Top Pinotage from Viljoensdrift
Viljoensdrift is one of many historic farms in the Robertson district, and a river runs through it. Perhaps that’s why Norman Maclean’s semi-autobiographical novella and Robert Redford’s 1992 movie of the same name kept popping into my head after my visit – that story about two brothers, their family, their lives playing out against a magnificent natural backdrop, a sense that “all good things come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy” (to quote from the screenplay).
Sorry, ladies, I can’t claim that fifth-generation Viljoensdrift owners Fred and Manie Viljoen resemble Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer. But there are reasons aplenty to visit the farm, not least of which are the River Grandeur Pinotage 2009 and River Grandeur Cape Blend 2009, the top-scoring wines in this year’s category review of Pinotage and Pinotagebased blends, rating 4½ Stars each.
“We love Pinotage,” shrugs Manie, the brother responsible for viticulture. “Then again, we love all our wines. I don’t have a personal favourite. My vines are like my children. It’s almost as though they can talk to me. I don’t use instruments to tell me when they need water or are ready for harvest; I just walk through the vineyards in the early morning – just as my father taught me to. If you don’t know your soils after five generations, you should get out of farming.”
He and Fred trace their winemaking heritage back to 1818 when their French Huguenot forefather, Francois Villion, planted vines in Franschhoek to make brandy as well as Hanepoot and Muscadel sweet wines, using raw brandy for fortification. “It was the ostrich-feather boom which lured our ancestors away from Franschhoek to Robertson in 1863, but every farm in this region had its own cellar,” says Fred.
The deep alluvial, calciferous-rich soils were ideal for growing grapes, but the climate was hotter and drier than the more traditional wine areas. It was only with the completion of the Brandvlei Dam near Worcester in 1936 that the Breede River didn’t dry up in summer, allowing farmers to irrigate their vineyards and achieve the desired fruit quality. “The river is our lifeblood,” says Manie.
However, the Viljoensdrift cellar stood unused for decades in a strictly regulated industry which saw the Viljoens selling their grapes to the local co-operative. “But after Mandela became president, everyone wanted South African wines,” says Fred. “So we decided to start bottling our own.”
It wasn’t just that market demands had changed: “I’d always had a yearning to make my own wines,” he reveals. “Suddenly I couldn’t bear it any more – growing grapes, loading them off to the co-op, never seeing them again, and praying for money. Or maybe I’m just not a very cooperative guy,” he jokes.
The first step was renovating the cellar with its old cement tanks and open-top fermenters, and gradually introducing stainless-steel tanks as production increased – of the ‘ordinary’ Viljoensdrift wines as well as the River Grandeur flagships, plus a number of export labels. “We started with five tonnes of white and five tonnes of red. Now we process about 2 000 tonnes of fruit a year, and we don’t sell a single bunch!”
Of all the shiny new equipment at his and assistant winemaker Zonia Lategan’s disposal, Fred is most proud of the sorting table. “I built it with my own two hands two years ago,” he beams. “I like welding.”
And then there is the small wood maturation cellar with about 300 barrels – some of which have been custom-built for Viljoensdrift using both French and American oak staves.
“But my barrel wines are actually more like a hobby,” he says, explaining that most of the farm’s income comes from its bulk wine production. “The vineyard costs are the same for producing nine tonnes per hectare (t/ha) and 22t/ha of grapes. Somehow you’ve got to balance your ‘bulk-production’ and ‘show’ vineyards to be economically viable.”
So viticulturist Manie has his work cut out, especially as he also looks after 50ha of peach and apricot orchards. “The farm is about 400ha, of which 100ha are planted to grapes – all on the right soil types, because after five generations we should know what they are!”
Generally speaking, the whites (accounting for 60% of production and including Chardonnay, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Nouvelle) are planted on Cogmanskloof alluvial soils while the reds are on stony red clay Karoo soils (Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Ruby Cabernet, Cinsaut and Merlot). In addition, the Viljoens have a 25ha property in Bonnievale, which they planted from scratch seven years ago. “It’s a bit cooler but the fruit actually ripens a bit earlier, giving us nice blending opportunities.”
Manie’s biggest problem is baboons at the south end of the farm: “Then again, they’re a nice indication of when the grapes are ripe! We also have duiker, but I’ve enclosed the vines so that they can’t eat them and don’t need to be shot. If you can’t make a plan to live alongside the wild animals on your farm, maybe you shouldn’t be farming.”
Both he and Fred, who studied nature conservation at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, are committed to the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative and have an action plan in place to save water, manage wastewater, recycle, curb the use of chemicals and clear alien vegetation. They are particularly proud of the pristine 50ha section of indigenous river habitat on their farm, including beautiful old Breede River yellowwood, wild olive and white olien trees: “Restoring the natural vegetation to the state it was in 1 000 years ago is very close to my heart,” says Fred.
Visitors to Viljoensdrift can experience the river for themselves, most famously aboard Uncle Ben – the river boat named after Fred and Manie’s father. The hourlong cruise costs R40 for adults (including a wine tasting before departure) and R15 for children aged between three and 16 years old, and passengers usually pack a picnic of gourmet fare from the deli for their trip.
“We wanted to do something in addition to wine tasting,” says Fred. “The river cruise started as a marketing tool but it’s now a business in its own right. People are always drawn to water, and this way they can taste, eat and enjoy nature. It’s very popular – we easily get 300 people here in a day, and sometimes they stay so long that we have to ask them to leave!”
So it’s little wonder the Viljoens are here to stay, with the sixth generation on track to take over one day. Fred’s son Ben is in Grade 11 at the agricultural school in Paarl, while Manie says his two boys, aged six and four, feel the same way he did at their age: “Growing up on this farm, I always knew it would be my life. I just felt it.”
Other than the good soils and ready supply of water, he attributes Viljoensdrift’s success to one fundamental thing: “A winemaker can’t make wine if he doesn’t know where it comes from. He has to have a close relationship with his viticulturist. We’re brothers. You can’t get much closer than that.”
FOOD AND WINE PAIRING
“Don’t ask me for food matches, I’m a fish-with-white-wine man,” laughs Fred. “I can’t even boil an egg!” But in a flash he says that the ripe berry fruitcake notes and soft tannins of the River Grandeur Pinotage 2009 would complement steak or venison. “This wine also goes well with spicy foods because of its ripeness,” adds Manie, suggesting springbok bobotie. Meanwhile, the Viljoen brothers know exactly what they’d pair with the River Grandeur Cape Blend 2009: “Lamb chops on the braai.”
HOW THESE TOP-SCORING WINES WERE MADE
Viljoensdrift has 6.5 hectares of Pinotage, planted 15 years ago in two different blocks. “We’re planning to plant more this year,” says Manie.
The grapes are harvested in the early morning and cooled right down to 1°C, then sorted by hand. “It’s a painstaking process but the only way to get rid of all the green, unripe berries, stems and other debris,” explains Fred.
The grapes are then gently crushed, with only the first 70 litres per tonne of juice put into stainless-steel tanks for three days of cold-soaking on the skins. “I do a pumpover every time I happen to walk past.”
The wine is then inoculated and allowed to ferment for about 10 days. “But at 5° balling, i.e. before it ferments completely dry, we press it and put it into second-fill oak barrels (60% French, 40% American) to complete alcoholic fermentation and later undergo malolactic fermentation.”
Both the River Grandeur Pinotage 2009 and Cape Blend 2009 were left to mature in barrel for 12 months, during which time they were racked four times. They were lightly filtered before bottling.
“The recipe is basically the same for all our reds,” says Fred. “If you have nice grapes from your vineyard, then it’s not difficult to make nice wine.” Describing the River Grandeur wines as “the best of the best”, he emphasises the importance of blending different barrels. “The different blocks are kept separate all the way; likewise free-run and press juice.”
The River Grandeur Pinotage 2009 has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 14.64%, residual sugar (RS) of 3.6g/¡, a total acidity (TA) of 5.7g/¡ and a pH of 3.53.
This same Pinotage was also used in the River Grandeur Cape Blend 2009, which also includes 66% Shiraz. ABV is 14.6%, RS 3.5g/¡, TA 5.5g/¡ and pH 3.4.
ROBERTSON RECOMMENDATIONS
BOURBON STREET is the Viljoen brothers’ favourite restaurant in town. “It’s where we usually go when we have guests to entertain. There’s a nice ambience, a big variety of well-prepared food, from sushi to meat, and over 140 local wines.”
Tel 023 626 5934.
To impress guests, they take them to FRAAI UITZICHT, in Klaasvoogds East off the R60 between Robertson and Ashton, for award-winning country cuisine with Asian and Mediterranean in. uences, and an extensive wine list.
Tel 023 626 6156, www.fraaiuitzicht.com.
For more casual dining, they like CAFÉ MAUDE at neighbouring estate Bon Courage, which offers interesting sandwiches, salads, light meals and good coffee: “You sit under a nice old pepper tree and the atmosphere is really laid-back.”
Tel 023 626 4178, www.boncourage.co.za.
If you’re short of time and can’t visit as many wine farms as you’d like, the Viljoens say LA VERNE WINE BOUTIQUE is a one-stop shop for local wines at cellar-door prices.
Tel 023 626 4313, www.lavernewines.co.za.
There is no shortage of accommodation in Robertson, from B&Bs and guesthouses to five-star luxury at THE ROBERTSON SMALL HOTEL
(tel 023 626 7200, www.therobertsonsmallhotel.com). But Viljoensdrift boasts its own two-bedroom, selfcatering cottage in the historic heart of Montagu. Rates are R300pppn for two people or R250pppn for a group of four (subject to a minimum twonight stay) and include a Viljoensdrift River Boat Cruise voucher for two and a bottle of wine. Tel 023 615 1901.
For more information on Robertson, see www.robertsonwinevalley.com.
VILJOENSDRIFT FINE WINES
Viljoensdrift, R317, Robertson Tastings, sales, boat cruises, deli, picnics and decor shop at the Riverside Tasting Area, open Monday to Friday, Saturdays and the . rst Sunday of every month. Wines available for purchase ex-cellar or online at www.viljoensdrift.co.za/order
Tel 023 615 1901 (cellar) or 023 615 1017 (Riverside)
Email info@viljoensdrift.co.za
GPS coordinates S33º52’8.4” E19º59’13.6”
www.viljoensdrift.co.za
