Neil Ellis on producing his outstanding wines

This year sees Neil Ellis embark on his 36th harvest as a qualified winemaker, making him one of the South African wine industry's most expert figures, whether he likes it or not.

"I was called an old-fashioned winemaker the other day but I'm not sure you can make a distinction between oldfashioned and modern when it comes to wine. There are youngsters making wines I like so perhaps they're old-fashioned, too."

 

Ellis has been sourcing grapes from diverse areas for his eponymous label since the mid-1980s, something that was entirely groundbreaking back then and has seen him tagged as "South Africa's first negociant" ever since.

"Outside of here, it wasn't exactly a new idea," he says with a shrug. The Neil Ellis portfolio hardly has any weaknesses but if there's one variety that this producer does particularly well, then it surely must be Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is again borne out by the results of this year's category review, where the Neil Ellis 2007 is among the top performers with a rating of 4½ Stars (see pp. 78-81).

After four decades of making wine, it wouldn't be surprising if Ellis was largely indifferent to the results of blind tastings, but he is clearly chuffed when given an indication that the wine has shown well and an in-depth discussion ensues.

There's more and more evidence to suggest that 2007 was an unusually good vintage for reds and Ellis concurs. "Conditions [resulting in high quality fruit] were given to us producers on a plate. We can't really take any credit for the wines that resulted."

He describes the growing season before harvest as "moderate", resulting in a slightly longer hang-time for the grapes, allowing them to ripen optimally, and a wider picking window, removing the pressure to get them into the cellar.

Just to be clear, the wine in question is from the so-called "premium range", production amounting to 4 000 cases and selling for R115 a bottle from the cellar.

This is as opposed to the flagship Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 vintage of which is currently available, 400 cases having been made and the wine selling for R205 a bottle.

That the Vineyard Selection 2006 rated a mere 2 Stars, thus under-performing relative to its less pedigreed stable mate, will probably cause some observers bewilderment.

Ellis, however, is largely unfazed: "I wouldn't describe 2006 as a lousy vintage but rather one that came along to pose a challenge."

For him, part of what makes wine appreciation intellectually rewarding is comparing how different winemakers perform under the same set of growing conditions.

"No matter how difficult the vintage, there are always a handful of wines that stand out," he observes. He's at peace with the fact that there will be better and worse vintages and it is worth noting that, bar the notorious 2002 vintage, the Vineyard Selection has never been declassified.

Both examples of Neil Ellis Cabernet give credence to the sometimes intangible notion that wines should taste of the place where the grapes grow.

Both are from the Jonkershoek ward of Stellenbosch, grapes for the Vineyard Selection being from the best portion of a 5ha block on the Neil Ellis property, while the "standard" label incorporates fruit from multiple Jonkershoek vineyards, not all self-owned.

Jonkershoek is renowned for the quality of its Cabernet, Stark-Condé and Le Riche being Neil Ellis neighbours that also produce top stuff . Asked to defi ne what makes Jonkershoek Cab special, Ellis responds that the wines typically have "attractive darker fruit qualities and a slight hint of mint".

He goes on to say that they are "never massively big in structure" and are "closer to Bordeaux than California". He adds a proviso to all this by saying that they are "distinctively different", so much so that they might not be for everyone. "The consumer must decide if he likes them."

It's hard not to like Ellis's Cab 2007. Thanks to 2007's favourable conditions in the vineyard, the wine shows excellent fruit expression, well-judged oak and fresh acidity. Did the winemaking team do anything differently?

"There's no recipe. Rather we apply a process of ongoing refinement," Ellis explains. First and foremost, he wants "pristine fruit" and every effort is made to avoid under- or over-ripe grapes at picking. "I want ripe fruit and seamless tannins but not at the expense of excessively high alcohols."

Ellis has detected a shift in the market away from weighty and powerful wines towards those that, while not short on complexity, nevertheless display softer tannins and acidity.

"There's demand for more gentle wine - you can't ignore what the consumer is telling you." As to precisely what "gentle" means, Ellis says that the wine needs to be "drinkable from purchase date".

The 2007 is no doubt accessible now but should benefit from at least two more years in bottle; the Vineyard Selection 2006, meanwhile, is currently rather dumb but Ellis advises that this is not unusual; the wine has been deliberately crafted for at least slightly longer keeping.

Part of what makes the 2007 so appealing is that it does not display the overly concentrated and heavily oaked character that characterises so many other supposedly top-end wines. "We've been finessing our extraction methods and we've worked hard at the most suitable barrel regime," he advises.

When it comes to extraction methods, Ellis employs a careful combination of pump-overs, punch-downs, délestage (rack and return) as well as an extended post-fermentation maceration to ensure a wine that is deep in colour, fruit that is alive and tannins that are soft but not too soft. All this makes for a wine that is ready for market early but isn't compromised in terms of quality or ageing potential.

As for oaking, the 2007 spent 18 months in 300l French oak barrels, approximately a third new, a third second-fill and a third third-fill, an approach Ellis likens to that applied by old-school Bordeaux producers. "Oak should only be a platform for the fruit to express itself," he reckons.

"The oak dominance we've seen in recent times was something that the critics enjoyed but it's a moot point whether or not the public ever understood it."

He is convinced that in order for a wine to be well structured, it need not be massive, and feels that excessive oak has been used to mask the shortcomings of over-ripe fruit.

"Those wines that combine over-ripe fruit with excessive oak become nothing more than dry Port with the passage of time." However much credit Ellis is prepared to give the vintage for how well the 2007 turned out, you can be pretty sure that some precise viticulture and winemaking were also involved.

He speaks of attention to detail as being crucial noting, "In South Africa, we're too accustomed to accepting faults as part of terroir. I'm not advocating squeaky clean wines but inevitably we will be judged by international standards and we have to meet them."

We move on to the image of single-variety Cabernet Sauvignon among consumers. Are these wines falling out of fashion?

Cab typically has a particularly high level of tannins (the preservative that dries out the inside of your cheeks) and therefore an almost unequalled capacity to age in bottle, but this puts it at odds with a market where the vast majority of wines are drunk shortly after purchase.

Ellis feels that while it is easier to sell an average Cab than an average Pinot Noir (on the basis that the former offers at least some drinkability while the latter is usually unacceptable), the rise of Shiraz does pose a challenge. "Shiraz lends itself to market requirements thanks to its intrinsic qualities of juicy fruit and soft, subtle tannins."

He concedes that there are many unpleasant examples of Cab around due to factors like vineyards located in inappropriate sites and over-cropping, but he does worry that there are too many producers "jumping on the bandwagon" regarding Shiraz.

Would Ellis not potentially scale new heights of quality if he combined his unquestionably good Cabernet with Merlot according to the well-established Bordeaux model? He dismisses this out of hand. "Is there really great Merlot in South Africa?

The answer has to be no. Good enough is not good enough." He points out that Merlot is suited to a cooler rather than warmer climate, ruling out much of the local winelands as suitable for the variety, and feels that Cabernet Franc has a better future in South Africa, particularly in Jonkershoek.

As for the price differential between the "standard" and Vineyard Selection labels, he says it's all "a matter of perception", the implication being that price is a useful way of making a positioning statement.

He genuinely wrestles with whether or not it is worth his while to persist with the expensive and hence slow-moving Vineyard Selection, noting that the standard label cuvee would be that much better were he simply to add the 5 000l of his best Cab to it.

He jokingly describes the Vineyard Selection as an "ego-trip" for the viticultural and winemaking teams, but then more seriously adds that it is useful in keeping all involved "stimulated".

Ultimately, he feels Neil Ellis Wines are on a "continuous journey of improvement" and, when it comes to the production of something as rarefied as the Vineyard Selection, it is important to "look beyond economic and political upheavals".

The next stage in the journey of Neil Ellis Wines has begun, with winemaking responsibilities now shared between Ellis, his son Warren and Reg Holder.

Ellis Jnr, who recently qualified with an MSc in viticulture and oenology, however, finds himself at dad's behest more in the vineyards than in the cellar for now. "Young guys see all the glory and glamour of winemaking but you will never make good wine if you don't know what good grapes are."

Deploying Ellis Jnr as viticulturist is something that Ellis Snr reckons will facilitate significant improvements: "For the first time, we can analyse a glass of wine with a view to viticultural tweaking in the future."

The arrival of new personnel in the cellar might suggest that Ellis Snr is getting ready to step down, but this stalwart of the industry says he's going to be around for a while yet: "I can't saying I'm dragging every pipe, but I'm in the vineyard and winery every day." Good news for those of us who have come to appreciate his classically informed winemaking vision over the years.