Home-grown Rhône
Whilst varietal Shiraz is emerging as one of South Africa's strongest suits, its role within Rhône-style blends offers a fresh take and potentially strong marketing advantage. Rob Morris investigates.There are sound reasons to enjoy Cape versions of the Rhône-style red blend - the Southern Rhône template in particular. Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Grenache Noir - the principal varieties in these wines - are compatible with the Cape's Mediterranean climate, for one. Traditionally at home along the coasts of southern France, in the Midi and Southern Rhône plains, they are also ideally suited to cultivation in the Cape's warmer climes.
Consider too that varietal Shiraz in its New World context is often a one-dimensional class, stylistically, and the idea of some variation in flavour profile becomes more appealing. Apart from providing unique drinking, these rugged, rustic varieties (with the exception of temperamental Viognier) pardon the severities of climate and are relatively easily manipulated in the cellar. As a consequence, local versions deliver quality and interest without much difficulty - although they are seldom priced in the value-for-money bracket.
Eben Sadie of Sadie Family Wines can be found in Spain when he's not at his cellar in the Swartland. He is more familiar than most with the psyche behind Mediterranean blends.
He vehemently opposes applying the Bordeaux model to this country. "We do not farm in Bordeaux conditions. Most vineyards in SA are planted on a 34° to 38° south latitude, yet people choose to farm with a 45° attitude. We have a Mediterranean climate and therefore we need to work with coastal varieties. Many believe they are 'winemakers' and wines are to be made in the cellar. Just looking at the soils and climate, I know the Rhône is the only way to go, especially for the Swartland."
Sadie's critically acclaimed Columella is Shiraz-driven. The current vintage, a 2004 (rated 3½ Stars in WINE July 2007), is braced by a Mourvèdre component of 20%. It's a cult wine internationally and is carrying the standard abroad - albeit that the reception back home is not as unfailingly enthusiastic.
Another of his blended red wines, Sequillo, retails for a quarter of the price of the Columella (R150 versus R482 for the latter) and comprises a Grenache component of 6%, with Syrah at 68% and Mourvèdre 26%.
"My wine sells in 26 countries - some of the best locations in the world. We have had great press everywhere, from Tokyo to Vancouver, from Patagonia to Adelaide. It seems the only country still wondering about this class is South Africa…" Sadie includes fellow winemakers amongst the biggest sceptics but his sentiments on blending and stylistics are provocative.
"In continental climates, mono-varietal wines excel. For this there is more than enough evidence. Burgundy for Pinot Noir, Piedmont for Nebbiolo or the Mosel for Riesling - all these wines are complex, structured and express terroir. Warmer Mediterranean climates need to blend in order to gain all-round structure and balance."
The South African inclination is to distill blends into their component parts and percentages - to fixate, for example, on Cabernet Sauvignon in a Bordeaux-style blend and not to consider complementing varieties in the wine. If Cape wines made in the Mediterranean/Southern Rhône mould are to be appreciated they must be made and consumed as the sum of their parts, as what the French term vins d'assemblage.
Fairview's Caldera is a blend of 50% Grenache with Mourvèdre and Shiraz (our rating of the 2003 and 2004 vintages was 3 Stars). The name claims Catalan origins - the Caldereta is a ceramic vessel from Southern France according to the back label on the bottle. Six barrels of the country's oldest Grenache fruit (61 years old) balance three barrels each of Mourvèdre and Shiraz to make the blend. What results is an innovative, instantly accessible wine selling ex-cellar at R75.
Grenache has the propensity to yield unusually high alcoholic wines but the Caldera has this taped at under 15%. The offering is a Wine of Origin Swartland, the
terra cognita for Grenache in this country and a region proprietor Charles Back taps regularly for his Spice Route label too - the flagship Malabar blend from
this range may not be Rhône in the strictest sense - the current 2003 has a Pinotage component, but also includes both Swartland Shiraz, Mouvèdre and Grenache.
Ideally suited to Mediterranean conditions and traditionally cultivated as a bush-vine varietal, Grenache Noir thrives on hot, windswept sites. Planted prolifically in South-Western Europe, hectares of Grenache in the Cape are few and restricted, in the main, to pockets of the Swartland and Paarl. Of itself, it delivers little by way of colour and fruit, which may account for the New World's reluctance to embrace it. Blended with Shiraz, however, its low acidity and tannin, and a sweetish aromatic profile, make it a constructive partner.
There is scope for exploring cooler examples even within what is primarily a class of wine that owes its very existence to warmer origins. Unbound by the strictures of Appellation Contrôlleé in the Cape, the door is wide open for experimentation.
De Capo Wines based at Whalehaven in Walker Bay have a credible blend in their Idiom Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2004 (SMV), the wine having scored 4 stars
twice with WINE magazine panels. It's a small outfit producing roughly 6000 bottles of the SMV annually.
Winemaker Sydney Burke sources his fruit from a cool site in Sir Lowry's Pass village outside Somerset West. Despite the locale his wine is one of the more expressive and stout renditions on the market. On alcohol levels Burke concedes, "We have advertised that we make bigger wines, although we do not receive complaints. The wines are full and the alcohol is unobtrusive, seamlessly integrated."
Because there are inherent structural benefits gained in blending from cooler sites, Burke insists it's vital to look at colour and aromatics in Idiom's case. "Shiraz and Mourvèdre share similar profiles. Mourvèdre maintains heavier tannins and deeper colour adding complexity. The combination with Viognier alters the wine, adding a creamy velvetiness. When the Viognier is back-blended and not fermented together with the Shiraz must, then, as we have discovered, it takes roughly a year to show itself."
If Idiom is unfamiliar to the local market it hasn't affected sales. "To date, we have sold out by the release of the following vintage. The demand has been phenomenal! I had a lady who came in to buy a case of SMV for herself. She made it clear that she doesn't drink anything besides this particular wine."
Burke's anecdote reveals the typical consumer profile for these wines. Two years ago there were no blends on the market made under the Spier label. Now into their third vintage of an SMV, Spier's head of primary production for red wine, Kobie Viljoen, is delighted by the commercial success of the fastest growing product in their range and a market leader in the category.
"Our research suggests that buyers willing to experiment with flavour profiles are the main consumers. This may not even be a conscious decision based on the buyer's knowledge of the Rhône, but rather an instinctive preference for a warmer, undemanding style." He is quick to add that education is the key to future demand.
Production for the Spier SMV 2005 has been upped to 3 500 cases on demand, of which heavyweight retailer Woolworths saw fit to snap up a portion to bottle under their Art of Blending range. Spier's maiden vintage in 2003 amounted to less than half the output of the 2005 and the current vintage retails for around R80. The wine is nothing if not consistent with our panels, which scored both the 2003 and 2004 vintages 4 Stars.
Mention was made to Mourvèdre as Mataro on the label of the maiden vintage, a vinous faux pas in that Mataro is widely considered a snipe at New World
versions of the grape inasmuch as "dikvoet" did no favours for local Shiraz. In parts of France Mourvèdre is colloquially dubbed Estrangle-Chien or the "dog strangler", owing to its aggressive traits of high alcohol, rampant tannin and wild flavours. Viljoen recalls with amusement: "We had to put that one right!"
Estate producers of these blends have Viljoen's sympathies. "I can't imagine how tough it must be to find all varieties required for these blends in one location. The real quality is achieved when you're in my position. Our Nooitgedacht farm in Paarl provides the Shiraz and Viognier. Mourvèdre we source from Stellenbosch. You must have site options to consider when taking on these wines, more so than in the case of Bordeaux-style blends."
On the future of the class, Viljoen echoes the sentiments of all those approached for comment. As a category, the Rhône-style blend is a recent phenomenon in the Cape. These blends offer mesmerizing drinking and provide an invaluable counterpoint to single-varietal Shiraz - a class to which the industry seems somewhat over-subscribed.
Winemakers investing in the style are a progressive lot. They ask only that you share their willingness to explore beyond the norm.
Recommended drinking
Whether you're a devotee of the style or just curious to expand on your experience of the category, here are some more recommendations -
Neil Ellis Grenache (Grenache, Syrah)
Lammershoek Roulette Rouge (Shiraz, Carrignan, Grenache, Viognier)
Tulbagh Mountain Vineyard Syrah Mourvèdre
Winery of Good Hope's Black Rock Red (Shiraz, Grenache, Carrignan)
Guardian Peak SMG (Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Grenache)
La Bascula Turret Fields (Mourvèdre, Syrah)
Saronsberg Full Circle (Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Viognier)
