Brett in evidence at Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2009

"Where does South Africa stand? Better whites or better reds?" was the question from the floor during the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2008 judges' feedback session, and my quick answer was that 11 whites had been awarded gold medals compared to seven reds.

 

There's more than just a simple medal tally to suggest that our whites currently stack up better than our reds in context of global fine wine. Those with more than a passing interest in the fortunes of the South African wine industry will remember that the major point of concern at last year's competition was "burnt rubber", the term that originally arose in the UK to describe the problematic odour (and corresponding taste profile) that allegedly is typical to so many present-day South African reds.

Wines of South Africa, the not-for-profit export organisation, was sufficiently anxious about the phenomenon to facilitate in-depth analysis at the University of Stellenbosch. For a long while, nothing was forthcoming and then, just as the judging of this year's Trophy Wine Show was about to start, a progress report. Having submitted five wines commonly agreed as carrying the aromas and flavours to "various chemical and microbiological analyses", the researchers concluded that there was "no specific link" between burnt rubber and grape variety, vintage or region of origin. Research is ongoing.

In the absence of any clarity concerning the "burnt rubber" issue, judges were confronted by a less indistinct and more perennial problems: Spoilage yeast brettanomyces was very much in evidence and, while some make the argument that it can be add interest at low levels, I believe a policy of zero tolerance is ultimately the only sensible way forward.

Note top Australian winemaker Brian Croser on the Shiraz class: "Brett appeared too frequently, adding complexity to aromas in small doses, but shattering palate structure in all instances". Or Croser on Merlot: "Nearly 20% of the entries were marked by brett spoilage compounding the green tannin bitterness". Or Croser on Cabernet Franc: "The majority had brett spoilage magnifying the metallic tannins and bitterness of the burnt raisin fruit".

The off-flavours that brett produces can be described as "mousey" and "metallic" and while the average punter doesn't need to understand precisely how these come about, he or she should try to recognise them, because the prevalence of these flavours is symptomatic of why our reds are merely good rather than great.

Whereas two decades ago South African reds tended to be medium-bodied, relatively low in alcohol and somewhat hard and inaccessible in their youth, the contemporary consumer demands a fruitier style with less aggressive tannins and local wine has adapted accordingly. Too often greater weight and substance is achieved by harvesting ultra-ripe or even dead fruit and that's where the trouble begins. Ultra-ripe grapes make for a wine with a relatively high pH, and the higher the pH, the more susceptible that wine is to spoilage. Lower sulphur regimes and the shunning of fining and filtering in an effort to preserve the most colour and taste possible don't help either.

As Croser pointed out, the objective of every fine wine maker should be to make a wine that comes out of the vineyard and needs absolutely no amelioration on the way - just the elaboration of the winemaking process. His sound advice was that it is not so much about "tweaking at the edges, but making sure that we match the varieties, sites and viticultural methods absolutely fastidiously and meticulously and then the winemaking solves itself".