Schapenberg's slopes , Helderberg

It boasts a myriad different aspects and slopes but south-facing ones predominate. The prevailing southerly winds make windbreaks an absolute necessity. Where former Cape governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel's sheep once grazed, more and more vineyards are being planted. Those fortunate enough to lay claim to land on Schapenberg sing its praises. Fiona McDonald spoke to them.It nestles almost in the centre of the embrace of the Hottentots-Holland and Helderberg mountains. Its highest point is 296m above sea level and it is a scant six kilometres from the False Bay coast.

 

This is Schapenberg and it is home to such heavy hitters as Vergelegen and Morgenster. But did you know that Onderkloof wines, Ingwe, Mount Rozier, Myrtle Grove, Waterkloof and Journey's End also produce Schapenberg grapes?

The Vergelegen team feels so strongly about its promise that they registered the trademark - but changed the spelling slightly - Schaapenberg.

Everyone interviewed was unequivocal in their support for an initiative for Schapenberg to be seen as a separate viticultural entity.

"We'd like to see Schapenberg recognised as a sub-whatever of Helderberg which is a ward of the Stellenbosch district," said Danie Truter of Onderkloof.

Moves are already afoot to do just that. Chairman of the Demarcation Board and former group operations director of Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery Duimpie Bayly said there was a new plan to divide Stellenbosch into sub-regions - for marketing purposes.

"We're looking at demarcating these areas on a wine route basis. Stellenbosch really wants to get this thing going in order to market it properly and create recognition for the different areas."

Bayly compared this type of division to Bordeaux which has distinct areas such as Pauillac, St Estephe, Margaux and others.

Similarly it is proposed that Stellenbosch be retained as the Wine of Origin contained on the label but that there be a further recognition of a specific area - such as Devon Valley or Schapenberg.

The Demarcation Committee has to come up with proposals that are acceptable to Stellenbosch winefarmers. If they approve, the proposal is put before the Wine and Spirits Board and if it gets their stamp of approval the necessary changes to existing legislation will be mooted.

"We see it as a possibility of the system evolving to sub-regions and even moving towards single vineyard demarcation.

"My personal thoughts are that we can't be prescriptive. We need to change and be dynamic and adapt our methods according to the demands of the market.

"We're an industry body, not a government organisation. So we need to listen, adapt and provide a service to the industry and advocate changes where we can.

"Our committee doesn't represent any organisation and doesn't have any agenda. It's made up of soil scientists, viticulturists and wine people."

The biggest jewel in the Schapenberg crown is undoubtedly Vergelegen, the pride and joy of Anglo American farming operations. It's also where Schapenberg's most passionate and outspoken advocate resides.
Winemaker Andre van Rensburg doesn't mince his words: "The best viticultural area - not just in South Africa but in the Southern hemisphere - is Vergelegen. On the Schapenberg we have almost every aspect imaginable and the potential to make the best wines in the world."

"When I came here it was with the plan of working about four harvests and then starting on my own. Now I say that I'll retire here! Vergelegen has everything. Why would I want to go anywhere else when it's all here?"

A vertical tasting of Vergelegen's Sauvignon Blanc Reserve wines shows a common Schapenberg thread. There's a minerally flintiness but with a backing of rich fatness.

"As I get more experienced with Schapenberg I realise that I need to release later. It's a vineyard driven wine and shouldn't be released until it's had at least 12 to 18 months in the bottle. We're heading for a Pouilly Fumé style."

The support for his belief in the benefits of wooding Schapenberg Sauvignon Blanc came in the price paid at the 2000 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction - R171 a bottle, the top price ever achieved by a white wine at the auction.

Van Rensburg admits that the 2000 CWG Schaapenberg Sauvignon Blanc came on the back of the 1999 Sauvignon Blanc which "was emotional for me."

"It was the biggest wine - in terms of structure - ever made in South Africa. This was the first Sauvignon to win the Jan Smuts Trophy as the Grand Champion at the SA Young Wine Show; it got 4¡ stars in WINE magazine; 4¡ in Platter and won the Dave Hughes trophy for the best SA wine at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.

"That wine nearly drove me to suicide! We'd taste it one week and it would be marvellous. The next week it would be closed and tight. It was so frustrating.

"The funny thing about Schapenberg is that we never get more than 500 cases - or 4,5 tons of grapes per hectare. It's dry land, unirrigated and the berries are small. There's very little we do to it but the vines are in harmony and produce wonderful fruit."

Van Rensburg admits, slightly bashfully, that he's not superstitious BUT…."It's the same every year - it comes into tank one, settles in tank 47, ferments in 48 and is bottled in tank 44. I'm not normally superstitious but this works. No-one touches the Sauvignon Blanc - this is mine!"

So taken is the Vergelegen team with Schapenberg's superiority that it will soon be uprooting a block of Pinot Noir and planting more Sauvignon Blanc.

Van Rensburg added another anecdote: that Schapenberg wasn't only where Van der Stel grazed his sheep, but was also his lookout post.

"He'd spot incoming ships two to three days before the guys at Kanonkop did. So he'd race into town and sell his produce before they could!"

Next door to Vergelegen is Morgenster, another spogplaas that belongs to Italian magnate Guilio Bertrand. More famous for producing world-beating olive oil, having won Italy's premier olive oil prize, the Orciolio d'Oro for the third year in a row, Bertrand is very serious about producing premium wine.

Winemaker Marius Lategan benefits from the expertise of world-renowned Pierre Lurton of Château Cheval Blanc and the intention is to produce a world-class Bordeaux-style wine.

"Until we feel that our wine is of a sufficiently high standard we won't bottle it under the Morgenster label," Lategan says. This explains why the first two vintages appeared under the Lourens River Valley label. It's a Bordeaux blend of power and magnificence but with a softness that belies the fact the wine was made from young vines.
The Morgenster vines grow in virtual rock but the soil - such as it is - has excited University of Stellenbosch's viticulturist, Professor Eben Archer, no end.

"The variation in topography, altitude and aspect that occur on Morgenster provide numerous terroir units. Combined with this, the farm is unique in its shale-derived stony soils as well as in its prevailing summer winds," Prof Archer states.

"These characteristics of Morgenster create very special growing conditions for the vines - moderate vigour and slow ripening."

The wind, so often cited as a negative factor - and it can play havoc with the vines at flowering - actually aids in concentrating flavours on Schapenberg grapes.

"The wind is mainly responsible for smaller leaves, shorter mature shoots and smaller berries," says Prof Archer.

Van Rensburg said windspeeds of up to 160kmh had been recorded at Vergelegen.

Yields are naturally low but the wind which can strip plants at flowering, also means that pests and fungal diseases are almost unheard of. Spraying regimes on all the Schapenberg properties are minimal.

Danie Truter of Onderkloof concurred with Lategan that spraying is kept to a minimum. "If I spray five times in a season, it's a lot."

The wind also cools the area down dramatically. On average Schapenberg vineyards are five degrees cooler than their Stellenbosch counterparts. This naturally means a longer, slower ripening period.

Each farm has its own weather station. Lategan explains: "For us to use a central weather station would be a mistake, simply because there is quite a difference in conditions between the various farms."

Differences in day and nighttime temperatures of between 10 and 15 degrees have been measured at Morgenster.

"It's definitely colder here during winter too," says Francois Baard, viticulturist at the Alain Mouiex owned property Ingwe on the southern side of Schapenberg.

"It's actually more like Constantia than Stellenbosch," Baard says - and having worked at both Groot Constantia and Buitenverwachting for a number of years, he should know!

There is a profusion of farms on the southern side: Waterkloof, Onderkloof, Ingwe, Myrtle Grove, Mount Rozier and Journey's End.

Waterkloof is a property belonging to the family of former Anglo-American head Gavin Relly. In addition to export table grapes, their fruit goes to Vergelegen.

Journey's End belongs to Western Wines, makers of Kumala, the largestSouth African branded wine sold in the United Kingdom.
Onderkloof is owned by Danie Truter and partner Beat Musfeld and since they bought the property in 1997 renovations, cellar construction and vineyard plantings have been their prime focus.

The farm now boasts 33 hectares under vine, with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Pinotage planted. Their vineyards range from 100m above sea level to 250m and are six kilometres from the cooling influence of False Bay, as the crow flies.

"I grew up in Strand and never knew there was so much vineyard around Sir Lowry's Pass village," Truter said.

"We wine people are dreamers - and drinkers - but I'd love to see more vineyards on these southerly slopes. I could become lyrical about this area and these slopes. They're perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon. We pick our Cab about two weeks later than they do in Stellenbosch.

Baard agrees: "Alain got so excited when we were preparing the soil for our latest plantings. He said the soil was even better - stonier - than he'd hoped."

It's an indication of his belief in the potential of South Africa that a member of the prominent French Mouiex family bought the 40 hectare property.

Common to all properties is the high gravel content with underlying clay soils that aids water retention.

Initially 10 properties throughout the Western Cape fell under Mouiex's microscope. It was narrowed down to four, says friend and business partner Graham Knox.

"There were two properties in the Devon Valley of Stellenbosch, one in Durbanville and this one. Profile holes were dug for soil samples and that's what decided Alain. This is the one that really excited him. His heart's in the soil," Knox said.

"He had to go away and think about his belief that he could make highly concentrated quality wines in a basically unknown area with virtually no track record to speak of."

That was 1997. Four years later Ingwe, which means leopard in Zulu and Indian tiger in Xhosa, has been replanted and the first wines made for the French market. The first grapes were harvested this year and trucked to Havana Hills winery where the 60 tons of fruit was vinified.

"We've just appointed a winemaker, PJ Geyer, and next year the wines will be made closer to home," Baard said.

Although plans for a cellar have been drawn up it will be another three to four years before they're realised. Until then a cellar is being equipped in leased premises at the former AECI facility in nearby Strand.

While most of the wines are destined for the French market some will be available here.

"We need to build a local market, but the style is essentially French," said Baard.

To this end things are done somewhat differently at Ingwe. For a start vine density and row widths are significantly different. Instead of the standard 2m to 2,5m width between rows, Baard manages to just squeak his quad bike between the 1,7m wide rows. So far 28 hectares have been planted with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Malbec with some Tempranillo and Petit Verdot

"What we are seeing in the reds - even just from this first crop - Alain has said is better than he had hoped for and expected. He reckons when the vines are more mature they'll be even better. He was highly impressed this year."

Unfortunately the demands made on Mouiex by his involvement with Châteaux Mazeyres and Fonroque in Bordeaux, as well as his commitment to Savanha Wines, means he only spends about six weeks a year tending to this project.

Former engineer Dave Lydell admits that Mount Rozier's wine operation happened almost by default after a lifestyle property development by partners Michael Rubin and Peter Loebenberg had to be shelved.

"We took possession of the farm in 1997 and we started renovations because it was in a mess.

The wine was made off-site by consultant and Hoopenburg winemaker Ernst Gouws but Jacques Fourie, former winemaker at Wildekrans and Delaire, has just been appointed.

"We're at the point where we know we've got wonderful fruit. There's no question of the quality of the wine that can be produced - it's just a matter of giving everything the attention it deserves.

"This is a turning point for Mount Rozier because we can concentrate on making wine. Our cellar capacity is between 60 and 70 tons and in 2002 all our new plantings will be coming on stream for the first time.

"Jacques will start off by making just 200 or 300 cases of Sauvignon Blanc. We'll take it from there but we want to up quality dramatically."

Surplus grapes have in the past been sold to the KWV and feedback from them was that Mount Rozier supplied their best Sauvignon Blanc fruit.

This is a point echoed by Distell's white winemaker Karl Lambour who can't praise highly enough the fruit from neighbour Alwyn Gey van Pittius's Myrtle Grove property.

"The Sauvignon Blanc is amazing. It's our best fruit and I believe in five years time it'll be our flagship wine. It's awesome!"

It's news that Gey van Pittius is pleased to hear, having only bought the property in 1995.

"I started replanting only in 1997 and 1998 because - as with any farm - there were a few things I inherited that I had to deal with first."

Interestingly enough Myrtle Grove is home to the first commercial plantings of Pinotage.

"It just goes to show that Perold did his homework incredibly well by selecting Myrtle Grove as the first place to plant Pinotage way back in 1943," Gey van Pittius quipped.

His 64 hectares under vine include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Future plans include Shiraz and more Pinotage.

It is apparent from speaking to these winemakers and growers that their belief in the Schapenberg's soils, aspects and other unique features is what motivates them.

While it is still too early to see the results of the fledgling process of demarcation, at least the wheels have been set in motion. All the farms mentioned would dearly love to proudly proclaim their Schapenberg origins on their various labels.