Franschhoek wineries and their wines
The Franschhoek Valley is increasingly as attractive for its wines and cellars as it has long been for its restaurants and beautiful scenery. Mike Froud reports on the who’s who in a playground of the wealthy that is the gourmet capital of the SA winelands.
Where Franschhoek begins or ends is a matter of debate. What was initially a tiny French Huguenot settlement over three centuries ago has developed apace during the past 100 years and, while the townsfolk still cling to the French heritage of the place as evident in the names of the wine farms, restaurants et al, property owners of varied descent and with little Français in their vocabulary are pushing the boundary Paarlwards.
Ten years ago the wine route included some two dozen cellars, from Haute Cabrière and La Petite Ferme on the pass to Villiersdorp in the east to L’Ormarins in the west. At a stretch, some might have said Franschhoek incorporated Boschendal, though many positioned it apart, in Groot Drakenstein on the Pniel Road (R310) to Stellenbosch. More of a stretch and you’d factor in Simondium’s Plaisir de Merle.
Today there are 44 members of the local wine route association, the Vignerons de Franschhoek, plus honorary members including former Gauteng premier-turnedbusinessman and, for a short time, ANC presidential hopeful Tokyo Sexwale, owner of a farm to the east of the village, Oude Kelder, previously called Elephant Pass, not open to the public. And the wine route now encompasses cellars to the north-west of Boschendal and Plaisir de Merle, namely Vrede en Lust and Rupert & Rothschild on the Klapmuts road to a number of Paarl cellars…
In industry speak, Franschhoek Valley is a ward within the Paarl district, a ward said to encompass Boschendal and Allée Bleue on the R45, no further. But Franschhoek is a cool address, home to some sexy wines as well as some successful festivals, and it’s no surprise to hear that wineries on routes as distant from Franschhoek as the N1 would change allegiance to the Vignerons if they could. Meanwhile, those with a history rooted in what was once upon a time termed French Hoek – the French corner – are loathe to let go after jumping the fence.
Bellingham on the R45 – east of L’Ormarins, just before relative newcomer Graham Beck Wines – used to be popular among visitors to Franschhoek until some years ago when the winery changed hands and production was moved to the Douglas Green Bellingham (DGB) cellar in Wellington. The Bellingham manor house remains, but it’s closed to the public and the main outlet in the vicinity for Bellingham beauties nowadays is La Cotte, one of the country’s finest specialist wine shops, situated in the main road to the west of the village.
That said, perhaps Bellingham’s continued membership of the Vignerons isn’t so odd if one knows that DGB’s stakeholdings include Boschendal and Franschhoek Vineyards – it’s not impossible that in time the old coop building alongside the railway line could incorporate a Bellingham showcase.
More than where your grapes come from, it’s where your wines are made – or perhaps just where they’re thought to be made, or where you offer cellar-door sales – that seems to count most these days when consumers think of a wine coming from Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Constantia or wherever. More and more, even producers with significant plantings choose to supplement their own grapes with those from elsewhere, including from outside their ward or district – sometimes even from outside their own region. For example, some of the grapes from Franschhoek’s GlenWood vineyards are in demand from award-winning Chardonnay outfits in Stellenbosch.
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah is made from Wellington fruit. And while the home of Graham Beck bubbly is in Robertson, the hospitable staff at Beck’s Franschhoek tasting room were serving the Brut as a welcoming drink in celebration of Madiba’s 90th birthday recently.
Graham Beck Wines is one of the few registered estates among the Franschhoek Vignerons, the others being Akkerdal, Boschendal, Cabrière, Grande Provence, La Chaumiere (closed to the public), La Vigne and Lynx. But since the regulations pertaining to wine estates were relaxed a while back, one needs to inspect the labels of their wines or consult the winemaker to establish which are estate wines (grown, made and bottled on the farm) and which are not – bearing in mind that many of the non-estates produce the equivalent of estate wine but opt not to call them such, and that “estate” does not always translate into “best”.
Ten years ago when we talked about the best wines of Franschhoek, some of us spoke of Boschendal Chenin, La Motte Shiraz, Plaisir de Merle Chardonnay, Stony Brook Semillon and Cabrière’s Pierre Jourdan Blanc de Blancs. Others also punted Boschendal (Merlot, Shiraz), Haute Cabrière Pinot and Plaisir de Merle (Cab, Merlot, Sauvignon), as well as Bellingham (Cab, Cab Franc, Merlot, Pinotage, Shiraz), Haute Provence (Cab, Chenin, Sauvignon), Landau du Val Semillon, La Petite Ferme Blanc Fumé, L’Ormarins (Optima, Riesling), Mont Rochelle (Cab, Chardonnay) and Môreson (Cab, Merlot).
Some of these wineries are still up there with the best, whereas some have dipped or been overtaken, closed for a while (much is expected of the latest L’Ormarins releases and new Rupert wines being launched), been relocated (Bellingham) or renamed (Haute Provence became Agusta then Grande Provence). And while some of the cellars in existence for some time have stepped up to the plate, Chamonix being a prime example, there are also a number of noteworthy newcomers that have emerged.
Many if not all of the cellars have a story to them or something interesting to offer. Apart from the previous wine recommendations, other notables include The Chocolate Block of Boekenhoutskloof (name says it all), Haute Cabrière Chardonnay Pinot Noir (incredibly popular as Cabrière’s flagship white wine), and two cellars with great views of the valley to rival that from La Petite Ferme – Dieu Donné (new restaurant, microbrewery) and the neighbouring My Wyn (new boutique operation, very hands-on and personal).
Anthonij Rupert Wines have people talking about the new Terra del Capo cellar at L’Ormarins, also home to a motor museum. New boutique winery Topiary is one to watch. Rickety Bridge has been upgraded and now features a deck extending into a vineyard for tastings and meals. La Bri’s cellar is described as state-of-the-art (new tasting room too), and at La Vigne they play music to their wines while they’re maturing…
Nigel and Joy McNaught at boutique cellar Stony Brook can be very hospitable, and other ambassadors, characters of the valley include Nick Davies of Franschhoek Pass (Morena); Boekenhoutskloof cellarmaster Marc Kent; Dieter Sellmeyer, Lynx proprietor and chairman of the Vignerons de Franschhoek; Mark Solms of Solms-Delta (a mine of historical information, interesting museum); and of course Cabrière’s Achim von Arnim – hear him explain Méthode Cap Classique, see him wield that sabre to open bottles of Pierre Jourdan.
Cap Classique bubblies – produced the traditional way pioneered in Champagne – are among the wines that Franschhoek is best known for, and those interested in a sparkling wine route should head for Boschendal, Cabrière (Pierre Jourdan), Dieu Donné, Franschhoek Pass (Morena, appointment required), Franschhoek Vineyards, Graham Beck, Môreson and Stony Brook. The first Colmant MCC is expected on the market in September, with other Cap Classiques in the pipeline from Topiary (maiden release end-2008) and My Wyn (next release in 2010). Chamonix is also on this route, but they won’t let you taste before you buy.
If Franschhoek has a white wine “calling card” it’s Semillon. The area’s famous for it in the South African context, boasting some old bush vine blocks planted at the beginning of the 20th century and fending off challenges from Constantia and Cape Point with the wines of Stony Brook, Landau du Val, Rickety Bridge and Boekenhoutskloof, as well as Eikehof, Franschhoek Vineyards, Haut Espoir, La Bourgogne and Le Manoir de Brendel.
GlenWood is launching its first Semillon at the 2008 Franschhoek Uncorked festival and, with vintners in the valley feeling it’s important to market their regionality, we can look forward to Môreson joining the club as some of the cellars gear up for the launch of Vignerons de Franschhoek Semillons, terroir-driven wines marketed alongside the cellars’ house styles from this variety.
According to GlenWood winemaker DP Burger who’s driving the project, the first such Semillons will be launched at the 2009 Franschhoek Uncorked festival. “Restricted yields and limited production,” he explains. “These will be food wines. Intense, with a lanolin character. Structured and oxidative in style. Spending some time in barrel and made exclusively from Franschhoek grapes – at least 85% Semillon, allowing for blends including up to 15% of other varieties. Only available ex-cellar, from Ludwig Maske at the La Cotte wine shop, and at restaurants in the valley.”
Burger says that the cellars involved will set their own price points, but that the stipulation of at least one year bottle maturation will mean premium positioning for the most part. Until recently a special bottle was envisaged to distinguish the Vignerons de Franschhoek Semillons packaging-wise, but this idea has been canned in favour of a distinctive, generic capsule and label around the neck of the bottle.
According to Vignerons chairman Dieter Sellmeyer of Lynx Wines: “In Franschhoek we hang our coat on Cap Classique and Semillon, but we also have some very respectable Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and we make some great red wines too. The three most planted red varieties in the ward are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, each representing about 10 to 15% of total plantings, and in this regard we’re probably leading with Shiraz,” he says, highlighting Boekenhoutskloof, Stony Brook, La Motte and GlenWood when pressurised to single out a few, before mentioning his own.
Surprisingly, he goes on to venture that the next great red of the valley could well be Cabernet Franc. Franschhoek Vineyards is the only winery currently waving a fl ag for the variety, but “Boekenhoutskloof has made a Cab Franc-dominated blend including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot [“The Journeyman” had yet to be released at the time of printing], Rickety Bridge is experimenting, and we might have a Lynx Cabernet Franc on the market next year,” says Sellmeyer.
