The younger ones
South Africa turns a corner, and Austria comes out on top, in Jim Budd's tastings round-up.
It looks like South Africa has turned a corner. This year's Wines of South Africa tasting showed that the standard of the country's wines is improving dramatically. It certainly needed to, for the generic tastings in 1997 and 1998 were largely a bitter collection of dried-out dross.
The improvement reflects the emergence of a dynamic younger generation of winemakers, typified by Adi Badenhorst at Rustenburg (Seckford Wines, 01394 446622), Bertus Fourie at Diemersfontein (Thierry's Wine Services, 01794 507100) and Bruwer Rats at Delaire (Delaire UK, 020 7408 1181). Also, many vineyards have been replanted with (it is hoped) virus-free vines so that the problem of, say, unripe fruit due to leaf-curl disease should be considerably reduced.
South African producers are now looking seriously at promoting Chenin Blanc as the country's unique selling point, to appeal to a world they believe is becoming bored with Chardonnay. As more than half the world's Chenin Blanc is planted in South Africa, they have plenty to choose from. Much of the 25,000 hectares of this vine is used for bulk production and to make South African brandy. Only around 5,000 hectares of the total planted have the potential to make good Chenin.
At the tasting, there was a table of 16 Chenins. The quality was patchy, although there was a clear improvement on the standard of three or four years ago. I was impressed by the apricot and peachy fruit of the £43 Villiera Chenin 2001 (Western Wines, 01746 789411) and the weight of the Ken Forrester Chenin 2001, priced £53.52 (Oddbins Corporate: 020 8944 4420).
Some of the best South African Chenin Blanc is, sadly, not exported. However, this is a development worth watching, as well-made South African Chenin does marry well with a range of dishes and remains refreshing because of its frequent, and characteristic, touch of bitterness at the back of the palate.
As well as eschewing the Chardonnay route, the South African climate lends itself to Rh"ne and Mediterranean varieties for reds. It would be unwise to pin everything on Cabernet-Merlot. Tortoise Hill Red 2000, priced £85 (South African Wine Imports, 01780 755810), from Glen Carlou in the Paarl region, shows how successful blends of warmer climate grapes can be here. This fruity, spicy wine is an equal blend of Touriga Naçional, Shiraz, Zinfandel and Merlot.
Charles Back at Fairview has been a pioneer in seeking out parcels of old and interesting vines. His easy-drinking red Goats Do Roam 2001, £45 (Charles Hawkins Fine Wines, 01572 823030), is a blend of Grenache, Shiraz, Pinotage, Carignan, Cinsault and Zinfandel. South Africa's grape, Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, lends itself well to blending with varieties such as Shiraz and Mourvèdre.
There have been highlights from other recent tastings. One such was a remarkable vertical tasting going back to the early 1970s of Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace from Henschke (Lay & Wheeler, 01206 764446). It also showed its full range of current releases.
Its two 2000 Rieslings stood out - Lenswood Green's Hill and Julius Eden Valley, priced £123.60 and £119.04 respectively. For the 2001 vintage, these wines will be in screwtop bottles.
John Armit Wines (020 7908 0600) is well known for its eye-wateringly expensive, hand-crafted masterpieces for various parts of the world. In these recessionary times, the Armit Wines French White 2000, made by the Lurton brothers, offers remarkable value at £34.80. It is lemony and floral, with some weight.
A joint Riedel Glass and Austrian wine presentation showed again how good the top Austrian producers are, making good reds and wonderful whites. Weingut Bründlmayer (Richards Walford, 01780 460451) specialises in making remarkable wines out of Grüner Veltliner, often regarded as a simple quaffing wine. The Bründlmayer range of Grüner Veltliner begins at £68 for the Langeniosier berg Vogelsang 2000. These wines combine power and elegance - well worth exploring.
Alois Kracher (Noel Young Wines, 01223 844744) is now acknowledged as one of the great sweet winemakers of the world. The range available in the UK starts with Cuvée Beerenauslese 2000, full of rich apricot fruit and costing £39 for six halves.
