Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

wine / SOUTH AFRICA <

wine / SOUTH AFRICA < jackets. Various other producers were also smuggling material, some more successfully than others (there was some fraudulent Auxerrois). In 1987, de Wet planted one of the first Chardonnay vineyards on De Wetshof, producing the estate’s flagship wine, Bateleur. “I love seeing the excitement and commitment of the younger generation of Chardonnay producers,” de Wet says. “They understand, more than my generation did, the importance of site and a sense of place.” GOING UP RIVER Leading the pack in the making of modern Cape Chardonnay are Craig and Anne Wessels of Restless River. Theirs is not a generational story: in a bid to get away from city life and give their children country air to breathe, they bought a farm in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in the early 2000s. They slowly and painstakingly IT IS A LIQUID ATLAS OF UNIQUE PLACES, PEOPLE AND THEIR STORIES built up their winery; their first vintage in 2004 was made in the makeshift facility of a children’s toy house. Their wines have won critical acclaim, notably the single-vineyard Ava Marie Chardonnay. Named after their daughter, the site measures just two hectares and is planted on clay and decomposed granite. Self-taught winemaker Wessels is obsessive. The Hemel-en-Aarde is known for its cool growing conditions and naturally cold-retaining clay soils, imbuing the wines with both depth and elegance. The Ava Marie is a consummate manifestation of this. Wessels says he follows a no-till farming regime. “Perfect vineyards may look great in photos” he says, “but the wine is seldom special.” Yet, South Africa has special wines in abundance. I’ve been fortunate to taste many single-vineyard wines and visit their sites, from Stellenbosch to Swartland and beyond. It is a liquid atlas of unique places, people and their stories. But perhaps for the most expressive wines Huilkrans Chenin Blanc from Alheit Vineyards stands out. This wine showed me the meaning of luminosity. Pure crystalline fruit with an electric acidity described its place of origin as if it were a photograph: old vines in the Skurfberg on an isolated mountain outpost with a cliff that weeps when it rains. A vivid and stark place of raw, natural beauty somehow captured in a bottle that can now travel the world. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is. Mountains and vines. A panoramic view of rows of vines with the craggy, cloud-laced mountains for which the region is known in the background. Photo: David Silverman/Getty Images, Producers 48 falstaff mar – jun 2022

BEST OF SINGLE VINEYARD WHITES Up to EUR / GBP 15 and USD 20 • EUR •••• •• 97 2018 AVA MARIE CHARDONNAY Restless River Wines Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Full of life and vitality. There’s real energy, tension and focus. Natural fermentation and maturation in oak as well as in amphora and stainless steel showcases the vivid fruit. Clean, lemon-lime, gunpowder, flint and peach-stone spice. Mineral and weighted on the palate, an undercurrent of soft lemon curd, tangy and fresh with a proper stony acidity and length for days. ••• 97 2020 THE 1947 CHENIN BLANC Kaapzicht Wine Estate Bottelary, Stellenbosch Atmospheric. The sensation of a cloudburst. Crafted from 73-yearold bush vines. Inviting aromas of white peach, lemon flesh, wet thatch and crushed cardamom. On the palate a fluidity of cinnamon and custard, peaches and cream. A bright, focused, lemony acidity refreshes and lifts. Wonderfully complex and textured, firing on all cylinders. ••• 97 2019 HUILKRANS CHENIN BLANC Alheit Vineyards Skurfberg, Citrusdal Mountain Whole bunch juice is very lightly settled with no additions to the raw, cloudy juice. Natural fermentation in old 300l barrels follows. Pear skin, yellow apple, red earth, pear and ginger flower before a palate of crystalline, citrus sapidity and a gravelly minerality. Energetic and luminous with brightly layered acidity. •••• 96 2019 OPTENHORST CHENIN BLANC, Bosman Family Vineyards Wellington Top notes of floaty orange blossom, citrus zest and smoked honey. On the palate the fruit is orange-toned and fleshy, tangy apricot and nectarine, underlaid by pear and pith. The French oak is well judged for the concentrated flavour profile. A line of stony acidity and hints of the tropics draw into a long, fruit-driven finish. •• 96 2017 CLOS DU CIEL CHARDONNAY, Longridge Estate Helderberg, Stellenbosch From the highest vineyard on Longridge Estate, a 30-year-old bushvine site. Aromatics of baked yellow apples, lemon verbena, wet stone and smoky hints of almond brittle. Light-footed and full of grace, the palate is long and fine, with gorgeous white pear on the lingering finish. •••• 95 2019 EDEN HIGH DENSITY SINGLE VYD. CHENIN BLANC Raats Family Wines Polkadraai, Stellenbosch Ginger spice, mandarin, lemon tart, honeysuckle and ripe lime. Gregarious and robust aromatics. Cool sliced melon, waxy apples and pineapple on the tangy, concentrated palate. Mouth coating, rich and pithy. So focused and precise, a line of tension along savoury acids makes this a very accomplished wine indeed. ••• EUR / GBP 15 – 30 and USD 20 – 35 EUR / GBP 31 – 50 and USD 36 – 60 / GBP 51 – 100 and USD •• 61 – 110 above EUR / GBP ••••• ••• 100 and USD 110 94 2019 STELLENBOSCH CHARDONNAY, Leeu Passant Wines, Helderberg, Stellenbosch Inspired by the original Cape Chardonnays, grapes sourced from a unique site on Stellenbosch’s Helderberg Mountain. Flinty, struck match, oyster shell and a sea breeze saltiness on the nose, followed by peach and citrus on the palate. Concentrated and driven with a cool acidity. Power and freshness in one delicious package. •••• 93 2018 BATELEUR CHARDONNAY De Wetshof Estate Robertson Richly evocative, like crushed white velvet. Preserved lemon, an exotic intensity of stone fruit and spice. Roasted nuts and toasty, buttery oak from maturation in new French oak. On the palate creamed pear, peach and grilled pineapple. Hedonistic but without sacrificing freshness, a textured mid-palate, and a cut citrus finish. ••• 93 2020 KARIBIB CHENIN BLANC Craven Wines Polkadraai, Stellenbosch Yellow apple, chamomile and salty peach open the wine. There’s a kind of brazen purity about it, almost audacious in its clarity. Lively white citrus on the palate, light but full of verve. A nicely savoury finish, appetising and fresh. • mar – jun 2022 falstaff 49