Graham Beck - Winner of Cap Classique Challenge 2007

Pieter Ferreira's Graham Beck Brut Pinot Noir Chardonnay

Graham Beck cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira has finally won the WINE magazine Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge with a wine 12 years on from vintage. Christian Eedes reports.

 

In what must rank as the least controversial wine competition result of 2007, Graham Beck cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira has won the annual WINE magazine Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge with his Brut Pinot Noir Chardonnay 1994.

In fact, the only surprising aspect of this outcome is that it hasn't happened before in the six years that the Challenge has been run. Méthode Cap Classique, or bottle-fermented sparkling wine, has been part of Ferreira's life for the past 24 vintages. He won the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award in 2004 with Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blancs 1999 and few would disagree that he has been one of the best makers of fizz in South Africa for some time.

Ferreira first worked at Cabrière in Franschhoek between 1984 and 1990 helping Archim von Arnim establish the popular Pierre Jourdan range of bubbly. Meanwhile mining magnate Graham Beck was setting up vineyards in Robertson that would be geared mainly to the production of bubbly, and when approached to get involved, Ferreira jumped at the opportunity. First harvest was 1991, and with the cellar still not complete, he reveals that he made wines "under the stars" that year.

As is well documented, Cap Classique is a growth category and if proof were needed that Graham Beck is at the forefront of this phenomenon, then consider that this producer's total bubbly production has grown from just over 40 000 cases at the end of 2004 to 55 000 cases now. In order to cater for demand, vineyard plantings are constantly being expanded with Pinot Noir being increased by 9ha in Robertson and a further 4ha in Franschhoek this year alone.

Traditionally, there have been three different versions of bubbly available in the Graham Beck portfolio, namely the bigger volume Brut NV, the Brut Rosé and the flagship Blanc de Blancs. However, Ferreira lets on that from this month there are some significant changes in that the Brut NV will be joined by a Demi-Sec (with a residual sugar of 35g/l intended to appeal to the emerging market), both selling at R79 a bottle, while the Brut Rosé 2005 will be priced the same as the Blanc de Blancs 2003, both selling at R115 a bottle. In the pipeline are a very dry Ultra Brut and a Prestige Cuvée that might sell for as much as R400 a bottle.

What of the Brut 1994 that won this year's Challenge? Though the Brut is always from one particular harvest, it is usually bottled as non-vintage. In the case of 1994, Ferreira and team decided to bottle the wine in magnum and with vintage in order to commemorate Nelson Mandela being inaugurated as South Africa's first democratic president. Ferreira relates that it has never been commercially available, only ever being used for special events and worthy causes. Total production originally amounted to 2 252 magnums (1.5l bottles), of which 600 have now been made available from the farm at R180 each.

The wine consists of a blend of 40% Pinot Noir from Robertson, 10% Pinot Noir from Firgrove in Stellenbosch and 50% Chardonnay. It was disgorged (entailing the removal of the accumulated sediment after second fermentation from the neck of the bottle) in March 2006, which may seem an inordinately long time on the lees (spent yeast cells). Ferreira explains however that the autolytic process (see tasting report on p. 102) is much slower in magnum. "Time on the lees is a very important part of Cap Classique's development of character. It's a much slower process in magnum and 12 years on the lees in the bigger format bottle is equivalent to about four years in a standard bottle."

When to disgorge requires delicate judgement and then there is the further complicating factor of how the wine changes under cork after final bottling. Ferreira has entered the 1994 every year since the Challenge started in 2002, trying four different disgorgement dates before finally winning over the WINE magazine panel. "As this wine has evolved, it has shown more and more brioche (bread) without developing less desirable marmite and liqorice notes," he observes.

For those lucky enough to obtain a bottle of the 1994, Ferreira reckons it is drinking well now but should last another two years. "This wine has just about sung its little song," he observes. "However, if I'm looking as cheerful 13 years on from now, I'll be very pleased…"

The 1994 was only the fourth vintage that Ferreira undertook for Graham Beck, and it is clear that Ferreira and his team have gone from strength to strength as bubbly makers subsequently. As to what sets Graham Beck apart from the competition, Ferreira says it all comes down to the grapes. "The only way you can achieve better quality is how you handle the grapes from picking to juice. After all, we've all got the same cellar equipment…"

At Graham Beck, designated blocks are farmed specifically for Cap Classique, with Ferreira having adopted the attitude that the more gently the fruit is handled the better. He advises that he always aims for a potential alcohol by volume of 10.5% - any higher would make the second fermentation difficult - and so he picks at a Balling (sugar concentration in grapes) of between 18.5° and 19.5°.

At this low sugar level, there is the danger that the grapes will fail to achieve physiological ripeness and hence have undue green flavours. However Ferreira feels that viticulture has move forward "leaps and bounds" over the last 15 years. Much more "sprawl" in the vineyard canopy thanks to no topping of shoots provides extra shading and the grapes come off with sufficient flavour at a suitably low sugar.

Ferreira points out that Cap Classique is typically significantly lower in residual sugar but also lower in total acid compared to Champagne, thanks to fundamentally different climates, and therefore the two should not really be compared. "I've always respected Champagne for what it is, but I think Cap Classique is a beautiful alternative". With the quality that his Brut 1994 represents, who would argue?

TRACK RECORD
How Graham Beck Brut 1994 has performed to date: