South African Country Life – September 2019

Therearepartsof theWesternCapewheretheonly

waterthevinereceivesis whatthegoodLordgives

it. AtAllesverloren, forinstance,theywilltake

youuptheKasteelbergandshowyouvinesthatare

stillproducingexcellentfruitafter 40 yearswith

noirrigation.Thisis nottheRoyalBotanicGardens

at Kew,thisis grapefarmingforwineproduction,

sometimesat itshardestwhenthingsaretough–

waterwise.Therootsof vinescandescendsixmetres

andmoresearchingfornutrients,andwinemakerswill

tellyouthattheydobetterwhentheystruggle.Soit is

nosurprisethat,althoughtheharvestthisyearis one

of thelowestonrecord,thefruitis exceptionalandthe

2019 vintagepromisesgreatwines.

Eatingoutin theCapeis seriousbusiness.Not

onlyis it wortha lotof moneyto thewine-tourism

industry,butto thoseof usluckyenoughto eat

outoften,it’sinterestingto followthecareersof

chefsastheydevelop.Soit’swonderfulto see

talentedchefKevinGrobler, whousedto be

at DelaireGraffEstatein Stellenbosch,returnas

headcheffollowinghistimeat JanHendrikvander

Westhuizen’sMichelin-starrestaurantJANin Nice.

Thingsarelookinggoodat DelaireGrafftheviews

liveforever,andthecuisineis great.

Asthoughtsturnto spring,it‘stimeto try

somethingdifferent,experimenta little.You’llbe

pleasantlysurprisedbydelicious,newflavoursof

PortuguesevarietalslikeTintaBarocca,withits

intensesavouryappealandsomespicenotesthatmake

it perfectforgamemeat.AndTourigaNacional,a close

cousinbutwithitsownpersonality,somewhatbolder,

heavenat thebraai.Andthenthereis Souzão,much

scarcer,butworthseekingoutforitsrobustflavours.

Allthese,althoughtraditionallyusedin themaking

of Port,areavailableassinglevarietals,mostlyfrom

theKleinKarooandtheSwartland.Andlookoutfor

Carménère,a redgrapetraditionallyassociatedwith

Chile,newto usandperfectforredwinelovers.■

V

ergelegenin SomersetWestis oneof

themostbeautifulandhistoricwine

estates,in a partof theworldwhereone

canbe forgivenforsaying,Oh,not

anothergable.Originallythecountry

retreat(30 000 hectares)of CapeGovernorWillem

AdriaanvanderStel,it'ssincebeenownedby someof

theCape'smostinterestingpersonalities.VanderStel

plantedalmosthalfa millionvinestocksbeforerecalled

to Hollandon chargesof corruptpractices.

Afterhisdeparture,it passedthroughmany

otherhandsuntilgoldmagnateSirLionelPhillips

boughttheramshacklepropertyin 1917forhiswife,

thelegendaryLadyFlorencePhillips.Shebrought

hergardenerfromEnglandandhadall thevines

pulledup beforespendingplentyof herhusband's

moneyturningit intoa vast,gorgeousgarden.

TheBarlowfamily(1941onwards)plantedsome

vines,butit wasn'tuntilit becamethepropertyof Anglo

Americanin 1987thatwineagainbecamea seriouspart

VERGELEGEN,SOMERSETWEST 0218472122

PremiumChardonnay 2017

Delicious,withwell-controlledwood

supportinglusciousfruitflavours.Barrel

fermented,ontheleesfortenmonths.

A hundredpercentestategrapes.

R130at thecellar.

PremiumShiraz 2015

Fabulousrubycolour,superbnosewith

plentyof blackberriesandtypicalspicy

notes.Lovelylongfinishwithlingering

fruittaste.R140

PremiumCabernet

Sauvignon/Merlot 2012

Intenseflavoursfollowa cassisnosepacked

withfruitflavours,gorgeous.Onecouldbe

in France.VerywellpricedatR140.

CELLARTALK

Readmoreof GregLandman’sfood and

winestoriesatwww.countrylife.co.za

or http://www.magic-grape-tours.co.za

of Vergelegen.Undertheirtutelage,as wellas people

likewinemakerAndrévanRensburgwhohasbeenthere

for20 years,thewineshavebecomeworldfamous.

Therosegardenis spectacular,andthecamphortrees

reputedlyplantedby WillemvanderStelandNational

Monumentsnow,takeonebackto a timewhenlifewas

livedin style,somemoney,andthetranquillityto enjoy

it all.Today,only 158 hectaresof theoriginallandis

undervines,plantedwithBordeauxgrapesandothers.

André'swinesareknockouts,packedwithfruitand

handledwithminimalinterference,whichperfectly

reflectsthelandfromwhichit comes.Platter’swine

guidefeaturesno fewerthan11 of his winesas worthy

of morethanfour-starstatus,a rankingfewothersachieve.

Bornin Johannesburg,Andrésayshe is livinghis

dreamon themostbeautifulfarmin all theworld

withhiswifeMaritza,whoalsoworksforthecompany.

It'smoreimportantto interpretoverseaswinesthan

to slavishlycopythem.Myaimis to producewines

thataremirrorsof theVergelegenDNA,ourterroir.

Perfectwith

grilledprawnsor

chicken

Heavenwithroast

beeforpork

Cries out for

grilled steak. Cool

to 16 degrees

WINEMAKER André van Rensburg of Vergelegen

GREG LANDMAN meets the country’s top winemakers

http://www.countrylife.co.za 093 September 2019

Fine Wine