South African Surprises

I knew my three-week trip to South Africa was going to be amazing. After years of dreaming, I had developed the highest expectations for scenery, surf, wine, wildlife and food. Well, it turns out the reality was far greater than my imagination.

The raw beauty of the Western Cape cannot be grasped, no matter how many pictures you’ve seen. The pristine blue right-hand waves of Llandudno blew me away, despite all the hours of surf videos I’d watched in the preceding months. And sipping some local wines after a long day of surfing and hiking far exceeded any South African wine I’d picked up at some American shop.

This sense of discovery, it’s why I surf, why I write and why I love wine. My love of wine is inseparable from my love of discovery, the former stemming from the latter. And South Africa is a land full of natural beauty to be discovered.

I planned out a bunch of winery visits, which I have been chronicling on this blog. But I also stumbled upon a lot of fun wines that I’d never heard of before. These surprises keep me perpetually excited about wine, year after year, trip after trip.

Here are a few of my favorite South African wine surprise wines…

2013 Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc Bayten - South Africa, Coastal Region, Constantia
Aromas of slate, lemon, honeysuckle, some spicy mineral notes as well. Super tangy on the palate with gooseberry and lemon peel flavors. Mineral and grass notes rush across the palate, and there’s a slight lemon-nutty note on the finish. (87 points)

Hand-made wine, hand-written label, I love everything about this wine.

2013 Hout Bay Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc - South Africa, Coastal Region, Hout Bay

Medium yellow color. Strongly aromatic, with white peach, green apple peel, sea brine and something that reminds me of sage and seaweed, which I love. The acid tears through this wine, but there’s some creaminess to the body that helps balance it out. Lemon, lime zest and green apple peel mix with a hint of richer, more tropical fruit (guava?). I love the oyster brine, sea salt and seaweed notes to this wine. It really tastes like Hout Bay! Could hold up to some strong seafood, but the wine shows some elegance and complexity that makes it nice to sip and contemplate on its own. Impressive, for me this $10 bottle beats most Chilean, Californian and New Zealand Sauv Blancs in the $15-$20 range. (88 points)

2011 Val de Vie “GVC”  - South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl, Franschhoek Valley
When our host at the Old Joe’s Kaia bush camp pulled out this blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Clairette, I was stoked. Who knew a Franschhoek Valley winery was making this kind of thing? Not me. The wine is so unique and fresh and complex. The nose is lovely, with orange blossom and seashells from the Grenache Blanc, some floral and peach and orange peel from the Viognier. Lush yet totally mineral-driven on the palate, with creamy white peach, sharp orange peel, all sorts of floral tones. Lots of seashells and lingering minerals. My wife and I shared this wine with a dinner that included some springbok carpaccio and Cape Malay style chicken. The pairing was actually a whole lot of fun, even though seafood would be the natural choice. (90 points)

2012 Raats Chenin Blanc Original - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch
The nose shows apricot, white peach along with some brine and lemon pith notes. Tangy and nervy but also creamy. Lemon peel, green melon, I like the combination of cream and sea salt. Quite complex for 99 Rand, (about $10) a long finish. After a long day of surfing Llandudno, this hit the friggin’ spot. I’ve liked this producer’s wines in the past, but I was really impressed by how good this wine seemed, especially for the price. (88 points)

2013 Eagles’ Nest Viognier - South Africa, Coastal Region, Constantia
Pale yellow color. Peaches and cream, honey and lime, also lots of mixed floral aromas. Fresh acid on the palate, this wine has a juicy but compact structure. Flavors of white peach, honeydew, orange marmalade and candle wax. Lots of floral tones as well, like dried wildflowers as well as basil and white pepper. Complex, fresh, floral and just plain delicious. My first Viognier from Constantia, and my first wine from this producer. I’m impressed. (89 points)

2010 Nitida Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa, Coastal Region, Tygerberg, Durbanville
Aromas of red and black currants, mulberries, laced with cedar, eucalyptus, sweet herbs and some Kalamata olives, opens up a lot after two hours to show more floral and herbal tones. Fresh and restrained on the palate, with medium+ acid and velvety tannins. The blackberry and mulberry fruit is both ripe and tart, and it’s backed up by notes of mint, eucalyptus, pencil shavings, olive brine, lavender and pot smoke. Salami and broth notes come out more with time. Complex and evolving, more approachable now but, like many Cabs I tasted on my trip, could develop more in the cellar. I’d like to try it again in three years. (90 points)

2012 Weltevrede Estate Syrah Bedrock Black - South Africa, Breede River Valley, Robertson

Medium purple color. Black cherries, cassis, violets, a mix of earth and herbal qualities on the nose as well. Tannins are sanded down to the finest grain, there’s a moderate amount of acid to keep it fresh. I really like the fruit quality, tangy but rich, like plum sauce and currant jam, but the mouthfeel is smooth and the wine is not heavy at all. Lots of equally present non-fruit flavors, like Kalamata olives, nutmeg, mocha, cedar and anise. Bold in its flavors but also silky and restrained. Lovely stuff, and what a steal for about the equivalent of $12! After surfing Kammabaii, I drank this just feet from the Hermanus rocks while watching a massive south swell crash in. While the waves contributed vast amounts to my bliss, I think this wine would be kick-ass on its own. It’s fitting that the wine’s name means fully satisfied, because that’s the way I felt. (91 points)

Vilafonté: Stunning South African Red Blends

I’ve dreamed of going to South Africa since I was a kid, for surfing, not wine. But as I developed my passion for both surfing and wine over the years, the trip became more and more of a necessity. Well, I finally made the transatlantic trek. I’ve just returned from South Africa, and I can honestly say the trip exceeded all of my highest expectations.

I spent about ten days in the Western Cape with my wife before heading to the northeastern part of the country for a camping safari. While on the Cape, I took advantage of some gorgeous surf breaks with clear blue, intensely powerful waves. I wine-tasted my way through the Cape Peninsula, the Garden Route, Hermanus and Stellenbosch, exploring a diverse viticultural landscape. I was in paradise.

Of course, there were travel frustrations, necessary adaptations, cultural oddities, a bribe-hungry cop I had to smooth-talk, thorns both metaphorical and physical. But, overall, the trip was epic, invaluable, worth the years of waiting, planning and saving.

In the coming days and weeks, I’ll have a series of posts based on my time in South Africa. I’ll share my impressions of the country’s wine, food, culture and surf. But, to start off, I thought I’d discuss two of the most memorable and praiseworthy wines from my trip: two red blends from Vilafonté called Series M and Series C.

Vilafonté is a coordinated effort between South African Mike Ratcliffe and Californian Zelma Long. Mike runs his family’s Warwick Estate in Stellenbosch, and he’s active in international wine communities. (Click here for a post on Warwick’s awesome wines.) California pioneer Zelma Long worked as enologist for Robert Modavi in the 70s, Simi in the 80s, and currently owns several of her own projects in Sonoma and Napa. Mike and Zelma kicked off Vilafonté in 1998, and together they’ve created something marvelous.

With their diverse backgrounds, the Vilafonté team keeps a narrow focus. They produce only two wines, both red Bordeaux blends. The Series M is based on Malbec and the Series C is based on Cabernet.

Last week I started off a day of wine tasting at the Vilafonté winery, located in a former distillery on the edge of Stellenbosch. I met with Sofia Hawkins, who manages sales and Vilafonte’s wine club. We tasted the 2011 vintage of both wines while chatting about the vineyard, the founders’ vision for the wines and more general impressions of the Stellenbosch wine culture.

The 2011s were equally stunning and elegant. Both are beautiful at a young age — aeration is a must, decanting highly recommended — but they will develop all sorts of nuance and complexity in the cellar.

The wines are made from estate fruit grown in the titular vilafonté soils (gravelly clay) in the Paarl-Simonsberg region, on the north side of the serene Simonsberg mountains. Both wines are composed of only free-run juice, Sofia explained, which may help explain the velvety and effortless mouthfeel and of the wines.

The 2011 harvest began on Valentine’s Day and lasted three weeks. My wife, who enjoyed the wines as much as I did, asked Sofia about mechanical harvesting, recalling a previous wine trip in Germany where we witnessed a mechanical harvester shaking and chopping the living hell out of rows of vines. Sofia’s reaction was telling of Vilafonté’s attitude toward the vineyard and the natural environment it shares. “No machine harvesting. It’s all done by hand.” Wine quality and vine health aside, she said mechanical harvesters shouldn’t be used because, “there are lizards in the vineyard.” I love that attitude, and I loved the wines.

Here are my notes…

2011 Vilafonté Series M - South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl
Dark ruby colored. The aromas are deep and contemplative, evolving quite a lot over the half-hour tasting. Great tannic structure, but the tannins are sanded down so the mouthfeel is creamy, complemented by fresh acid. The black cherry and blueberry fruit is pure and voluptuous. I get complex notes of cola, cedar, dried leaves, charcoal and baking spices. The wine is long, full and complex, and the mouthfeel is so damn attractive. A blend of 51% Malbec, 46% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged for 22 months in 20% new French Oak and 12 months in bottle before release. A stunning wine. 

(93 points)

2011 Vilafonté Series C - South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl
Deep ruby colored. Such complex aromas: currants and dried blueberries infused with cola, charcoal smoke, loam, sweet herbs. Clearly this needs time to show its full aromatic display. Great structure, serious concentration, the tannins have a bit more grit than the Series M, but there’s still a wonderful velvety approach. Bold currant, fig paste and blackberries mix with notes of tobacco, soil, loam, anise, forest floor and granite. Dense but it opens up. Burly but elegant, if that’s possible. Aged 22 months in 80% new French oak and 12 months in bottle before release. 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 14% Malbec and 9% Cabernet Franc. Needs four or five years at least, but will hold for a decade+ without problem. 

(93+ points)

Every vintage, Vilafonté holds back some cases of each wine and releases them after they’ve been aged for four or five years, allowing consumers a glimpse of the long-term potential for these wines. Tasting some Vilafonté wines with five+ years on them is now on my to-do list. I expect to be thrilled. If you’ve tasted some older vintages, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers!