L’Avenir wine farm
L’Avenir cellarmaster and CEO Tinus Els seems a little taken aback that I want to talk to him about Cabernet Sauvignon: “But we’re famous for our Pinotage!”
There’s no disputing it. Tinus’ predecessor in the Stellenbosch cellar was Francois Naudé, responsible for more ABSA Top 10 Pinotages than any other winemaker and a triple winner of the Perold Trophy for best Pinotage at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. And when famous Chablis producer Michel Laroche purchased L’Avenir from founder Marc Wiehe in 2005, he was determined to continue developing Pinotage as the property’s flagship red, duly introducing the domaine’s ‘icon’ Grand Vin Pinotage which, at R250 a bottle, sells as steadily if not as quickly as the standard bottling (R100). “I’d be pleased if our Cabernet Sauvignon sold as well [as our Pinotage] but that’s not the case,” Laroche told Wine magazine back in 2006.
Photograph by Toby Murphy
That might change now that the L’Avenir Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 has been named top performer in Wine’s annual Cab review. All Tinus knows at the time of our interview is that the wine has ‘done well’ but already he has been on the phone to his Scandinavian distributor. “We had 2 000 bottles ready for shipment to Sweden, but I’ve asked them to take the 2009 vintage instead.”
It’s a canny move, and one indication of how L’Avenir has gone from strength to strength with Tinus at the helm. A few green grape skins in his hair attest to the fact that he was dealing with a burst pipe shortly before my arrival – and my visit is a disruption in itself given that harvest is in full swing – yet he seems completely unflustered. I start to understand how he has steadied this ship through the purchase of neighbouring Sentinel Vineyards, the transformation of Sentinel’s ‘concrete castle’ into the magnificent Venue@L’Avenir, a spacious, modern tasting facility and one of Stellenbosch’s romantic wedding venues and, after all that, the recent decision to sell the property (transfer was due to go through at the end of February, and tellingly the new owners will not be growing grapes but plums...). And then there’s the fact that parent company Laroche has itself been swallowed up by Languedoc producer and wine merchant Jeanjean to form Advini, the third-largest wine company in France (www.advini.com).
That’s a fair amount of upheaval even before you throw in the construction and running of L’Avenir’s luxury 11-room country lodge. Oh, and they grow soughtafter olives too, though Tinus describes these as ‘organic’ because they pretty much have to grow by themselves. “But I definitely don’t get bored,” laughs the self-described jack of all trades. “It keeps me humble!”
Nonetheless, he seems pleased that he and his team (farm manager Lodewyk Retief, consultant viticulturist Johan Pienaar and assistant winemakers Mattheus Thabo and Dirk Coetzee) can now focus on the core wine business again. “Back to basics is going to be my New Year’s resolution for the next five years! I’m looking forward to seeing what we can really do at L’Avenir from now on.”
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Born and raised in Orkney (North West Province), Tinus moved to Stellenbosch in 1991 to study agriculture at Elsenburg. “Dairy farming was my main subject until the college head said viticulture and oenology might also be a good option!” After graduating, his first job was at Nelson’s Creek in Paarl, and he then spent two years at Koelenhof in Stellenbosch and three years at Nordale in Bonnievale. Working the 1999 harvest in Bordeaux led to a six-year stint as a flying winemaker, working mainly in France with a season in Spain and Chile respectively – and it was a colleague in Chile who mentioned that Michel Laroche was looking to buy a farm in South Africa. “I met Michel at Vinexpo in June 2005; two months later I was here.”
Tinus lives on the property. “It’s 90% great; 10% too close to work,” he jokes, which means that guests at the lodge and visitors to the tasting room are almost certain to encounter him and his two Bouviers, Max and Mischa (“I call them my two little flies because they follow me everywhere”). At the moment their diet consists largely of grapes off the vines – a good indication of physiological ripeness. The Pinotage is already mostly in tank; the later-ripening Cab still hanging.
“It’s always the last thing we pick,” reveals Tinus, taking me to see two closely situated blocks on north-west slopes in the foothills of the Simonsberg mountains, overlooking Beyerskloof and Mulderbosch on the other side of the valley. Accounting for six hectares of 36ha currently under vine (with a further 1.8ha having recently been grafted onto old Cab Franc vines and a further 2ha due to be planted next year), Cab yields are a modest five tonnes per hectare thanks to the age of the older vines (26 years) and the fact that they are not irrigated unless absolutely necessary during the hot, dry summer months. The Indian Ocean is less than 20km away, with gentle sea breezes exerting a cooling influence in the afternoons. “We’re fortunate to have good terroir from which we get good grapes,” says Tinus. “Making this wine is easy; it’s simply a matter of doing the right things at the right time.”
Displaying a savoury, cigar-box nose with a gentle smokiness behind intense cassis and mulberry fruit, the 2008 is elegant and creamy, with a firm tannic backbone. “Like all our wines, it has nice fruit but is not fruit-driven; it has cedar wood and spice without being overpowered by oak. In terms of style, L’Avenir is definitely placed somewhere between the old and new world.”
I can see why the judges were impressed, but Tinus can’t resist pouring me a glass of his Bordeaux-style blend, the L’Avenir Stellenbosch Classic 2008. “The Cab component in this wine is actually better than the Cab we used for the single-variety bottling,” he confides. “Our Swedish buyer kept saying she’d like to taste more fruit in the blend and in the end I agreed to put our top Cab in there. So the straight Cab is actually plan B!”
’N BOER MAAK ’N PLAN
Given that plan B clearly works out for the best sometimes, Tinus isn’t in the least bit concerned that L’Avenir has lost its state-of-the-art tasting facilities with the sale of the former Sentinel property. Visitors are still welcomed by top-notch tasting-room manager Leona Howard, but in the cosier confines of what were previously open-plan offices. Overlooking lawns which stretch down to the dam, it certainly makes for more personalised tastings. “We don’t want L’Avenir to be a stuffy place,” says Tinus, revealing family friendly plans for a climbing frame and sandpit outside.
The interior, meanwhile, is dominated by a remarkable portrait of Nelson Mandela by University of Stellenbosch student Soma Soma Holloway, snapped up by Tinus on auction – along with two cases of Le Vin de Francois, wine made by his predecessor. Despite being semi-retired, Naudé still consults at L’Avenir and a few other farms, from which he selects a barrel or two every year for selling under his own name, along with an artwork that captures the essence of where the wine was produced – in this case Freedom Hill, the Paarl property overlooking Drakenstein Prison (formerly Victor Verster) where Nelson Mandela took his first steps to freedom (see www.levindefrancois.co.za for more information).
Art is an important feature of L’Avenir, right down to the capsules on each bottle with their Picasso-esque eye, nose and mouth to symbolise the seeing, breathing and tasting of wine. But Tinus is currently most excited about a painting that he has commissioned from friend and acclaimed local artist Frans Groenewald. “It will basically sum up what L’Avenir is all about,” he says. “It’s fun.”
It has to be said that Tinus’ touch is everywhere, to the point that I can’t resist asking about Michel Laroche’s involvement – if any. After all, L’Avenir was always just one of eight wines in the Laroche stable, and Laroche itself is now just one of seven brands since its acquisition by Jeanjean. “Michel only comes to SA on holiday these days,” says Tinus, who nonetheless says that being part of a large multinational has its benefits, most notably the easy exchange of information with international colleagues. “It is the advantage of belonging to the same family: we can exchange our ideas and experiences in order to constantly contribute to the improvement of our wines.”
But the fact that the company takes care of L’Avenir’s foreign distribution (with exports accounting for a whopping 90% of sales) is not necessarily a good thing because the focus is firmly on the cultivars deemed most emblematic of the country: Pinotage and Chenin Blanc (certainly a big part of L’Avenir’s production but by no means all of it). Local distribution, meanwhile, is done by Vinimark, SA’s largest independent specialist wine wholesaler whose ‘partners’ include the likes of Boekenhoutskloof and Reyneke, among others. “Naturally their focus is on their own brands, so the challenge is for us to get more people to the farm and to make sure they have a nice experience.”
Which they almost certainly will, at least if my visit is anything to go by.
L’AVENIR CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008
In 2008, a warm, dry summer resulted in ripe and healthy grapes – small berries with thick skins – that were handpicked in three stages, on 12, 14 and 19 March. After destemming, the grapes were cold soaked for 24 hours, then fermented at between 24°C and 28°C, with gentle pumpovers done every four hours. “The intensity of pumpovers varies from vintage to vintage and is used to elicit the best colour and tannin extraction.” After alcoholic fermentation, the wine was pressed and given an additional seven days of maceration on its skins. Malolactic fermentation took place in tank, after which the wine was put in 225. French barrels (10% second-. ll, 90% third-. ll) to mature for 12 months. It was then bottled without . ning “under strict quality-control guidelines and winemaker supervision”. Wine analysis: Alcohol by volume is 14%; acidity is 3.1g/. (sulphuric) and 5.8g/. (tartaric), pH is 3.6 and residual sugar is 2.1g/..
THE CELLARMASTER RECOMMENDS...
WHAT TO DO
Tinus says no visit to Stellenbosch is complete without exploring Dorp and Church Streets and spending a couple of hours at the Rupert Museum, particularly for its impressive Pierneef collection (tel 021 888 3344; www.rupertmuseum.org). Then head for “the best homemade pasta in town” at Asta la Pasta (tel 021 887 7300). Out of town, he strongly recommends exploring Jonkershoek Valley (home to the likes of Lanzerac, Le Riche and Stark-Condé) and his favourite restaurants are Overture at Hidden Valley Wines (tel 021 880 2721; www.dineatoverture.co.za) and George Jardine’s restaurant at Jordan Wine Estate (tel 021 881 3612; www.jordanwines.com/restaurant).
WHAT TO EAT WITH THE L’AVENIR CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008
“I would serve a springbok pie,” says Tinus. “Any venison with a slightly wild taste would be good, but not ostrich which needs something sweeter like Pinotage. Chargrilled steak with a touch of pepper would also work, as would con. t de canard or saucissons...”
VISITING L’AVENIR
L’Avenir, R44, Stellenbosch.
GPS coordinates: S 33º 53’ 18.7” E 18º 50’ 59.1” Tel: 021-889 5001 info@lavenir.co.za www.lavenir-south-africa.com
The Country Lodge: The 11 rooms at this four-star lodge are classi ed in three tiers, namely Classic (from R740pps during high season), Platinum (from R860pps) and Icon (two self-catering units at R1 230pps), all prices inclusive of a full South African breakfast.
Tasting and sales: Monday to Friday 9:00 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 16:00.
Wines available ex-cellar:
Rosé (R40)
Chenin Blanc (R55)
Sauvignon Blanc (R55)
Chardonnay (R60)
Merlot (R55)
Cabernet Sauvignon (R85)
Stellenbosch Classic (R85)
Pinotage (R100)
Grand Vin Pinotage (R250)
“Of course we have the people who come here just for our olives and don’t want to taste wine,” says Tinus. “They irritate me just a little bit...”
Retailers outside Cape Town:
Norman Goodfellow’s, Johannesburg Tel 011 788 4814 www.ngf.co.za
Johnny’s Liquor Hypermarket, Pretoria Tel 012.991 4999 www.johnnysliquor.co.za
Buxton La Cave, Durban Tel 031 572 6073 www.buxtonsliquors.co.za
