage), best Semillon (2005) and best Museum class Semillon (2003), white wines having to be at least four years old to qualify as such. The 2006 vintage of white blend Isliedh picked up a silver medal, as did the Semillon from the same year, with the bronze medal that went to the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc completing the haul.

CPV is clearly one of the best emerging wineries in the country but what makes it so? Businessman Sybrand van der Spuy first arrived in Noordhoek - the area on the western side of the narrow Cape Peninsula, - to mine the extensive reserves of kaolin that were to be had, but soon became enamoured with the winelands lifestyle and set about building a cellar. The first vineyards were planted in 1996 and the first bottling was in 2000, with acclaim instantaneous: the Sauvignon Blanc of that year, made by then winemaker Emmanuel Bolliger, won the General Smuts Trophy as grand champion at the South African National Young Wine Show.

Bolliger left for New Zealand after the 2002 harvest to be replaced by Duncan Savage, who arrived as a rookie straight out of Elsenburg Agricultural College. He didn't waste any time settling in and promptly succeeded with the Semillon 2003, rated 5 Stars in the 2005 edition of the Platter guide and 5 Stars in the June 2005 issue of WINE magazine, followed by its most recent triumph at this year's Trophy Wine Show.
Savage has now made a whole clutch of highly decorated wines but refuses to take too much credit for his role in CPV's recent success. "What's our secret? It's a great site, no two ways about it." He admits that the "good press" that his wines have attracted in the last while has been helpful "in elevating the brand" but ultimately wants to make wines that are "indicative of the CPV site, regardless of awards".

There is indeed much that is remarkable about CPV. For one thing, it is the sole winery to occupy the district designated Cape Point by the Wine & Spirit Board. The white wine vineyards are located on an 80ha property on the southwest slopes of the Constantiaberg, less than two kilometres from Noordhoek beach. "You can't not have a love affair with this place," says Savage.

Total area under vine amounts to of 16ha, mostly Sauvignon Blanc but also including 3.3ha of Chardonnay and 1.1ha of Semillon. The intention is to increase this to 23ha by 2010, with the majority of plantings to be Sauvignon: "I want to avoid becoming a 'one-stop wineshop'."

Currently available are the Sauvignon Blanc 2006 at R90 a bottle ex-cellar (released at the beginning of June) and the Chardonnay 2004 at R62 a bottle. The Semillon 2005 is sold out from the farm but is still available from select retail outlets at around R110 a bottle. The 2007 vintage of the second-label Sauvignon, called Stonehaven, will be released at the end of August at R60 a bottle, while Isliedh 2006 will be released in January 2008 (price as yet unconfirmed).

Then there is the Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc made for retail chain Woolworths, the 2006 of which caused a stir when it rated 5 Stars in the 2007 edition of the Platter guide and went on the score 4 Stars in the November 2006 issue of WINE. The 2007 is due for release at the end of August.

Having both Stonehaven and Woolworths labels as alternative assignations for the CPV Sauvignon Blanc means that Savage can be ruthless about the quality that goes into the winery's first label version. Production of the 2006 vintage was 6 000 bottles, down from 18 000 in 2005. "I want CPV Sauvignon Blanc to be rare. I cull all the components that aren't up to the necessary quality."

There are also 9ha of red wine plantings on nearby Red Hill. From this, Savage makes the so-called Scarborough Red, the 2005 vintage consisting of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Shiraz, selling for R42 a bottle ex-cellar. While the wine is not unaccomplished, its primary purpose is to "round off the portfolio".
Born in 1978, Savage grew up in the well-mannered, English-speaking suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town. A keen surfer, his after-school studies initially saw him embark on a B.Comm degree, undertaken via correspondence as he hoped to have plenty of time for the beach. As it turned out, he found himself riding the waves more often than hitting the books and realised that he'd taken the wrong career direction. However his parents had introduced him to wine early on, a topic that he became increasingly interested in - he later headed off to Elsenburg to study winemaking, where he was top student in his year.

"The wine bug just catches some people. I remember making my annual pilgrimage to [top Stellenbosch farm] Kanonkop. I could never afford the wine but bought it anyway," he recalls.

On graduating, Savage admits that he "didn't want to end up 200km from the sea" and refers to his getting the nod at CPV despite no real working experience as "bum-in-butter stuff".

Asked for his view on the general rise in quality that local Sauvignon Blanc has enjoyed, Savage replies that he thinks this is in large part due to "very rigorous site selection", and there's no concealing that he thinks he might be working with one of the best. "I want to make some of the greatest white wines that SA has to offer." Though never quite arrogant, there are times when he simply can't contain his enthusiasm. But as he points out: "I'm only as good as my grapes and I'm totally
confident about this site."

In addition to making the wine, Savage has taken on more and more viticultural responsibility. He says that despite being "wide-eyed" and inexperienced on his arrival in 2003, he has quickly come to realise the importance of keeping vineyards in optimal condition. Previously, the hardest time of the year for him was the actual harvest. Now it's the months of November and December leading up to picking which require most work in the vineyard. "The sort of canopy management you apply makes huge difference in the wine stylistically," he explains. Basically, he wants a "happy" vineyard and deploys a spread of conventional, organic and biodynamic techniques.

Though Savage tries to downplay his role in the cellar, it is clear that he possesses a carefully conceived winemaking vision. He says that his preferred style is that the wines should be "coy", serving to "intrigue" the drinker. He wants his wines to appear "tight, elegant and focused" and have "fine-tuned fruit". In short, they should not be "obviously New World".

When Savage avows "I'm not making wine to please some UK journalist, I want my wines to be uniquely South African," you get the sense of a man who thinks for himself.
As regards the flagship Isliedh, which consists of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, the observation could be made that it is put together according to the Bordeaux white blend template, but he won't countenance this. "I'm not trying to make Bordeaux white, I'm trying to make Noordhoek white, wine that is true to Noordhoek." That the previous release of Isliedh went for R120 a bottle, Savage believes is entirely justified given the effort that went into making it along with the uniqueness of site that it represents. "We're in a prime position to make something very special. There's only so much Noordhoek Sauvignon Blanc in the world, compared to a whole lot of it from Marlborough [New Zealand]."

That Savage wants to establish the very best credentials for CPV wines is further displayed by his commitment to delaying their release. Though the Isliedh 2005 won trophies for not only Best Wooded White Blend but also Best White Wine overall at the 2006 Trophy Wine Show, Savage reveals he almost didn't enter it on account of how shy it was initially. The results were made known in June last year, but the wine was only released in November and sold out almost immediately. "I hold back the wines because, while [even then] they're not necessarily at their peak, they do provide a hint of what [drinking enjoyment] they can give." He believes CPV Sauvignon Blanc will last up to five years, while Isliedh will comfortably go for 10.

Everything that Savage does is focused on building the reputation of CPV, and he is quick to acknowledge the role of competitions. "Vergelegen did not get to not entering competitions by not entering competitions," as he puts it (the Somerset West farm participating in the Trophy Wine Show but eschewing most other local competitions). Interviewed before the announcement of this year's results, Savage was largely oblivious to how well his winery had performed, and appeared anxious that it should get at least some silverware. "I don't want us to be a one-hit wonder." You feel he can be confident that the CPV trophy cabinet will be well stocked for many years to come.