Organic wines - July 2007

The local organic wine farming movement seems to be growing steadily and WINE thought it opportune to assess the overall quality of wines claiming this status. Christian Eedes reports.First, let's be clear about precisely what is meant by "organic wine". World expert on the subject, Monty Waldin, points out that strictly speaking there is a distinction between wine made from 'organically grown grapes' and 'organic wines', with the first covering practices in the vineyard alone and not in the cellar.

Organic viticulture can therefore be defined as grape growing that shuns man-made pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizers. Full-blown organic wines also require a particular approach to the winemaking, with restrictions placed on how the grapes are processed. In particular, permitted levels of sulphur dioxide (as a preservative) are generally lower. Then there is biodynamics, which while fundamentally organic include an almost spiritual dimension, making it the most extreme form of viticulture.
The primary motivation for adopting organic viticulture is to preserve and enhance vineyard soils. There is, of course, a marketing edge to wines made in this way in terms of a "feel-good" factor for the consumer, but what we wanted to discover was if the wines gained any real organoleptic advantage.

Devising an appropriate line-up for the tasting was a somewhat difficult exercise as a definitive list of producers is still not that easy to come by - to date there is no local regulatory authority or producers' association. Nonetheless, we arrived at an array of 36 wines from 15 different producers. Nearly all carried official certification, this being provided by Swiss company Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) in most instances, and two biodynamic producers were represented, namely Reyneke Wines and The Sadie Family. While there are bodies that will grant official recognition, winemaker Eben Sadie is not inclined to obtain this at the moment. "It's more a personal philosophy. I don't need to be part of a secret society," he says, ever forthright.

By the end of the tasting, almost 70% of the line-up had been rated less than 3 Stars. A general observation was that the wines tended to show a lack of flavour concentration, the result of organic growers being compelled to pick less ripe in order to facilitate a lower sulphur regime in the cellar. Dick Davidson CWM made the point, however, that the quality brackets were more or less proportionate to those of the overall wine market and therefore it was not fair to conclude that organic wines were inherently flawed in qualitative terms.

The panel got the impression that in many instances producers practising organic viticulture are pre-occupied with environmentally-friendly aspects of the approach. Some of the wines seem to be made with the attitude of 'screw the palate, save the planet," as someone joked.

Although Waldin was not involved in the tasting, he has monitored the state of organic wines in this country for some time and feels that, on the whole, South African wines compare favourably to their global competitors in terms of quality and price. Weaknesses he observed were that local organic wines have tended to suffer from inconsistency, with the larger producers apparently aiming to hit price points first and worry about delivering stand-out wines second.

He feels Stellenbosch farm Laibach is an example of a winery where the bar is being raised, with foreign ideas (provided by German consultant winemaker Stefan Dorst) and local known-how combining to great effect. High-end operations like Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards are showing that "the sky could be the limit" for South Africa in terms of organic/biodynamic projects beginning from scratch.

On a cautionary note, Waldin pointed out that "retro-fitting" conventional vineyards to the organic model is especially problematic locally - poor clones and virus/rootstock issues make life even harder for would-be organic growers. "What South Africa needs is support from the bureaucrats to get some good organic standards up and running, which will provide easier access into the US and European markets," he said.

Are you getting what you pay for?
Average price of all organic/biodynamic wines tasted: R80

Average price of 4 wines rated 3½ to 4 Stars: R286
Average price of 10 wines rated 3 to 3½ Stars: R133
Average price of 7 wines rated 3 Stars: R60
Average price of 11 wines rated 2 to 2½ Stars: R48
Average price of 23 wines less than 3 Stars: R51
Average price of 12 wines less than 2 Stars: R53

ORGANIC WINE


Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards Syrah Mourvèdre 2005
APPROXIMATE RETAIL PRICE: R240
Nose shows spice and some floral notes. Medium bodied. Dense red and black fruit as well as spice and pepper on palate. Fine tannins. Keep for 2 to 5 years.
CF 15.5 BG 16 JP 15 DD 15.5 CE 18

Reyneke Reserve 2005
CELLAR PRICE: R90
Shiraz. Dark fruit and intense pepper on nose. Concentrated black cherry fruit and some meaty notes on palate. Good structure and length. Keep for 2 to 5 years.
CF 15.5 BG 15 JP 15.5 DD 15 CE 16

Palladius 2005 (Sadie)
APPROXIMATE RETAIL PRICE: R332
White blend. Complex nose showing oak, honey, citrus and some lees character. Palate is oxidative, rich and full. Ripe tropical fruit matched by tangy acid. Good length. Drink now or over next 5 years.
CF 15.5 BG 15.5 JP 16.5 DD 14 CE 17

Columella 2004 (Sadie)
APPROXIMATE RETAIL PRICE: R482
Red blend. Attractive oak and spice on nose. Dark juicy fruit, very firm tannins and fresh acid on palate. Good balance and length. Currently very closed - keep for 5 years.
CF 15.5 BG 15.5 JP 16.5 DD 16 CE 16

Mountain Oaks Chardonnay 2005 R65
La Motte Pierneef Organically Grown Sauvignon Blanc 2006 R68
Clarius Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 R40
Bon Cap Pinotage 2005 R50
Bon Cap Syrah 2004 R55
Org de Rac Family Reserve Shiraz 2005 R70
Laibach The Ladybird Organic 2005 (red blend) R75

Bon Cap Chardonnay 2006 SO R45
Matzikama Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 R40

Clarius Weisser Riesling 2005 R25
Waverley Hills Semillon Chardonnay 2006* R30
Sonop Chardonnay NV R30.50
The Ruins Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Bon Cap) R35
The Ruins Pinotage 2005 (Bon Cap) R35
Org de Rac Shiraz 2005 R45
Reyneke Cornerstone 2005 (red blend) R68
Org de Rac Family Reserve Merlot 2005 R70
Reyneke Pinotage 2005 R108

Backsberg Organic Chardonnay 2006* R49
Reyneke Sauvignon Blanc 2006 R75
Upland Organic Pheasant Haven Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 R45
Mountain Oaks Pinotage 2005 R50
Backsberg Organic Merlot 2006* R57
Waverley Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 R65
The Sensory Collection Shiraz 2004 (Stellar) ARP R85
The Sensory Collection Pinotage 2004 R85 (Stellar) ARP

Also tasted
Sonop Cabernet Sauvignon NV R30.50
Matzikama Shiraz 2003 R40
Upland Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 R45

Corked
Org de Rac Merlot 2005 R45

PRICES: wines in each Star bracket are listed in order of ascending price - all ex-cellar unless otherwise stipulated
ARP Approximate retail price
NV Non vintage
SO Sold out ex-cellar
* Bottled under screwcap

Wine tasters: honorary member of the Institute of Cape Wine Masters and panel chairman, Colin Frith of Picardi (chair) (CF), Groot Constantia winemaker Boela Gerber (BG) and James Pietersen of Vineyard Connection (JP) with Cape Wine Master Dick Davidson (DD) and WINE magazine deputy editor Christian Eedes (CE)