Echinosum
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Joined: 1/28/2021
From: Buckinghamshire, UK
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Pontac
There are many super wines made in RSA. But like all ‘new world’ countries, they are made from European varieties or the off-spring of European varieties.
RSA makes – for example-great Cabernet, Syrah, Sauvignon and Chardonnay; but so do many other countries.
Special to RSA are Chenin Blanc and Pinotage.
I find quite a few other things also to be special to SA. And it is part of what has attracted me to making a a quarter of my cellar from SA, and a higher proportion of my recent consumption. Clearly Chenin is very different from French chenin. So the fact that something is substantially grown elsewhere doesn't mean it can't be distinctively SA too. In general I don't like pinotage, but maybe I never dared to spend enough money on one to try a good one.
First, it does seem that white wine is, overall, a bit more successful than red in international markets. It is a point often made by Tim Atkins, the leading SA wine critic. So I'll start with the whites.
To me, one of the great and distinctive things in SA white wine is the blends. The grapes all come from other places, but no one else makes blends like these. The wine I'm drinking this evening is a blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Verdelho and Grenache Gris. It couldn't come from anywhere but SA. This particular one is a mid-price wine called Smaug the Magnificent made by BLANKBottle, who are a very interesting producer of small-volume mid-price wines. But wine-making aristocracy also make wines like this too. For example Sadie Family Palladius is Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Verdelho, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon Gris, Semillon Blanc & Palomino, Colombard. Again many of the varieties are Rhone varieties, but some of them aren't, and here chenin is the largest component, which is not uncommon. So there is often something reminiscent of white Rhone in these blends, but in general it's own very diverse and distinctive thing. And often these mixes are a bit cheaper than varietals of similar quality.
Semillon. Like SA chenin, I think SA semillons are distinctive enough from other people's semillons, and special enough, to draw particular attention to. The big divide here is from Australian semillon. SA semillons are often riper and quite textural wines, or add texture to a blend. A rarity is Semillon Gris, a pink to light red sport of Semillon that is now pretty much extinct in Bordeaux, but a bit survives in South Africa. Thorne & Daughters' Tin Soldier is a noted example of Semillon Gris.
Roussanne. I wouldn't say SA roussannes are so very different from French ones, when you do find a French single varietal, but they are much more commonly made, and a lot cheaper, than French ones. There's quite a lot of roussanne in SA. So if like me you are a roussanne-lover, you can indulge your love much more easily and diversely in S Africa. Beaucastel's Cuvée Roussanne is one of the most expensive wines in the southern Rhone, but stands apart as a very rare thing in the S Rhone. I think Roussanne is often thought difficult in France, which may explains its general relatively sparing use in blends in the south, and although a larger component of the N rhone white vineyard, often blended with marsanne. And N rhone whites are often very expensive.
Syrah. It's an increasingly common claim that syrah is the most successful red grape for high quality red wine in South Africa, albeit some of the leading reds are made with other things. More than the other "international" red varietals, I think SA syrah has established its own distinctive range of styles, and they tend to the more elegant and perfumed mould. Maybe not quite as distinctive as SA chenin. But it's the red grape that most excites me from SAf, especially now that elegant-style NRhone syrahs - and indeed the quality Australians I used to drink - are so unaffordable.
Cinsault. Proper red wines from cinsault are quite a distinctively SA thing. In France, there's a lot of cinsault, but it mostly goes into pink wines and as a small component of red blends. The SA varietals are pale-coloured, fragrant but structured. They have some of the qualities of pinot noir and Etna wines, while being very much their own thing. I was a bit surprised the first time I had one, but it only took a few bottles to win me over. I have seen claims that SA varietal grenache noirs are distinctive, but I haven't had one, so I can't say. Too many wines, not enough money, not enough drinking capacity.
Sweet wines. Not so long ago, there was a lot of sweet wine, much less today. But there are some special and distinctive things like Klein Constantia.
Most of the SA wine I buy, as I said, because it is its own distinctive thing, as well as being very good value. But additionally I buy a fair bit of SA Chardonnay and Pinot Noir not because they are distinctively SA, but because I like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the QPR is very good. I also buy a fair bit of these two varieties from NZ, which has similar QPR and some comparability of style.
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South Africa - Winery recommendations - 
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