How Bordeaux 2019 is shaping up

With the Bordeaux en primeurs cancelled the Grand Circle des Vins de Bordeaux’s London tasting last Thursday was the first and only glimpse at Bordeaux 2019 for the foreseeable future. 2019 was a vintage which was all about the hot dry summer and the resulting high pHs – which led some châteaux to acidify. The whites are great, the reds mixed between good and very good, depending upon how much Merlot was in the blend – the Merlot ripening early and the Cabernet Sauvignon caught out at some estates by a lot of October rain. Geoffrey Dean tasted through the wines, talked to Grand Cercle’s Alain Reynaud and the winemakers about how 2019 compares with other vintages of the 21st Century.

By Geoffrey Dean March 16, 2020

At Saint-Emilion estate Château de Pressac winemaker Jean-Francois Quenin declared 2019 to be his best vintage in 23 years of ownership, writes Dean.

Amid so much global gloom and doom, it is heartening to report some encouraging news from the Grand Circle des Vins de Bordeaux’s annual mid-March tasting in central London. A healthy number of hardy Bordelais made the trip over the Channel to show the 2019 vintage to the trade, and while it is not going to be regarded as an exceptional year, some very good red and white wines were in evidence.

Alain Raynaud, who founded Grand Cercle in 2001 and has been president ever since, gave a frank overview of the wines made by the 150 châteaux from 26 appellations that are its members.

“2019 is a good vintage but not a great one,” he told The Buyer. “I would say that a third to a half of the properties made very good wines. There were some very good whites. The Right Bank is showing better in my opinion due to the fact the Merlot could be picked earlier than the Cabernet Sauvignon. In a lot of places, we had 125mm of rain from the second week of October till the end of the month. So we had to pick the Cabernet very quickly. There was no disease or botrytis, but the very hot summer led to some high pHs. Therefore many had to add acid to the reds – typically 1g/l of tartaric.”

Yields were, according to Raynaud, “a bit generous”, especially for those who opted against any green harvest. “So they had to make some saignee or increase concentration by reverse osmosis,” he added. “But that increases your alcohol. There was lots of sunshine, which led to thick skins and strong tannins.”

Geoffrey Dean gets the lowdown on Bordeaux 2019 from Alain Raynaud, London, March 2020

Certainly, the estate where Raynaud himself acts as consultant, Château Serilhan in Saint-Estèphe, produced a blend of startlingly dark colour and overt tannins (partly due to three days of cold soak). Long and extremely concentrated, this was an impressive wine, and with 50 hl/ha made, there should be plenty of it.

Another head-turner with notable colour but lower yield (40 hl/ha) was Château de la Dauphine. Widely distributed in the UK, this Fronsac estate, which farms its 53 hectares of vines organically, settled on a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc with 30% new oak. Fine, well-integrated tannins as well as lovely crunchy fruit and florality were hallmarks of this blend.

Another Fronsac property that stood out was Château Moulin Haut-Laroque, whose vines have an average age of 55 years, with the Malbec (which made up 5% of the blend) having been planted just after the Great War. Owner-winemaker Thomas Hervé revealed that his vines received just 15mm of rain over the growing season, allowing him to pick in the first half of October. “The lack of rain meant we had low yields – under 30hl/ha – but small berries and good concentration,” said Herve, whose family have been making wine on the estate since the 18th century.

Thomas Hervé: “I think 2019 can be as good as 2018. It is rich, dense, powerful and fruity.”

The same power and concentration was evident in the very pleasurable wines of two Saint-Emilion Châteaux, Grand Corbin-Despagne and La Marzelle, both of whom used around 75% Merlot and a quarter Cabernet Franc with a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon. Meanwhile at another Saint-Emilion estate, Jean-Francois Quenin, winemaker of Château de Pressac, declared 2019 his best vintage in 23 years of ownership. Made up of 70% Merlot, roughly equal amounts of the two Cabernets as well as a dash of Carmenere, his wine was blessed with freshness, beautifully integrated tannins and excellent intensity and length.

“I replanted the entire 36 hectares of wines when I bought the estate, and I think the vine age, combined with the very dry summer, is the key,” Quenin said. “I also vinify each plot separately in 40 different vats.”

For Pessac-Leognan producer, Ghislain Boutemy of Château Haut-Lagrange, 2019 was “definitely one of the best, although not the best” years. “It was a very good vintage because we had enough sun and rain for the best maturity for the whites, which have a very nice freshness,” he said. “Also, we picked the reds early for freshness and acidity to have good balance.” His Merlot was harvested in mid-September and his Cabernet Sauvignon by the end of the month before any rain came. Both his red and white wines showed very well. So too did those of Graves estate, Château de Cerons, whose white blend (which included 10% Sauvignon Gris) showed notable freshness and length.

In Margaux, Château La Tour de Bessan produced a delightfully elegant and harmonious wine which, unusually according to owner Marie-Laure Lurton, contained as much as 12% Petit Verdot due to its high quality. The balance was made up of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot. “It was a very good but not a great vintage,” she mused.

Further north in the Haut-Medoc, Château Lanessan settled on an almost identical assemblage to make an excellent wine. Estate manager, Paz Espejo, revealed yields were low at 35 hl/ha due to frost and some rot, but the floral character, beautiful balance and long finish of the blend made it especially appealing.

Perhaps the last word should go to Thomas Hervé. “Last year, Comte Stephan van Neipperg, who owns La Mondotte, told me he thought 2018 was the eighth best vintage of this century after 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016. I think 2019 can be as good as 2018. It is rich, dense, powerful and fruity.”

Wine tourism in Tenerife

First mentioned by the Bard, and shipped back to Blighty by the boatload in the 16th Century, the wines of Tenerife have long been admired for their quality and individuality. Geoffrey Dean went there to discover the island’s 6,500 hectares under own-rootstock vine, its dozen local grape varieties, five DOs, half a dozen wineries that are pushing the envelope, and tasted and recommends the wines that are worth seeking out. Dean also finds that wine tourism is alive and well, particularly in the European winter months.

By Geoffrey Dean

Unlike the five other wine-producing Canary Islands, which have a single D.O. named after each island, Tenerife possesses as many as five D.O.s which underlines the diversity of wines that can be found there.

Wine tourists and drinkers searching for an unheralded gem should look no further than Tenerife. Wine has been made since the 15th century on this best known of the Canary Islands, where the highest vineyard sites in the EU and volcanic soil combine to produce an ideal terroir. Indigenous varietals, both red and white, give Tenerife a unique selling point, with quality exceeding expectations on a five-day visit. Throw in excellent restaurants, characterful boutique hotels and, of course, warm weather in the European winter months, and you have all the ingredients for strong year-round wine tourism.

Reference to wine production in Tenerife dates back to William Shakespeare’s times, with the Bard praising the island’s highly-reputed sweet wines. According to Carlos Cologán Soriano, in his well-researched tome, ‘History of Tenerife Wine’, around 13,000 barrels of the island’s wine were exported to England each year in the late 16th century and first half of the 17th.

Current Tenerife wine exports make up less than 5% of total production thanks to heavy demand on the island itself, not just from 800,000 residents but also from the legions of tourists, many of them thirsty imbibers. Moreover, domestic prices are extremely reasonable at all quality levels.

The island’s approximate total of 6,500 hectares under vine features a dozen ‘local’ varieties, although only two, Listán Negro and Marmajuelo, are thought to be genuinely indigenous. Listán Blanco (aka Palomino Fino), Negramoll and Vijariego, originated in Andalusia, while Baboso Negro and Gual (aka Bual) came from Portugal (Dao and Madeira respectively). Vijariego Negro (aka Sumoll) originated in Catalunya.

Unlike the five other wine-producing Canary Islands, which have a single DO (Denominación de Origen) named after each island, Tenerife possesses as many as five DOs. That underlines the diversity of wines that can be found there, although all DOs have varying amounts of volcanic soil. This comes from the island’s Teide Volcano, the most visited national park in Europe each year. The Tenerife DOs are Abona (in the south), Valle de Güímar (east), Tacorente-Acentejo (north-east), Valle de la Orotava (north) and Ycoden-Daute-Isora (north-west).

Juan Jesus Mendez, Viñátigo’s MD

Some producers, such as Viñátigo, prefer to use the generic DO, Islas Canarias, especially for export purposes, as “nobody in the US or UK knows where Ycoden-Daute-Isora is” in the view of Juan Jesus Mendez, Viñátigo’s MD. He exports 60% of his 18 labels, four of which are available through Hallgarten in the UK. These showed particularly well, notably the Vijariego Blanco 2018. Fermented in barrique and receiving batonnage for six months while on the lees, this was complex and concentrated with a fullish body yet fresh acidity. Its pH was as low as 2.9, confirming it as the variety with the highest acidity in the Canaries.

One of several interesting Viñátigo reds was the Ensamblaje 2018, a blend of Tintilla, Baboso Negro, Negramoll and Listán Negro. Red and black fruit, together with supple tannins, underpin a complex, concentrated and long wine with ageing potential. An Ensamblaje Blanco 2018 made up of five varieties – Gual, Marmajuelo, Vijariego, Malvasia Aromática and Verdelho – also worked well. Gual is also used to make an ‘orange’ wine named Elaboraciones Blanco 2017 that is left on the skins for a month. A complex sweet wine, Malvasia Dulce 2009, completes a fine Viñátigo stable.

Bodega Monje vineyards beneath Teide Volcano

The Monje winery, which is situated at 600 metres in the Tacorente-Acentejo DO with fine views of the Teide Volcano, also has an impressively wide range. The family have been making wine since 1750, with fifth generation Felipe Monje now at the helm. Some of his Listán Negro bushvines are up to 200 years of age, for happily phylloxera has never made it onto Tenerife. As a result, all the island’s vines are on own rootstock, with none grafted onto American rootstock. 

Monje’s medium-bodied Listán Negro 2014, which is vinified traditionally (rather than with carbonic maceration as many examples are on the island) has appealing fruit, neatly-integrated tannins and good length. At €15, it offers great value. Monje’s Bastardo Negro 2013 (aka Trousseau)  is a pricier €46, but showed complexity, concentration and a lengthy finish as well as some structure from eight months in oak (a quarter new).

Listán Prieto, a dark-skinned variety that originated in Castilla-La Mancha, was brought to Tenerife in the mid-16th century, and is misleadingly known as Moscatel Negro in some parts of the island. Gratifyingly, the Alma de Trevejos winery near Vilaflor uses the correct name for their 2016 sparkling wine, which they proudly hail as the only one in the world made from Listán Prieto. At 1450m, Trevejo is thought to be the highest commercial winery in Europe, which helps to explain the thirst-quenchingly vibrant acidity of their bubbly. Made by the traditional method, aged on the lees for two years and receiving nil dosage, it offers real value at €15.

So too does Tenerife’s biggest co-operative, Cumbres de Abona, which receives fruit from over 300 growers and makes 17 different wines. Winemaker Pedro Rodriguez’s speciality is Malvasia Aromática, which he makes in both dry and sweet styles. His Testamento Esencia 2010 (RRP €30), which has 120g/l residual sugar, is very full-bodied, complex and long. It is one of Tenerife’s finest sweet wines.

Juan Ferrera with his Unico label

A white blend of real distinction, suitably named Unico is made by Bodegas Ferrera (in the Valle de Güímar DO), being fermented with wild yeast in chestnut barrels from Catalunya. Winemaker Juan Ferrera, whose organically-farmed vines are at 1000m, blends Malvasia Aromática, Listán Blanco and Albillo Criollo in equal quantities. Full-bodied, concentrated and long, it gains complexity from 12 months on the lees, coming in at 12% abv and an RRP of €28.

Many other interesting wines from Tenerife are available for tasting at the excellent Casa del Vino wine museum in El Sauzal. A 400-year old wooden press by the entrance represents an imposing reminder of the island’s long history of viticulture. The restaurant there is outstanding, as is another with a fine selection of wines, El Secreto de Chimiche, near Santa Cruz. Gastronomic delights await visitors all over Tenerife, with other establishments worthy of commendation including Restaurante Regulo in Puerto de la Cruz, Casa de la Comidas La Parada in Icod and Parador las Cañadas del Teide. The artesanal brewery Tacoa, which produces excellent craft beer, also does tasty lunches.

Teresa Queipo, owner of Tacoa, with son Eric

Tenerife, therefore, has everything needed for successful wine tourism. Two excellent boutique hotels to stay at are Hotel Rural Victoria in La Orotava and Hotel San Roque in the picturesque old coastal town of Garachico. A plethora of good bodegas, aside from those already mentioned, include Reverón, Linaje del Pago, Marba and Zanata. With the quality of the island’s wines not in doubt, the future of the wine industry there looks very bright. 

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Rebuilding Lismore: Samantha O'Keefe on the long road ahead

Six weeks ago a bushfire devastated Lismore Estate, the South African winery owned by Samantha O’Keefe – destroying the winery, her home and a large part of the vineyards. For the first time since the tragedy she opens up to Geoffrey Dean about how the global wine community has helped her, the practical steps she is taking to make a vintage in 2020, and the many worries she has in not only rebuilding the estate but also in maintaining the momentum of a wine business that had just started to turn the corner.

By Geoffrey DeanJanuary 28, 2020

“What I worry about is when this really hits, everyone will have forgotten. It’s a long-term thing and I worry that people will tire of it,” Samantha says.

It is impossible to imagine the anguish and pain that Samantha O’Keefe has felt in the last six weeks after her Lismore Estate winery, vineyards and house were destroyed by bushfire on December 17. The 48-year old Californian, who moved to South Africa two decades ago and was making some of the best wine in the western Cape, finally felt able last week to speak publicly about the whole range of emotions she is still feeling: devastation at her loss; gratitude for the support and donations that have poured in from all over the world; worry about her financial predicament despite people’s generosity; and, perhaps most importantly, hope.

For, this remarkable woman is not going to run away.

The fire destroyed Lismore’s entire 2019 vintage along with Sam’s Cape Winemakers Guild wines

Samantha admits she has been “overwhelmed” by the support of fellow winemakers in South Africa, as well by the kind financial donations that came to around £30,000 before drying up. There is no point in hiding the fact that she faces a very difficult financial future, with the insurance payout for her destroyed 2019 wines (all unbottled) amounting to ten rands per litre (less than US$1). Her winery was insured but only enough for a rebuild with second-hand equipment, while the contents policy for her house will barely scratch the surface of the value of its cellar, which contained all her library stock going back to 2006 as well as stockpiles of the 2017 vintage. Luckily, the majority of her bottled stock is housed in a warehouse in Stellenbosch.

“It is the only reason I’m marching on, because without the vineyards, there is no Lismore. I would never have started from zero. But having some vineyards live gives me hope.” Samantha O’Keefe in her new tasting room, January 20, 2020.

“I lost the entire 2019 vintage, which is all my turnover for a year and a half, but also my first Guild wines,” said Samantha, whose induction into the Cape Winemakers Guild underlined the respect with which she is held by her South African peers. “From a financial point of view, I’m still selling the ’17s and ’18s, but in about ten months I’m going to fall off a cliff, and I haven’t quite wrapped my brain around that yet. I might be able to find some bulk wine that’s of really good quality, but I don’t know and don’t really have a plan yet. There’s been some great fruit given to me, and the generosity of the wine industry has been incredible.”

About two-thirds of the Estate Reserve Syrah vineyards are gone

“Andrea Mullineux has given me some of her estate grapes, and Alex Starey of Keermont gave me a ton from his very top single vineyard Syrah, and Johan Reyneke has given me some of his Syrah. With that my intention is to vinify it separately, and possibly make a wine that’s a tribute to the South African wine industry.

The messages I’ve received from all over the world – not just from the UK retailers and distributors, but also from Australia, France and New Zealand was almost too much – it was so overwhelming. It made it feel more real – the fact that they were so grief-stricken, they really were, it was incredible. I don’t think I could ever have imagined the South African wine industry had this absolute selflessness and generosity.”

“I don’t know yet if insurance will cover the house properly. In theory, it was perfectly insured but what does that mean? You never think you will have to start over. Everybody has faith that I will be fine, but I was already over-extended. Now I’m supposed to build a house, as well as make wine in three cellars and rebuild a cellar and replant vineyards, all on my own. I have to – I don’t have a choice, but it’s just daunting.”

“Even when it [the estate] was burning, I couldn’t believe it – this year of all years. I joked that it wasn’t enough for me to do it once – God wants me to do it twice.”

Having shown me the blackened and charred remains of her winery, which she built only three and a half years ago, Samantha now took me down to her house half a kilometre away. I remembered what a wonderful home she had made it into from a previous visit, but now it is just a burnt-out shell.

The burnt-out wreckage of Sam’s house

“It was my perfect house,” she said. “It was as if everything had just settled into this space. Everything belonged here. It was just going so well. Out there it was the best crop we’d ever had. The pruning in the vineyards we’d been working on for five years, and they were so healthy. They had such a heavy crop, and in a good way because I usually hit two to four tons a hectare. Probably they were holding four, five or even six tons on some blocks, which they never had before. Even when it [the estate] was burning, I couldn’t believe it – this year of all years. I joked that it wasn’t enough for me to do it once – God wants me to do it twice. This Natal fig was such a beautiful tree – I really hope it comes back to life. I’ve been quite numb and not that emotional but looking at these trees today has made me emotional.”

Green vines – a beacon of hope

From what is left of the house, Samantha drove up to a higher point where some rows of healthy-looking, green vines provide a beacon of hope above the blackened vineyards below. She then recalled the dreadful emptiness of the day after the fire struck.

“At 6am the next morning, I drove to the entrance to Lismore. I was with my partner and I said ‘I can’t, please turn around.’ At 8am, Jeff, my pruning consultant, met me in Greyton after having driven to the vineyards, and he he was very bleak and so I expected nothing to have survived. Then at 3pm I had to come with the insurance assessor and my broker. But when I drove on to the farm, I just saw so much green. Now you see all this stuff that is black and really ugly and so awful, but this stuff up here is fine.”

“All of this was on fire, all these orchards were on fire, all these trees were on fire. We couldn’t see anything – the vines were being engulfed. The fact that they lived is the only reason I’m marching on, because without the vineyards, there is no Lismore. I would never have started from zero. But having some vineyards live gives me hope. Parts were saved because we hadn’t put out any straw mulch. About two-thirds of the Estate Reserve Syrah vineyards are gone.”

“Disaster tourists turned up – it was violating, so we locked the gates. My partner chased a guy who had a drone, but we got pictures off him and it at least allowed me to estimate the actual damage – about 48% of the fruit.”

Everyone is pitching in to help Samantha find enough older barrels to make 70,000 litres of wine a month before harvest.

Everyone is pitching in to help Samantha find enough older barrels to make 70,000 litres of wine a month before harvest.

Samantha has been sent studies and information on burnt vines and smoke taint from Australia.

“The purpose of the study was to give direction to winemakers: replant now or wait and see,” she said. “Basically, what they found was that at end of year one there was enough energy in the vine trunk for half the vines to survive and carry on, but in the end, after year two, only 20% survived. Only time will tell. If can find money to plant, I’ll plant in empty blocks. We’ll know in a year or two if some of my vines survive.”

She is hopeful that smoke taint may not be an issue as it only gets into the into waxy layer around fruit after veraison. “Because Greyton is such a late wine region, my fruit hadn’t even begun to soften. As the berries were hard – like peas – I was optimistic.  But smoke taint can be tested in the lab, so I will know.”

It is good to hear Samantha talk about making wine again, and thanks to the fruit she has been given and will buy in, she expects to vinify some 135 tons of fruit from the 2020 harvest. She will do most of it at the Stellenbosch winery of Radford Dale, whose co-owner, the British-born Alex Dale, has led the magnificent support from the South African wine industry.

“Alex called me the day after the fire when I was absolutely in shock, and asked ‘Who’s organising all of this: your donations that are pouring in, your harvest and the rest of it? OK I’m appointing myself.’ His partner is a lawyer, and she was going through all the legal ramifications. I was so dazed and confused. They really battened down the hatches for me and kept things tethered while I figured things out, and where I was going to live.”

Last week, Samantha and her two teenage sons, Keenan,16, and Quinn,14, moved into rented accommodation in Somerset West.

“I initially wanted to be in Greyton and then I didn’t want to be. My first thought was we’d rent somewhere furnished, but after living in other people’s houses for the last month, I didn’t want to be in other people’s beds, on someone else’s couch worrying if my dog was slobbering on it. So I said to my kids, who are at boarding school anyway and only back at weekends, that we’d just buy a couch and three beds. Then they’re ours, and everything we buy over time is ours. And when we finally move back to the farm, we can move what will be our furniture back there. The house I’ve rented has kitchen stools and an island, so I don’t really need a table. For the next three months of harvest, I’m hardly going to be home anyway.

Samantha (centre) part of the winning South African team at the Tri Nations Challenge, November 2017

“My boys are still in shock also. When it happened, I’d just opened up the new tasting room in Greyton, and I put them there to work. So they didn’t really have an opportunity to process it, and then they had to go out into the vineyards and drop all the dead fruit. I am just starting to process it – these are the first tears I’ve shed in weeks.”

Fortunately, over the three days before my visit, 120mm rain has fallen at just the right time, filling her dam for the first time in five years and giving what is left of her dry-grown vineyards the soaking they needed.

“This morning we went up to look at some of the water damage, and I went walking to look at my house and my trees,” Samantha continued. “It’s just starting to really sink in. All I’ve been thinking about is my cellar and my wines because I’m the sole support of my children and I have a small business. Today I started really taking in the fact I’m not going home. Even if I rebuild the house, the trees which took 16 years to grow will take another 16 years.”

Both Samantha’s fears for the future and her gratitude for the global outpouring of support keep resurfacing during our conversation.

“Everybody in this industry has tried to help. I’m a very private person, but as you probably know I was up here with a very carefully-crafted social media image. But what was really going on behind the scenes I kept private. And this has been such a public thing – everything has gone, everyone knows. And everyone is feeling very sorry for me and it feels very vulnerable, and yet it’s been incredible. I really am so grateful. It’s been very overwhelming.”

“The fact people care so much; the immediate coming together of everyone has been quite amazing. People took action – immediately. One very small producer said he had credit for a pallet of bottles, which he offered. It was so sweet – it was a sacrifice not just a generous offer. Tim Atkin sent me a video message from Maria Luz Marin, a remarkable female pioneer in Chile; there were messages from Australia, New Zealand and California. It’s almost been too much – it’s so moving.”

“Part of my concern, I guess, is that people will be very forgiving in the short term. But by the time they’re expecting the ’19 vintage, it will be long forgotten. I could lose all my listings. After 16 years, I’d finally built up momentum and a kind of market presence. Neal Martin made my Estate Reserve Syrah ‘18 his red wine of the year, my Estate Reserve Chardonnay ’17 was Wine Advocate Top Ten Discoveries of the Year. Everything was going so well. What I worry about is when this really hits, everyone will have forgotten. It’s a long-term thing and I worry that people will tire of it.”

The drive to make wine is a key motivator

Samantha, though, says she will never tire of making wine and has no intention of quitting.

“I mean the sums don’t add up for me to do that. I owe too much money to the bank – I can’t cash out. One colleague half-joked I should move to Greece. Financially, that isn’t an option. And I love what I do. I wake up in the morning, wanting to make wine, think about wine, talk about wine. It’s what makes me happy. I really really love what I do – it gives me so much purpose. It makes me feel fulfilled. I have the respect of my colleagues and critical appreciation. I was finally starting to get the business side of it right after years of getting it wrong.”

Slowly, Samantha is confronting reality. “I’m more ready now. In that first couple of weeks, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bear it. I’m still taking it in – I’ve been so focused on the business, I haven’t even began to mourn my home, my trees and my dog [one of her Great Danes died in the fire]. I really planned to make one statement and release photographs on all platforms of social media so the reality of what happened was out there, but I just couldn’t do it. Instead, I sent a more private thank-you to those donation sites.”

“You can see that when I talk about it I just want to talk about it like it’s all still there. This was the vintage when I was finally going to tip over…the business was turning. With that new cellar, I increased production. The 2017s started to pay off that debt; with ’18 &’19 I was finally tipping into – I don’t know, ‘profitable’ might be an over-enthusiastic word – but it was going to work. It’s just surreal; the vineyards were the healthiest they had ever been; this was the vintage when it was all going to start to turn.”

Rebuilding the winery should be feasible when the insurance money is paid out, but finding things like her old second-hand press will take time. “I have to find enough older oak barrels for 70,000 litres of wine, a month before harvest.” Everyone is pitching in to make it happen, producers donating older barrels, traders offering barrels at cost or on extended terms.

When Samantha talks despairingly of “that black hole that’s ahead of me,” you know that she will do everything not to fall into it. Her energy, positivity, industry and courage in the face of adversity will help her quest to avoid it, but wine lovers around the world can do their bit by buying her wine – even if it is just a bottle – whenever they get the chance. For Samantha O’Keefe is both too special a winemaker, and a person, not to cross the road and assist.

For anyone who might like to make a contribution, please visit the Samantha O’Keefe fundraising page which you can access here. 

All of Samantha’s friends here at The Buyer wish her all the very best with getting back on her feet and continuing to make Lismore one of South Africa’s outstanding wine estates.

Around the world in 2019: Geoffrey Dean's 10 favourites

No surprise to find that eight of Geoffrey Dean’s Top 10 Wines from his travels last year come from the New World. As both a cricket correspondent for The Times and a wine expert Geoffrey spends a lot of his time in South Africa and Australia, enjoying the two main passions of his life. 2019 has been a year with many exciting discoveries including a Cabernet Franc from Uruguay and a Rosé from Paarl in South Africa plus he did make room for a deliciously old Lynch-Bages and a top Burgundy.

By Geoffrey DeanJanuary 10, 2020

“It is hard to put either of Catena’s two great Chardonnays – White Stones and White Bones – ahead of the other, for there is no difference in quality. It is simply a style consideration,” writes Geoffrey.

So many other wines deserve to be in a top 10 list, but here are those that caught the selector’s eye – in strictly alphabetical order.

Babylonstoren, Mourvèdre Rosé 2019 (Paarl, South Africa). I can imagine a few people asking what a Rosé is doing in a top 10, but this little beauty from the magnificent Babylonstoren estate half-way between Stellenbosch and Paarl is just so good. Pale salmon in colour, this bone-dry pink has refreshing acidity as well as real elegance. Its delicious raspberry notes, and tinge of creamy strawberry yoghurt, make it oh so drinkable.

Sebastain Beaumont

Beaumont Estate New Baby 2017 (Bot River, South Africa). Sebastian Beaumont, one of South Africa’s leading winemakers, first crafted this premium white blend from predominantly old vines in 2015, scribbling ‘New Baby’ on the barrel, and has wowed many with it. This vintage is 45% Chenin Blanc (from vines planted in 1974 & 1978),  26% Sauvignon Blanc (planted 1983), 15% Semillon, 8% Colombard & 6% Chardonnay. Fermented in 400-litre French barrels (30% new), this is a wine that is voluptuous yet delicate with the added dimension of some great phenolic tension. A pH of 3.35 helps give freshness and balance (12.8% abv).

Bracco Bosca, Gran Ombu Cabernet Franc 2017 (Atlantida, Uruguay). There is so much more to Uruguay than Tannat-based wines as I found on a trip there this year. This superb Cabernet Franc is a notable example of Uruguay’s huge potential, coming as it does from a small winery owned by the delightfully welcoming and enthusiastic Fabiana Bracco, a great ambassador for her country’s wines. Silky tannins and gorgeous red berry fruit are hallmarks of this Cab Franc, which comfortably absorbs 100% new but lightly toasted French oak. It has the structure to age but is difficult to resist now.

Catena Zapata, White Stones Chardonnay 2015 (Mendoza, Argentina). It is hard to put either of Catena’s two great Chardonnays – White Stones and White Bones – ahead of the other, for there is no difference in quality. It is simply a style consideration. The latter comes from underlying soil layered with limestone deposits that have the appearance of crumbled bones (hence the name). It could easily be mistaken for a top Puligny-Montrachet, while the White Stones vineyard produces rounder more Meursault-like Chardonnay. On a dry riverbed very close to the White Bones site, it has different soils that are more gravelly with white calcium carbonate stones. Laura Catena thinks the microbial richness of the parcel gives the wine a special flavour. Intensity of flavour is very marked as is its length. One of the New World’s greatest Chardonnays.

House of Arras, Grand Vintage 2008 (Tasmania, Australia). Made by the king of sparkling wines in Australia, Ed Carr, this blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir spent 7 years on the lees. Very long and with notable concentration, its bready, brioche notes help underpin its multi-layered complexity, but what really marks it out is its sea-spray oystery character. Mainland Australian sparkling wines don’t have it, and Carr puts it down to the maritime influence. 2008 was an especially good vintage in Tasmania owing to some late rain that growing season, which reset the vine balance.

Lagarde, Henry No 1 Gran Guarda 2016 (Mendoza, Argentina). Juan Roby, Lagarde’s winemaker for 20 years, has crafted an exceptional Malbec-dominated blend that is one of Argentina’s great red wines. Malbec accounts for 70% of it, with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot making up the balance. This is a very complex, multi-layered wine, with wonderful red and black fruit and firm but beautifully-integrated tannins. Its power and structure will give it a long life. Lagarde is one of several leading bodegas in Chacras de Coria, a leafy village half an hour’s drive south of central Mendoza.

Lynch-Bages 1949 (Pauillac, Bordeaux). Thanks must go to the Pfurtscheller family in Austria for a special vertical tasting of Lynch-Bages (1945 to 1995) at their Hotel Jagdhof near Innsbruck. It is impossibly difficult to pick out one of so many venerable wines from that memorable evening but I have gone for my favourite of three great vintages in the 1940s (the other two being 1945 and 1947). What marked 1949 out was the brightness of its fruit, which had barely begun to fade. A glorious wine with talcum powder-like tannins, it had everything: vivacity, freshness, complexity, concentration and pronounced length.

Michael Baum & Emmanuel Sala

Château de Pommard, Clos Marey-Monge Monopole 2017 (Burgundy). Mention the name Salah in England, and 99% of respondents will think of Liverpool’s champion goalscorer. In France, amongst wine professionals at least, Emmanuel Sala is the highly respected cellar master at Chateau de Pommard, which has seen massive investment from new American owner, Michael Baum. The pair have combined to produce a seductive wine from Clos Marey‑Monge,  which is a composition of seven different terroirs of limestone, iron-rich clay, alluvium and other minerals that combine to produce classic Pinot Noir. Firm but beautifully integrated tannins, real intensity of flavour and a very long finish are hallmarks of this top Burgundy.

Springfield Estate, Methode Ancienne Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 (Robertson, South Africa). Jeanette Bruwer, whose family have been making wine on the estate since 1930, tells a good story of how ‘miracle’ Cabernet fruit eventually grew in the remote site from which this terrific wine is produced. In 1984, her family cleared a seven-acre plot of land always considered not “good” enough for viticulture. “Rocky and steep, and infested with thorns, it was our thirst for Cabernet Sauvignon that drove us to this forsaken place,” she said. “Our vines did grow, although they struggled at first as there was virtually no soil, and roots had to creep past rocks. The vines took much longer to bear than others, but eventually did. The miracle was in the fruit – tiny berries that were intense in colour and flavour.” The result is a fabulous Cabernet with elegance, high quality tannins and delightfully concentrated fruit. Seeing 100% new French oak, it has the structure to age for 15 years or more.

Viña Vik 2013 (Cachapoal Valley, Chile). This top-class Bordeaux blend (67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 14% Carmenere, 2% Merlot) underlines just how good Chile can be. Founded by the wealthy Norwegian Vik family, this estate was planted up in 2006-7 in the Cachapoal Valley to a density of 8,100 plants per hectare (60% higher than Chile’s average), benefiting from a cooling afternoon sea breeze that blows in from 40 miles away. This is crucial for the freshness of the Cabernet Sauvignon, which effortlessly absorbs 100% new French oak. Cristian Vallejo, with Vik since the very start, is a winemaker to watch, crafting as he does eye-catching wines of poise, structure and balance like this one. This flagship label of Vik’s, first released with the 2011 vintage, took 10 years of research to develop, including more than 4,000 deep-soil studies to find the right terroir. Velvety tannins and pronounced freshness with linear acidity combine with glorious fruit to produce a complex yet elegant and structured wine with a long ageing potential.

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McGuigans Semillon & Riesling vertical tasting

How Australia’s McGuigan Wines managed to get its mojo back

When Australian wine started to lose its mojo 15-20 years ago, Neil McGuigan, who has just departed as CEO of Australian Vintage Ltd, decided to do something about it. He felt that going back to basics and over-delivering at every price point was the route forwards – and using the size of the company to its advantage. Every year, for example, he holds back 500-1000 cases of many of his wines so he can deliver them to the trade ready-aged, the company has a major innovation programme and sees international awards as a key component. Geoffrey Dean caught up with McGuigan over a tasting of four vintages each of the McGuigan Shortlist Riesling and McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon

By Geoffrey Dean

Neil McGuigan, who has just retired as chief executive officer of Australian Vintage Ltd, will be missed but has left a healthy legacy for the company, which owns McGuigan Wines, Tempus Two and Nepenthe. At a vertical tasting lunch in London last month, the McGuigan Rieslings and Semillons showed exceptionally well, notably the more mature labels that he thinks are so important to the brand.

Neil McGuigan: leaving behind a formidable legacy

Neil McGuigan: leaving behind a formidable legacy

One of the shrewdest Australian wine industry brains, McGuigan likes to get straight to the point.

“Australia’s reputation was established by making outstanding quality wines and engaging with consumers worldwide,” he told The Buyer. “However, we lost our mojo 15 to 20 years ago, and I felt we needed to get it back by going back to basics, making wines with balance and harmony and over-delivering on quality at every price point. We are a large organisation and I thought we needed to go out there and perform for our own brand and Australia on the domestic and international show circuit.” 

The McGuigan Rieslings and Semillons have certainly done that, chalking up trophies like Manchester United did under Alex Ferguson and winning more gold medals than the United States at the last Olympics. The scoreline reads: Rieslings (2008, 2010 and 2013 vintages) 13 trophies and 62 gold medals: Semillons (from 2003, 2007, 2013 and 2019) 20 trophies and 79 gold medals. Of the 22 worldwide trophies awarded by International Wine and Spirit Competition in the past 11 years for Riesling and Semillon, 12 have gone to McGuigan Wines.

Neil McGuigan continued: “We also had to start a maturation programme whereby we get Eden Valley Riesling, Hunter Semillon, Barossa Shiraz, Langhorne Creek Shiraz and Coonawarra Cabernet, put 500-1000 dozens of those wines away and re-release them at their peak. That’s a huge commitment. The CFO and CEO at the time both had kittens, as it’s a lot of money, but we felt to make a serious wine company you had to have a serious portfolio of wine not just of current vintage but mature ones.”

The great thing for drinkers is that these older award-winning wines are available to buy as a result. The 2003 Bin 9000 Semillon is A$25 at the cellar door, while the 2013 is A$50 (both having a release price of A$12.99).

“I can’t remember a wine that has been as dominant as the 2013 Bin 9000 Semillon,” McGuigan purred. “In the second half of this year, it has won 11 trophies in 16 weeks. What these awards do for Brand Australia is incredibly important. Between 2006 and 2016, our organisation won IWSC’s International Winemaker of the Year four times as well as IWC’s International White Winemaker of the Year. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved.”

What is technically so interesting about the McGuigan Riesling and Semillon is the fact both have low pH, which is of much greater significance than acidity for a winemaker. Lower suphur dioxide additions are possible for a start.

“You get the pH right, and you get outstanding colours and longevity, and time to have these layers of character,” McGuigan said. “The pH of all these wines are all about the same – around 3… low pH but they don’t taste that acid. That’s the trick: to get lower acids and lower pH. That comes from the vineyard; that’s getting the balance right in the vineyard, the crop right and the foliage right – everything in harmony and normally from relatively mature vines. It’s all about pH control.”

Another area of importance for McGuigan is the company’s innovation programme.

“Our innovation programme is about embracing new varieties, new regions and new technology,” he revealed. “We are really working hard to take our wines to another level. We’re embracing cool climate and developing a cool climate programme. We’ve always been in Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills but are also going to another level of cool climate around Australia. We’re looking at Tasmania and Victoria, and in New South Wales which has some beautiful cool climate sites like Tumbarumba where we’re doing a lot of work with Chardonnay. That’s going well.” The same could be said for the whole McGuigan range.

Tasting notes on the Riesling and Semillon:

McGuigan Shortlist Riesling  (40-year old Eden Valley vines)

2019: lime juice, lovely line of beautiful, zippy acidity; long  

2013: whisper of petroleum; citrusy; texture with slight oiliness on palate; fresh acidity

2010: obvious developed colour; toasty; oily palate; awesome intensity and length

2008: real petroleum noise, full and rich with some oiliness, just starting to dry out

McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon (Hunter Valley)

2019: wet wool, green apple/lime juice nose, fleshy palate, zippy acidity, great length (longer than the Rieslings)

2013: green apple fruit, hayshed, toast, complex nose, depth of character with malolactic overtones (despite no MLF).

2007: butter toast notes with hint of marmalade, grass, complex palate, honey perfume; won Semillon Trophy at IWSC

2003: hot butter toast and marmalade, shading away although beautiful length; so light and elegant

 

How Ed Carr is turning House of Arras into a global brand

When Brut Elite Cuvee 1501 was adjudged to be Australia’s finest sparkling wine at this year’s Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, it was yet another gong in a long list of awards that Tasmania-based winery House of Arras has racked up in the past 25 years. Arras winemaker Ed Carr could be forgiven for resting on his laurels, but far from it, as Geoffrey Dean found out when he met up with him for a one-on-one tasting in London. Since Carlyle Group’s purchase of Accolade Wines last year, the moves are being made for Arras to become a truly global brand, with production to increase by as much as 50% in the mid-term future.

By Geoffrey DeanDecember 5, 2019

Amongst the wines Dean tastes are EJ Carr Late Disgorged 2004, Brut Elite Cuvee 1501 and House of Arras 2008 Grand Vintage

The Australians, competitive souls that they are, love nothing better than a winner, but few know that their most awarded winemaker was born not Down Under but in England. A native of Yarmouth, Ed Carr was taken to Australia at the age of eight by his emigrating parents, and the rest is, as they say, history. His House of Arras sparkling wines have totted up so many gongs that it is easy to lose count, but more major awards last month took their staggering tally in domestic and international wine shows to 86 trophies and 225 gold medals. 

Ed Carr - holding his nerve on lees time

The self-effacing Carr is the antithesis of a brash Australian, but even someone as modest as him could not hide his delight at the latest recognition of his skills at the 2019 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships (CSWWC) in London last month when the House of Arras Blanc de Blancs 2009 won a gold medal and the Brut Elite Cuvee 1501 was adjudged best Australian bubbly. “It’s brilliant to get a gold, and to be selected as an exemplary style is pretty special,” Carr told The Buyer, with whom he had a one-on-one tasting in the capital soon after the presentation dinner. 

More on the tasting later, but first the welcome news for drinkers that House of Arras is looking to increase production from its current annual output of 250,000 bottles, 97% of which is sold in Australia. That means greater availability for overseas markets, particularly Europe and the UK, with exports potentially rising to around 10%.

“We’re looking to expand further, but although we have a growth plan, we want to be conservative, and each vineyard has to prove itself,” said Carr, the only non-Champenois winemaker to receive a lifetime achievement award from the CSWWC. “The next wave could be as much as 50% in the long-term, with increases in stages. This year, we’ve seen more fruit on the market in Tasmania, which will help us. We want to export more as Carlyle are very supportive of this brand and see it as a global brand.” Last year, the Carlyle Group, a global equity firm, bought Accolade Wines, whose large stable includes House of Arras.

The increase in production, Carr insisted, would have no effect on House of Arras’ long minimum time on the lees. That is four years for non-vintage, seven years for vintage, and ten years for late disgorged vintages (although the much-lauded House of Arras E.J.Carr Late Disgorged 2004 saw as many as 13 years on the lees). “We’re holding our nerve on lees time,” Carr chuckled.

The high altitude vineyards in Australia didn’t suit the style Carr was after, hence the move to Tasmania.

House of Arras dates back to 1994 when Hardys appointed Carr to make the best possible sparkling wine. “We felt Tasmania would be the place we’d end up,” Carr confessed. “We’d made sparkling wine in all the best locations in Australia, but had favoured high latitudes. We looked at places like Orange with its very wide diurnal range, but that continental high altitude didn’t really suit the style that we wanted. Southerly vineyards, particularly in Tasmania, have long autumn days and maybe softer sun; you get cooler days but warmer nights. We are on a very diverse mix of soils in Tasmania from clay through to sand, and our approach has been to work from multiple sub-regions as they are all immensely different.”

With House of Arras relying on contracted growers for 50% of its required fruit, relationships with them are key. “Our growers are very quality-oriented,” Carr continued. “They are on three to five-year rolling contracts, and get the market price but a significant bonus potentially. We meet with them once a month to discuss canopy management. They want to be part of something quality and produce the best-quality fruit possible. We’ve tailored our winemaking to focus in on structure and acidity, and have that dry freshness as well. The longevity of these wines has surprised us – the ten-year old being still as bright as a bush.”

Carr brought that wine, the 2008 Grand Vintage (65% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir; 5 g/l dosage; RRP £35) to our tasting. Very long and with notable concentration, its bready, brioche notes helped build its multi-layered complexity, but what really marked it out was its sea-spray oystery character. “You don’t see that with mainland Australian sparkling wines,” Carr mused. “It’s not soil-related, so it must be the maritime influence.” 2008 was especially good in Tasmania owing to some late rain that growing season, which reset the vine balance in Carr’s view.

The long and concentrated Brut Elite Cuvee 1501 is a multi-vintage blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier. with dosage of 5g/l and an RRP of £30.The latter grape is one that Carr feels has real potential in Tasmania. ”Australia has overlooked the value of Pinot Meunier as it’s been interpreted as a lesser variety,” he declared. “We’ve found that it brings wines on a bit earlier and works really well in those younger styles. We’ve had some really good results. You can’t buy a clone of it as it would take forever, so we are using one that came from the Yarra Valley that is actually known as the ‘unknown clone’. You can’t find any records of how it got into that vineyard, but we had it tested and it’s Meunier. We’re now propagating that on our own Piper’s River site. We might increase the percentage to 20% but we’re waiting for the vines to get older.”

With top-end Chardonnay from two east coast Tasmanian vineyards that ‘really cuts it for the style we want to make’, and some refined, flavourful Pinot Noir from the Upper Derwent and Coal River Valleys, Carr juggles his fruit with consummate skill. His piece de resistance is his EJ Carr Late Disgorged 2004 (two-thirds Chardonnay, one-third Pinot Noir; disgorged March 2018; 4g/l dosage), which comes from another excellent year in Tasmania. It carries a £100 RRP but is one of the New World’s greatest bubblies.

Warwick Estate's new Trilogy release

After the success of Trilogy 2015 which was Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, Warwick Wine Estate’s new cellar master JD Pretorius decided to make Warwick Estate Trilogy 2016 Cabernet Franc dominant, making it one of the very few Bordeaux blends in the Cape to have this style of blend. Geoffrey Dean caught up with Pretorius at the launch of the 2016 to find out the challenges of growing Cab Franc in the Cape, why the blend is as it is and to taste the previous vintages of 2012, 2008, 2005 and 1997 to compare and contrast the new wine.

By Geoffrey Dean

For over three decades since it was first produced in 1986, the Warwick Estate Trilogy has consistently been one of the top Bordeaux blends in the western Cape. What is so notable about its latest release, the 2016, is that, for the first time, Cabernet Franc makes up more than half of the assemblage – 51% – with Cabernet Sauvignon 34% and Merlot 15%.

The result is a stunning wine with a brightness and light-footedness that should appeal to the on-trade when it is released early next year.

Emboldened by the success of the 2015 Trilogy when Cabernet Franc was the majority grape for the first time (41% to Cabernet Sauvignon’s 40%), Warwick Wine Estate has pinned its faith in it in what was a very difficult vintage. For 2016 was a very hot growing season in the middle of a long-term drought. JD Pretorius, the winery’s new cellar master, explained the thinking.

Warwick’s new cellar master JD Pretorius

“Warwick has built up 30 years of Cabernet Franc history to show the grape works on the property,” he told The Buyer at a lunch in central London. “It’s also a bit of a USP having 50+% of Cab Franc, for there aren’t many Cab Franc-dominated blends in the western Cape. It’s a challenging thing to get ripe as Cab Franc ripens almost a month earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon; a lot of things can go wrong in terms of tannin ripeness, flavour progression etc. You need a kind of warm, cool site to do that. If you don’t get the warmth and the coolness, you get over-ripe or under-ripe. Not many places can do that, so if you can manage that, you’re going to make interesting and unique wine. We feel that is something that Warwick can do on a continuous basis.”

Four other vintages of Trilogy were tasted at the lunch – 2012, 2008, 2005 and 1997. All showed well with the 2008 and 2012 available at £30 RRP from Christopher Keiller Fine Wine Services and Amazon/Hard to Find Wines respectively. But the 2016, currently available from the Wine Society as part of a half-case ‘en primeur’ offer for £88, looks terrific value.

Seductive red fruit, vibrant acidity and beautifully-integrated powdery tannins form its backbone, with freshness and a very long finish a feature. As Greg Sherwood, the South African MW in charge of South Kensington merchant Handford Wines put it, “it has the weightless, airy concentration, yet at the same time intensity, that you get on very expensive fine wine from California.” It absorbs 60% new oak effortlessly.

After the acquisition of Uitkyk last summer Warwick Wine Estate is all set to have 300 hectares under vine

The 1997 showed how well Trilogy can age, coming from what was the longest, coollest vintage since the 1920s. Remarkably, the Cabernet Sauvignon was not harvested till late May, a good two months later than is now the case. “Incredible phenolics, aromatics and acidity” purred Sherwood, adding it had 10-20 years still to go. Pretorious, who has only recently joined Warwick from Steenberg, picked out the 2008 as the most complete wine in his view.

These are certainly exciting times for Warwick after their acquisition of neighbouring Stellenbosch winery Uitkyk in July last year. From having 127 hectares under vine, they will ultimately have as much as 300 hectares, with all of Uitkyk’s vines having been, or about to be, grubbed up for replanting with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chardonnay. The idea behind that is to try to eradicate leafroll virus, a longstanding issue in the western Cape, as well as increase the density of planting from 2,800 vines per hectare to between 3,800 and 4,500, depending on varietal.

Voyager Estate: Steve James interview (IWC Canopy Article)

Clone work pays off for Steve

Steve James, manager of winemaking and viticulture at Voyager Estate in Margaret River, Australia

Innovative winemaker Steve James talks clones, tulip-shaped fermenters, using a machine-harvester to control botrytis, Chenin Blanc fizz and weevils…

Geoffrey Dean

2019-10-22

Australian winemakers have deservedly earned a reputation for innovation, and one particular Aussie winemaker’s embrace of it is paying real dividends at his winery. Steve James, manager of winemaking and viticulture at Voyager Estate in Margaret River, gives us a revealing insight into the beneficial changes he has overseen both in the vineyard and in the cellar at the leading West Australian estate.

A big cricket-lover, it is actually another C-word that really excites James: clones. He has introduced new Merlot ones that have led to a ‘phenomenal’ improvement in quality of that particular varietal for the winery’s Bordeaux blend. Another Cabernet Sauvignon clone is also looking highly promising, along with a new Cabernet Franc one, which may well raise Voyager’s already high quality bar even further.

'We might even create a special Right Bank-style Merlot/Franc blend'

“We’ve done a lot of work with clones that is starting to come to fruition,” Steve, who has worked at Voyager for over two decades, said. “We have two amazing new clones of Merlot we use for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon that are a revelation. One is from Italy called Q45+14, and the other – 181 – is from Bordeaux. The step-up in fruit quality is just phenomenal. It’s chalk and cheese between the old high-yielding Davis clone that you had to put a lot of work into to get good wine. These new clones are just remarkable.

“As for the Cab Franc clone, which is M214 from Bordeaux, we will get our first crop off it in 2020. I’ve seen a little bit of fruit from it last harvest, and that looked super exciting as well. We might even create a special Right Bank-style Merlot/Franc blend when we have enough volume. The new Cabernet Sauvignon clone, 337, gives extra tannin and structure, as well as more flavour and concentration.”

In his endless quest for improvement, Steve is also experimenting with “doing our own clone” of Cabernet Sauvignon. “I went into our old block and did a heritage vine project,” he continued. More details of this here.

In the cellar at Voyager Estate

“I wanted to preserve some of this beautiful, old, what’s called Houghton clone material. It goes back to the 1800s and came from South Africa into the Houghton winery in the Swan Valley. It got distributed out, and we were very fortunate we inherited an amazingly good clone of Cabernet. So, anyway, we went in and did a selection and I’m pretty certain we found the three best vines in that vineyard block. We got a bunch of three separate clones and started propagating off those, planting new clonal material. It’s been a lot of work, and a long process – it’s taken nearly five years to get where we are today.”

Voyager egg

In the cellar, meanwhile, Steve has got pleasing results from new tulip-shaped concrete fermenters from Italy. “We’re using a few new beautiful tulip-shaped concrete fermenters, about 2.5m high and holding three tons of fruit, that are working really well for the reds, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon. We’ve also got a stainless steel tank in exactly the same shape but we weren’t sure if it was the shape or the medium that was contributing. Each has quite different influences: the concrete gives a more textured, earthy wine, while the stainless steel is brighter. We also put some Chenin Blanc in and that worked quite well. This next year, we’ll chuck some skins in as well.”

Mention of Chenin Blanc brings Steve onto Voyager’s excellent new sparkling wine, a single varietal version of that grape made by the traditional method with six months on the lees and 4-6g/L dosage. “It’s just been unbelievably successful,” Steve chuckled. “You get a lot better sugar-acid balance than with Chardonnay. There’s lovely green apple and light citrus notes, lower sugar and beautiful, crisp, natural acid. It’s been selling well, and people have absolutely loved it in the UK, where it’s been a real hit. In 2018, we made only a thousand dozen. In Australia, it’s retailing for about AUD32 (about £20).”

'We've been using a machine grape harvester for botrytis control'

Steve James in the vineyard

As for the vineyards, which will receive organic certification early next year, Steve has been delighted by a new ploy to counter botrytis. “We’re lucky with our climate in Margaret River but we have had a bit of summer rainfall these past two years, leading to some botrytis,” he added. “We’ve done a really interesting experiment last growing season, which we’ll look to do again this year, using a machine grape harvester for botrytis control. We go through and run a couple of rods of a harvester over the top. Basically, it blows a lot of the rubbish out of the bunches, and it chops off tiny little shot berries that can harvest botrytis spores. The results were remarkable – absolutely unbelievable. We’re also using naturally-occurring fungi to compete with the botrytis. It’s a question of trying to work with nature.”

Another issue in the vineyard for James used to be garden weevils, but conversion to organic farming has helped control them. “One of our biggest concerns about going organic was not being able to use insecticide against these armour-plated weevils, which are voracious feeders on grapes and leaves. The really interesting thing is that because we’re now encouraging flowers and plants to grow through the spring between the mid-rows, the beneficial insects are coming in and predating on the weevil eggs, which are laid under the vines. We’re finding we’re getting less weevil problems than when we used insecticide. That’s been a complete revelation for us.

“Another key reason for going organic is we started to get mealy bugs, a vector for virus spread, with insecticide. With none used any more, the mealy bugs have disappeared. In the long term, our vineyards are in far better shape than they were with conventional practices. So it’s a question of trying to work with nature rather than controlling it. Nature can be your friend.”

Why the wines of AOC Luberon have got it all going for them

They’re like buses and policemen… you wait an eternity to hear about a wine from Luberon, as we did with Les Quelles de la Coste, and then a week later everyone’s talking about them. Geoffrey Dean travels to this sunny corner of France made famous by Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence and discovers why the wines of AOC Luberon have got everything going for them. Dean visits Château La Canorgue, which inspired the film A Good Year and also the domains of two individuals responsible for raising the profile of the area – Fabrice Monod at Château Fontvert and Paul Dubrule at La Cavale.

by Geoffrey Dean

Mention of the Luberon conjures up evocative images of Peter Mayle’s life as an expatriate in the fabled centre of Provence. His books, notably A Year in Provence and a romantic novel that was made into the cult film, A Good Year, starring Russell Crowe, painted memorable scenes of mountain ranges, idyllic villages, imposing old chateaux and stunning valleys. There were vineyards too, of course, with Crowe’s character forsaking a corporate career to manage his own ‘vignoble.’.

Mourvèdre is one of the key grapes in the Luberon

The vineyard scenes were shot in the region at Château La Canorgue, which has been making excellent wine for a long time, but only recently have the Luberon’s wines started to receive the full recognition they deserve.

Instrumental in raising the profile of the Luberon appellation (the AOC having been created in 1988) has been the role played by two individuals: Fabrice Monod and Paul Dubrule. Monod has followed in the footsteps of Crowe’s character, forsaking a career in television in Paris to manage his family’s winery at Lourmarin, Château Fontvert. Meanwhile, Dubrule, the billionaire co-founder of Accor Hotel Group, has invested in a new multi-million euro cellar door at La Cavale that is attracting a legion of new wine tourists to the area.

Ch Fontvert, owned by Fabrice Monod

Monod’s story is an interesting one. Hailing from a prominent Parisian family with a long history of governmental ministerial involvement, he worked in New York on Wall Street in the 1990s before returning home in the new millennium to start a TV production company. He presented a weekly programme on economics as well as making documentaries on life in China, where he spent considerable time.

“It was very tiring, and TV stations were paying less and less, so it was not worth the time or money,” he told The Buyer at his winery. “My family had owned the estate since the 1950s, but I came here very gradually. After doing a couple of winters here, I made the move permanently in 2013 and felt much better down here.”

Living in the 17th century chateau with his American girlfriend, and leaving the winemaking to the capable Yoann Malandain, Monod takes care of the business side of things. He has increased cellar door sales to 20% of the annual 150,000-bottle capacity, while direct-to-consumer sales are 10%. Around 8% of production is exported to 12 markets, with Totem Imports acting as his UK distributor.

Chateau Fonvert’s wines showed particularly well. An appealing pair of rosés was complemented by two excellent whites (one a blend of Rolle and Grenache Blanc; the other a single varietal version of the latter grape). The four reds offered value and good quality at different price points: Les Restanques 2018being a Syrah-based everyday drinker; Fonvert Rouge 2017, an appealing mid-market GSM; Le Collet 2017, a fine lower premium Syrah from ultra low-yielding 50-year old vines (only 12 hl/ha); Mourre Negre 2018, a beguiling Mourvedre with a dollop of Syrah from similarly low-yielding vines. These last two, at €25 and €34 respectively, were something of a steal, given their complexity and length. Both are on the wine list at a 2-star Michelin restaurant in nearby Bonnieux, although Monod’s ambition is to get them into a 3-star one in Japan, one of his 12 export markets.

Not far from Château Fonvert, near the village of Cadenet, can be found La Cavale and Dubrule’s futuristic but tasteful cellar door. In 2005, Dubrule was asked to do a study on wine tourism by the French government, and the lessons he learnt from it have been incorporated into this striking building, which was designed by leading French architect, Jean-Michel Wilmotte.

Paul Dubrole and architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte with the original designs (l-r) The spectacular finished article (above)

Opened in 2017, it has proved a spectacular success, having received 2,000 visitors alone in August according to Corinne Conroy, La Cavale’s director of marketing and oenotourism.

“We’ve had a 20% increase in visitors this year,” she told The Buyer. “Apart from the tasting, we have concerts on the roof and musical evenings every Thursday. We want this place to be a magnet for people to enjoy the terrace and the views.”

Cellar door sales are outstanding at La Cavale, with 40% of the annual production of around 200,000 bottles selling there. Only a small amount is exported, with none as yet to the UK apart from mail order. Highly experienced winemaker, Jean-Paul Aubert, and consultant Alain Graillot, the celebrated Crozes-Hermitage producer, have crafted an impressive range of rosé, white and red wines.

Some stunning photographs of the winery and vineyards adorn a glossy coffee-table publication (written by Dubrule himself) entitled La Cavale en Luberon, which won best French drinks book of the year at the annual World Gourmand awards in Macau. On sale in the cellar door shop, it encapsulates the feel and heart of the Luberon.

La Cavale will gain organic certification next year, but Château La Canorgue, just north of Bonnieux, has been farmed biodynamically since 1970. Some of the 40 hectares of vines there are over 100 years old, although winemaker Nathalie Margan-Libourel says the average age is around 40 years. It is very much a family affair, with ownership going back five generations and her father, Jean-Pierre Margan, acting as viticulturalist. Yapp Brothers, the well-known west country merchant based in Mere, have been importing La Canorgue’s wines for over 30 years. As many as 15 varieties feature on the estate, which was immortalised inA Good Year.

LuberonA personal favourite was the Coin Perdu 2016, a field blend from a parcel of interplanted Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan.

If this triumvirate of contrasting but excellent wineries is leading the way for the appellation, other Luberon estates such as Château La Dorgonne and Domaine de la Citadelle are also producing wines of similar personality and quality. It should not be a surprise, for wine has been made in the region since Roman times and conditions for viticulture are highly favourable.

Being a mountain appellation, with vines growing at an altitude of 200-450 metres, nights are fresh, helping to retain acidity. Indeed, all of the winemakers I met seldom add tartaric acid. Soils include Miocene sands, limestone scree and red clay, while the climate, a mix of Rhône influences and the cooler temperatures of the high Provençal plateau, is enhanced by one of the highest amounts of sun hours in France – over 2600 hours. In short, the wines of AOC Luberon have everything going for them.

Davy's New World Tasting 2019

Rikus Neethling is one highlight of Davy’s New World tasting

With eyes shut you would have thought for all the world that you were tasting Hunter Valley Semillon. Except you weren’t. Welcome to the rare and wonderful Semillons of Rikus Neethling from the western Cape – a real eye-opener at a fascinating masterclass that was one of the many highlights at the Davy’s New World tasting last week. There were more wines from Australia, Kiwi wines including some from Little Beauty, Robert Sinskey’s idiosyncratic but wonderful Napa wines, Ventisquero, Gouguenheim and many more as Geoffrey Dean discovered.

By Geoffrey Dean September 12, 2019

“Across the Andes in Mendoza, it was easy to see why the Davy’s team consider Gouguenheim to be ‘one of the best kept secrets in the Uco Valley,” writes Dean.

Lovers of Hunter Valley Semillon would have been forgiven for thinking they were tasting some very good examples of it at the Greenwich wine merchant, Davy’s, New World portfolio tasting at 67 Pall Mall in early September. With very fresh acidity, a low ABV of between 10.5-11%, and showing clean, bone-dry limey notes after elevage in stainless steel, the wines in question had Aussie Hunter written all over them. Except they weren’t: they came from the western Cape. And at a fascinating masterclass given by the young South African winemaker who produced them, Rikus Neethling revealed how he had been heavily influenced by champion Hunter Valley producer, Bruce Tyrell.

Not that much Semillon is grown in South Africa (1.18% of the national area under vine according to latest SAWIS stats), but Neethling admits he is totally obsessed by the variety.

“I want to show that South African whites can age, and my Semillons will go 20 to 30 years,” he said. Hunter Semillons can do that, majestically of course, held together by high acidity thanks to early picking. By doing the same, and by using an Australian clone (GD1), Neethling has every chance of being successful in his quest.

His three Bizoe label Semillons (all 2018s) are drinking very well.  Semillon, generally speaking, is best drunk young or old, rather than say aged 4-6 years when it tends to go through a dumb phase. His Bizoe Morning Star 2018, from 13-year old bush vines on sandy loam at Darling, has mineral notes as well as some sea-salty ones thanks to the proximity of the ocean (8km away). Very low pH of 3.1, achieved by harvesting in late January or early February, gives vibrant acidity (TA 7 g/l).

“I think we’re getting it right picking on pH to prevent flat flavours,” Neethling mused, adding that three clones had been interplanted in the Morning Star vineyard – GD1, GD315 (French) and GD 16 (American).

The Bizoe Robertsvlei Road 2018 comes from Franschhoek, which Neethling thinks should be the “South African capital of Semillon.” Using 100% GD1 cloned-fruit from 24-year old vines, this wine was even closer to a Hunter Semillon. Six hours of skin contact and being run through a basket press gives the wine added flavours. When Neethling blended together juice from these two Semillons to form his Bizoe Kruispad 2018, he produced the best of the three, combining Darling’s vibrant acidity with Franschhoek’s limey freshness and charm. But all three wines are worth trying, although Davy’s get only 20 cases of each per annum.

Rikus Neethling

A 2016 SSB by Neethling, named Bizoe Henrietta (70% Semillon fruit from Franschhoek but picked later and 30% Sauvignon Blanc) also showed well, as did some superb single varietal examples elsewhere in the Davy’s portfolio of Sauvignon Blanc from Australasia and Chile.

Glorious tropical fruit notes greeted tasters of Adelaide Hills producer Sidewood Estate’s 2016 version. Meanwhile, across the Tasman, Mount Brown Estates, in North Canterbury, produced a richer wine with their Catherine’s Block 2016, which saw 50% old oak.

A personal favourite was another Kiwi: Marlborough producer Little Beauty’s Black Edition Sauvignon Blanc 2016. Crafted from a mere ten rows of low-yielding fruit, and left on the lees for nine months with no batonnage in old oak barriques, this Sav Blanc had pronounced length and lots of intensity. Made using wild yeasts by former Cloudy Bay winemaker, Eveline Fraser, this multi-layered wine is unusual for the region as rows are aligned north-south (while the vast majority in Marlborough are east-west). In charming owner, Fleur McCree’s opinion, this imbues “sweet and sour notes” that add to complexity.

A Chilean Sauvignon Blanc also deserves a mention in despatches. Ventisquero’s Grey Glacier, Atacama 2017 emanates from the country’s most northerly wine-producing region. This ultra-low yielder (18 hl/ha) comes from salty soils by the coast, which is the reason why its salty and spicy notes dominate any fruity ones. Winemaker, Felipe Tosso, has fashioned a really interesting wine.

Staying in the Americas, two 2014 whites from Napa Valley producer, Robert Sinskey, caught the eye. His Abraxas label, made up predominantly of Riesling (45%) with Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Guwurztraminer thrown in, sees no new oak and is an elegant wine with notable freshness, concentration and length. His Orgia label, a single varietal Pinot Gris, has a pink hue often found with this grape, but is pronounced thanks to three weeks on the skins. The influence of this contact is noticeable, with the wine possessing lots of character. Sinskey’s Cabernet Franc 2013 and Pinot Noir 2014 were also fine examples of their type, offering intensity of flavour, concentration and a long finish.

New World Shiraz found formidable expression in the form of Sidewood’s Mappinga 2015 label. This belter of a wine has won many awards, including Best Aussie Shiraz at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Made from the estate’s best parcels, this elegant 14.5% offering has appealing blackcurrant and blackberry notes with soft tannins and lots of spice. It is long and complex, and benefits from judicious oak use (35% new). Sidewood’s three premium Pinot Noirs were also excellent, as were Little Beauty’s two Pinots – the Limited Edition 2017 and the Black Edition 2015.

In South America, Ventisquero’s reds stood out. The Chilean producer’s Grey Glacier Carmenere 2016 (from Maipo Valley fruit with 33% new oak) was a fabulous example of this grape, being both elegant and complex. Ventisquero’s Vertice 2015 label, a 50:50 blend of Carmenere and Syrah is the baby of former Penfolds Grange winemaker, John Duval, who acts as consultant. Made from Apalta fruit in the Colchagua Valley, this has terrific concentration and complexity.

Across the Andes in Mendoza, it was easy to see why the Davy’s team consider Gouguenheim to be ‘one of the best kept secrets in the Uco Valley.’ Situated at 3,600 feet above sea level, the winery enjoys a wide diurnal range that gives its Malbecs undeniable freshness. The Flores del Valle Blue Melosa Malbec 2014 stood out. So too did the classy reds of the nearby Tupungato-based Domaine Bousquet estate, whose winemaker is Rodrigo Serrano. Certified organic since 2005,  the winery’s Malbec Grand Reserve 2015 was complex, concentrated and long, while its Ameri 2015 (65% Malbec, 25% Cabernet, 10% Syrah & Merlot) was powerful and structured. The Gaia Red 2017, a similar blend, also had overt tannins with notable concentration and length. Both are food wines for a steak or Sunday lunch.

Although a New World tasting, two Sussex sparkling wine producers of note were included, and duly impressed. Court Garden, in the village of Ditchling, employs long lees-ageing to create some fine wines from the three Champagne grapes. Their Cuvee Rose 2013, for example, spends five and a half years on the lees. Not far away in Mountfield, the Hoffmann & Rathbone winery, a husband and wife set-up, produce ultra-premium bubbly with even longer lees-ageing.