Slideshow

Top South African white blends: part two

18 February 2015 By db staff writer

Following on from Tim Atkin’s roundup of Mediterranean-style South African white blends, this list reveals the MW’s top Bordeaux-style white blends from the region.

The Bordeaux style blends tend to come from coastal sites in Cape Point, Constantia, Elim, Durbanville, Elgin and Walker Bay or the cooler parts of Stellenbosch, Bot River and Franschhoek, while the Mediterranean ones, as their name suggests, hail from the hotter climates of Wellington, Paarl and especially the Swartland, writes Tim Atkin MW.

There are exceptions to both rules, but they are solid generalisations. Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t do well in warm sites, just as, say, Viognier and Roussanne underperform in cool ones. Chenin Blanc, as we know, is more adaptable, producing equally brilliant wines in the Loire and South Africa, but it, too, tends to prefer the warmer regions of the Cape.

Bordeaux blends are nearly always dominated by Sauvignon Blanc. This is partly because there is a lot more Sauvignon than Semillon under vine – 9,320 ha as opposed to 1,194 ha – but also because the former is more popular with consumers both in South Africa and on export markets.

Semillon is among the oldest varieties in the Cape and was widely planted in the 19th century, but is not as celebrated or as well known as it ought to be. Plantings have dwindled and old vineyards are increasingly rare, despite the efforts of viticultural consultant Rosa Kruger, who seeks out and tries to preserve venerable blocks of Semillon and Chenin Blanc among others.

There are very few stand-alone examples – Boekenhoutskloof, Fairview, Constantia Uitsig, Steenberg, Anthonij Rupert, Fleur du Cap and David Nieuwoudt spring to mind – and Semillon tends to be the “lesser” partner in most Bordeaux style blends, although it definitely contributes a herbal edge to Sauvignon Blanc. Of the best known Bordeaux style blends, Newton Johnson Resonance has 16%, Cape Point Isleidh has 25% Semillon, Tokara Director’s Reserve 26%, Constantia Glen Two 29% and Chamonix Reserve White and Steenberg Magna Carta 40% each. Ever the maverick, André van Rensburg takes a different tack, using 56% Semillon in his Vergelegen GVB White. Why?

“Paradoxically, it makes my wine more accessible at an earlier stage, but it also keeps well because it has a low pH. And it’s a bit less Sauvignon”, he said.

Click through for Atkin’s personal picks of the best Bordeaux-style white South African blends…