The path less trodden

A disregard for the mainst ream allows for some satisfying wine experiences.

As the Johannesburg-based wine columnist for a national newspaper, I am acutely aware of the tunnel vision brought on by dependence on PR largesse for a tasting agenda. The competition gets sent the same samples and invites to the same launches, and how many breathless encomiums on the Steenberg Magna Carta can the market stand – especially when the Johannesburg launch happens two weeks after the Cape Town unveiling? But, then, Cape Town correspondents spent more words on Franck Dangereux and his food than on John Loubser and his Big Paper, leaving a gap for latecomers.

 

Wine shows don’t work. Although I’m no two-pot screamer, the prospect of serried rows of producers, bottles in hand and rictus grins in place, is enough to induce the DTs. Getting out more was the primary motivation behind my midyear Good Value Guru road trip around the winelands: 4 000km driven, 75 wineries visited and well over 600 wines from 90 producers sampled in one wild week (see October issue of WINE magazine).

How else would I have rediscovered the Welgemeend Estate Reserve 2003 (having finished my initial purchases years ago) or stocked up on the 2008 Buitenverwachting Blanc de Noir, a wine which usually evaporates long before stocks cross the Vaal. And of course Calitzdorp is always good value and increasingly covering all bases as the cool climate grapes of Morné Jonker make the trip inland from the coast.

But I’ve recently discovered a less tiring resource: Balducci’s at the V&A Waterfront. Recommended years ago by Vaughan Johnson as the place to feast at the Front, the small but carefully chosen winelist is also a gem, albeit a bit pricey. So when Pieter du Toit asked me for my recent finds, after I’d complimented him on his wonderful, fruity Cederberg Bukettraube that I’d discovered at Balducci’s last year, I told him about Crios Bríde.

When faced with a winelist, my algorithm for choosing is a simple one: disregard all stars and awards and go for the exotic name every time. Not a bad algorithm if you consider Katbakkies Cabernet, Ghost Corner Semillon (made by Cederberg crusader David Nieuwoudt from Agulhas fruit) and Crios Bríde Sauvignon Blanc 2007, made from the Darling Buds of May. Well, almost, as Darling vines may be late bloomers, but May is seriously pushing it.

Once “she” appeared in a straw girdle, I knew I’d hit the jackpot. All that was missing was a maypole and some bells for my Havaianas. And the Bríde (that acute accent on the “i” sold it for me) didn’t disappoint: as grassy as a chapter of Cider with Rosie, with a salty iodine tang well suited to lubricating the half-dozen West Coast oysters ordered as a starter.
Once online, the plot thickened: Crios Bríde is the costume adopted by Brighid, Welsh goddess of nature. What a total masterstroke – Wales. We’ve got Ireland covered by Coleraine and Scotland is owned by Lomond, but Wales... Where everyone eats leeks and sprouts Dylan Thomas at the drop of a harp. Come to think of it, “happy as the grass was green” pretty much sums up the Crios experience.

But the deal clincher was an email to criosbride@gmail.com which summonsed up a reply from Neil Yorke-Smith from a different email address reeking of hedge funds: “I write from a small Himalayan hill station where communication is difficult. Will it be OK if I get in touch when I’m back in CT in a few weeks?” I’ll say!

Neil Pendock writes for the Sunday Times and Financial Mail. He judged at Concours Mondial this year.