Vino Madiba, Vino!

THE launch of a South African wine carrying one of the world’s most valuable and iconic trademarks happened with a whimper and no bang in sight. But then again, this was one event where even the blondest bunch of rent-a-crowd wine industry PR luvvies could have seen clouds of discontent brewing.

After years of failed BEE wines with ridiculous names and logo’s that would have a chameleon reaching for his Raybans, we now have the name Mandela on a wine label. That’s right: that name that has been so jealously protected by hundreds of thousands of toi-toi loving previously disadvantaged South Africans is now featured on three bottles of wine.

The House of Mandela has arrived.

This bit of vinous opportunism is the result of a brainwave hitting Makaziwe Mandela and her daughter, Tukwini, apparent wine lovers and students of note who got the ball rolling and decided to cement their passion by using dad and grand-dad’s name on the label. So there we are – House of Mandela Chardonnay, anyone? A steal at R190. Or how about the House of Mandela Cabernet or House of Mandela Shiraz, at R350 a bit pricier, but for a worthy cause it’s worth it.

Really?

No, this is not some charitable venture with proceeds going to the Children’s Fund or plethora of noble causes Madiba supports. This is a purely commercial venture, apparently with lofty aims of contributing to the SA wine culture.

In Anthony Rose’s gushing blog, Makaziwe gets all lyrical. “Although she knew little about wine at the start of the project, Makaziwe always had at the back of her mind something her father had told her: ‘if you don’t drink wine, the world won’t accept you’,” Rose writes. “She was also reminded that her father, while a man of principle, was not inflexible. She came round to the idea of the project as a way of embodying the spirit and accessibility of the Mandela family. “

Of course, one would beg the question that if then President Mandela was so passionate about wine, why did his government never show an iota of interest in supporting and promoting the South African wine industry.

Rose continues: “At the same time, she (Makaziwe) saw the opportunity of establishing a black brand capable of setting new standards of quality and sophistication in the new South Africa. ‘Traditionally South Africans are more into hard liquor than wine but I think if we help to demystify it, more and more black people will come to appreciate what is after all a wonderful drink’.”

The smart money, including CNN who broke the story, says that the real aim is to hit ‘dem Mandela crazy folk in the US of A – who would probably buy a dead Meerkat if it had the name Mandela on it – and make a packet.

Of course, if anyone else had attempted to flog wine for profit with the Mandela name on it, they would be accused of treason, baby-bashing and the potato famine. But as long as you are inside the clan, anything apparently goes. Ask my mates Willem Steenkamp and Neil du Bois who were almost deported to Siberia in the early nineties for daring to use the name Robben Island on stuffed seals donning striped prison uniforms.

Hell, let’s start a whole range of political wines: “Zille’s Zin” or “Malema Blanc”. I mean, even the Aussies have a wine honouring a South African president. “Jacob’s Crack”, anyone?  

-   Darian Morgan

Plans to legalise the addition of water to the winemaking process in South Africa are going ahead unabated, although those attempting to push this legislation through must have been pretty unnerved by what a few top winemakers had to say in Tuesday’s edition of Die Burger newspaper. De Wet Viljoen from Neethlingshof and Nitida’s Bernard Veller were but two of the dissenting voices. And you can bet your bottom peso that most winemakers worth their weight in yeast think that allowing water to be added to wine will be a shot in the foot for the reputation of South African wines. “Cheap and cheerful” is the image the industry is attempting to rid itself of, and one doubts whether the tag of watered-down wines is going to help this valiant effort.

Hell, even Wines of South Africa (Wosa) added its voice to the anti-water lobby, despite the fact that those big-production chaps supporting the move to hydrate are predominantly responsible for the Wosa budget and the paying of the organisation’s lunch bills and production of barbecue cookery books.

Through all this I have been alerted to an interesting aside. The University of Stellenbosch recently did a study on water quality in the Stellenbosch area, and there was a particularly alarming statistic. Tap water in Stellenbosch has a TCA content of 4 nanogram per litre. Taking into account that 1 nanogram of TCA is generally detectable in wine, one wonders what the effect would be of adding this water to the process – legally.

This scientific research throws cold water into the face of the one-eyed cork Fatwa who hysterically blame cork for any trace of TCA. With tanks being washed and a lot of water splashing about the cellar in any event, one has to wonder how much TCA is blamed on cork when water is actually the culprit?

How apt that Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery bumper-sticker from the 1980s is today: Conserve Water, Drink Wine.

- Emile Joubert

La Motte kicked off its ambitions to become the country’s premier wine destination with an international Shiraz showcase, and I was there. Like most of the collected group of wine makers, marketers, hacks and VIP’s must have felt, it was a massive privilege to be part of this blue chip event, but I must admit, sitting down to 12 Shiraz wines at 09:00 made me feel like a farm boy in Latin class. Or a www.grape.co.za staff member at an unsighted co-operative Pinotage tasting.

The La Motte venue is absolutely spectacular. A huge statue of a woman dripping water as you enter. Emerald lawns. Sprawling al fresco dining area – dig the little stands where budding young Pierneefs can go paint while the folks take it easy. The artwork is pretty and colourful. Buildings whitewashed, thatched and more yellow-wood than in a Dalene Matthee Knysna novel.

Back to the wines. We were asked to taste 12 Shiraz numbers. South Africa. France. Australian. American. And for some or other reason an Italian also pitched in the line-up.

The tasting was blind, but a clear pattern emerged.

After the second Shiraz smelling of Deep Heat, I put my famous method of elimination into practice and deducted that these were Australian. The Brett pongs placed these in the French category. And wines showing oak were South African.

Hell knows where the Italians and the Americans fitted in, but fortunately the last time I looked guessing was not illegal.

When the results were announced, I was happy and relieved to discover I had not been far off.

The French wines – Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 2006, M Chapoutier Hermitage L’Ermite 2006, Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines 2006 and E Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline 2004 were mostly doughy and bretty, although the Chapoutier showed less than the rest. The cloying doughiness on the back palate is a sign of youth in Rhône wines, and if the selection panel had really wanted to even things out, a couple of wines from the 1990’s would have had the French kicking butt.

But this was not to be, and they did not show well.

The Bramasole Anintoni 2006 was truly ghastly and had more corrupt flavours than an exiled Mafia Don in Franschhoek. To all the Italians out there: I promise not to embrace female underarm hair if you promise to stay clear of Shiraz.

This left South Africa and Oz delivering the best wines of the day.

Call me easily impressed, but the Penfolds Grange 2004 was a stunner and one of my top three wines. Still tight and austere in its youth, it had a brooding bloodiness about it that spelt trouble of the exciting, dangerous kind. The Geoff Merrill Henley Shiraz 2004, voted as Wine of the Day, had a tuning-fork clarity and freshness about it that was startling. It was also devoid of the Deep Heat and stained jock-strap character the other Oz wines had.

The best two wines in the line-up were South Africa. The La Motte Shiraz/Viognier 2007 was all perfume and muscle, with enough length to lasso a Mustang with. The Eagle’s Nest 2007 had a deceptively cheapish Mocha nose, but it was mouth-filling and sensual. Graceful and truly delicious.

The Boekenhoutskloof 2005 had not aged well and seemed tired, listless and out of it. And how about Alban Vineyards Syrah 2006? All of 42 months in oak, oxidised, jammy and all of 98 Parker points? It was like licking a raspberry jam jar a dog had pissed in.

Conclusion? South Africa is making some killer Shiraz. French wines should be not be opened young. And if they come to the party, the Oz wines are still to be reckoned with.

Full line-up:

1 Eagle’s Nest 2007

2 Hill of Grace 2004

3 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 2006

4 Bramasole Anintoni 2006

5 Penfolds Grange 2004

6 M Chapoutier Hermitage L’Ermite 2006

7 La Motte Pierneef Shiraz/Viognier 2007

8 Geoff Merrill Henley Shiraz 2004

9 Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines 2006

10 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2005

11 E Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline 2004

12 Alban Vineyards Syrah 2006

The actress Ms Barkin posing as a bottle of Rust en Vrede Estate.

The Mount Nelson Hotel, and I am there. Couple of Black Jack draughts in the Planet Bar to cleanse the palate before heading to the restaurant for Wine and Dine with Rust en Vrede, one of my top three South African wine estates.

A civilised evening on all counts. The only thing more civilised would be having Uma Thurman read one the collected short stories of Somerset Maugham whilst reclining next to a Van Gogh original.

Thank goodness for colonization that brought South Africa wine and a culture of gastronomy, as well as the Mount Nelson. Sitting on haunches around a fire eating raw buck liver washed down with rainwater simply does not cut it.

The Nellie menu had been compiled by chef Rudi Liebenberg to match the elegance of the wines. Being from Rust-en-Vrede, these were all red. So the players in the culinary line-up: Smoked Springbok and Poached Pear Salad, Greens and Balsamic Glazed Cocktail Onions. Wine: Rust en Vrede Cabernet 2007. Next up, grazing is to be done on Jerusalem Artichoke and Asparagus Risotto with Kalahari Truffle. Vino: Rust en Vrede Estate 2006. Main course: Roasted Lamb Loin with Braised Cabbage, Celeriac Purée and Lamb Neck Ravioli. The wine was a hummer: Rust en Vrede 1694 Classification 2007. For a cheesy ending, Gorgonzola Bavarois Served with a Twice Baked Red Pepper and Brie Soufflé with Rust en Vrede Merlot 2009. And the happy ending was Naartjie Tart with Bitter Chocolate Sorbet with the Shiraz 2007.

Look, I know there is an exciting new place with a superstar chef opening in Cape Town every week. But you can’t wrong at the Mount Nelson. This is the second time in a month I’ve had the honour of chowing-down at this great colonial institution, and the food has been superb. Conceived with imagination. Skilfully executed and delivering on expectation, it promises the perfect combination of sophistication and spot-hitting satisfaction. Every time.

I’ll throttle orphaned babies for the perfectly roasted lamb loin, the finest piece of meat I’ve had since my second year university house dance.

And look, if one red wine estate could do justice to this menu, it has to be Rust en Vrede.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was a beautiful homage to Stellenbosch’s Helderberg region which is internationally renowned for the power, depth and supple juiciness found in its Cabernets. I first tasted the Rust en Vrede 2007 last year when it won Coenie Snyman the Diner’s Club Winemaker of the Year Award. Already a beguiling, huge wine, it was still a tad upfront in the fruit department, with the oak a bit edgy.

This week it was a different wine. It’s beginning to lose the puppy fat, showing clear, brisk fruit with silky tannins and immense muscularity. Real “iron fist, velvet glove” stuff. Thankfully I have put away a case, as this wine is going to be an artwork in five years’ time.

The Estate 2006 is sensual and seductive, thanks to the Shiraz component in this iconic Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend. More black lace and suspenders than velvet and satin. More Ellen Barkin than Juliette Binoche, the Estate is complex yet more-ishly accessible and so opulent you feel rich just drinking it.

This is the wine that makes Rust en Vrede owner Jean Engelbrecht’s words of “red blends are the future of the South African wine industry” ring true. And also proves his statement that “South Africa does not have to look for an identity for its wines, they are here in red blends”.

Of course, the collective Nellie turn-out was waiting for the star of the show, namely the Rust en Vrede 1694 Classification 2007, South Africa’s priciest wine at around R1 200 a bottle.

The 1694 pays homage to the founding date of Rust en Vrede. Or as Coenie puts it: “Just to remind the world that when the Dutch were busy draining the swamps of Bordeaux, we had already been making wine in South Africa for a hundred years.”

The 1694 is a 56-44 blend of Shiraz and Cabernet respectively, obviously from specially selected vineyards on the Estate, matured in new oak. 75% French and 25%.

It is a beautiful monster. Earthy claws from the Cabernet Sauvignon. A smooth, wild expanse of fur delivered by the Shiraz. Still a bit of chewy tannin about, but as can be expected this wine has all the potential for greatness. No spice, floral notes or whimsical components. All flesh and opulence.

I asked Coenie whether the blending is done after maturation and the blend then put back into barrel for further ageing and integration.

“No, we believe in the Toyota business model, which is getting it right the first time,” was his answer.

I believe the Merlot and Shiraz were excellent, but the duty of my profession require me to admit that I was wasted – albeit it elegantly so – by the time I got around to these two numbers. The attention demanded by three glasses each of Cabernet, Estate and 1694 had left me incapable of acutely analysing the Merlot and Shiraz, which I promise to do so dutifully in the near future.

- Faizel van der Vyver

Jaco Kirsten in the Pub.

THE phone goes off on a blustery Saturday morning, and seeing the caller identification reads “Jaco”, I answer. Nursing a hang-over post the Intervarsity Wine Competition, I am in no mood to talk to in-laws, kids or boring friends who want to discuss the coming rugby test between the Boks and All Blacks in Soweto. But Jaco, my irreverent friend, for him I’ve always got time for.

I answer with the customary and endearing “howzit, Dick Face?”

The voice on the other end is not Jaco’s. Christ, it is not even male. It’s his wife.

She tells me: “Jaco’s had a heart-attack. I thought I should let you know.”

I go cold. Having already lost two friends in the week – a friend’s beloved mother and my mate Fiona Coyne – I was just thinking that three dead people could well be a crowd.

Fortunately, Annelize tells me, Jaco is OK. Lying in Panorama Medi-Clinic attached to a bunch of tubes and monitors, but OK.

Appears the guy – only 41 – was tiling his garage floor. Huge pain in the chest, shoulder and jaw.

Rushed to hospital. Supreme artery blockage. Thus he had some pipe shoved into an artery in his groin. All the way up to the engine room. Stent fitted to keep the pipe open. Currently, Jaco is in the Cardiology Ward, recovering.

Visiting him this morning we discuss life, the dearth of spunky nurses and the possibilities of a low-cholesterol menu for Dias Tavern, one of Jaco and my favourite haunts.

We are also both delighted to hear that the Panorama Medi-Clinic’s Cardiology Unit is a firm subscriber to the French Paradox. Remember: the French’s low level of cardiac disease is a result of their love of wine, particularly red.

Would you believe, Jaco tells me. Last night before dinner, lying here tied up to all these machines, I was asked by hospital staff whether I’d like white or red with dinner.

Kid you not, and this is true. He was, however, not up to vino after having a stens fitted inside his heart. But on Sunday, day after the heart-attack, the staff at Panorama served him a dinky of Chateau Libertas with dinner.

I like it. If you can save a guy’s life and offer him wine on the same day, you guys are my kind of hospital.

And endorse those of us who believe that wine is not only the elixir of life, but gives good life.

Cheers. And in vito veritas.

- Emile Joubert

SA Wine's new best friend.

CRAFTIER than a seasoned contingent of parliamentarians, the South African wine industry authorities are trying to sneak through a recommendation allowing the addition of water to pre-fermented wine. Reasons include the usual: “But they do it in America!” as well as a bit of Wine for Dummies 101 by stating, ag Jeez man, but we are hot climates and therefore have these bloody high alcohol and the world don’t want high alcohols, so to make our wines more accessible, let’s water it up.

By 15%, I hear.

Two problems, the first being the responsible bodies’ inability to communicate their intentions proactively. Paranoia and suspicion characterise these industry bodies’ attitudes to the media. For them, the media always seem to have ulterior motives. So no proactive, transparent strategy has been followed to inform society at large as to why this diluting of wine has now suddenly become necessary. Nor have fears that this development could negatively affect the reputation of South African wine been addressed. The result? Rumours, incorrect reporting, general confusion.

Secondly, lofty statements that the move to add water is necessary to protect the integrity of South African wine by lowering alcohol levels and therefore delivering better wines are total bull-shit.

Check out the alcohol levels of your favourite Simonsberg Cabernet Sauvignon from the early 1990’s. 13%, max. In any event, we already have machinery to remove alcohol.

No guys, do not try to pass this one off on folk of reasonable intelligence. The reason for allowing the addition of 15% water is to pump up volumes for big producers. This year’s low-yield harvest have led to a shortage of wine and a loss of revenue. So, if you are harvesting 60 000 tons and allowed to add 15% water to the juice you can pump-up your wine supply and make a couple of extra million in the process.

This is the heart of the matter.

What’s the use of having an Integrated Production of Wine system in place, when adulteration is sanctioned by the self-same industry?

The results of poor and lazy winemaking are not going to eradicated by water. Poor, substandard wines will now only become poor, substandard and watery wines.

-          Darian Morgan

American pinotage.

SELLING Pinotage at $45 a bottle? Yes, but it is not a South African Pinotage.

Loma Prieta Winery, overlooking Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz coastline in California, first released a Pinotage in 2008. It has won three gold medals in “prestigious wine competitions”, reports winebusiness.com, but does not name the competitions. (Sounds like a South African PR industry press release. – Editor)

 Nevermind the gold medals, the wine – it appears to be fairly low volume – sold out immediately and the winery has just completed a second bottling of the 2008 vintage to meet demand.

 The 2008 Loma Prieta Pinotage is described as “a vibrant and racy wine, delivering a wild red fruit explosion of lively tropical and berry fruits, mingled with spicy cured meat and a wallop of red licorice”.

 The fruit came from its Amorosa Vineyard in Lodi and a new vineyard has been planted in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This vineyard is at an altitude of 2300 feet (about 800 meters) and was originally planted to Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet. All the Merlot and Cabernet vines have now been grafted to Pinotage.

 Winebusiness.com says there are less than 50 acres of Pinotage planted in all of California. Loma Prieta owner and winemaker Paul Kemp has contracted with several growers to produce additional tonnage for the 2010 vintage.

- Riaan Smit

The prospect of hearing a miniature wire-haired Dachshund being crushed beneath my car tyres is daunting. That’s why I always attempt to enter the hallowed grounds of De Grendel Wine Estate with attentive trepidation. A little furry creature tends to roam the expansive grounds and one should be careful not to run the thing down, as numerous signboards warn.

Should wirey connect with my rubber, I do carry an empty wine box in my trunk when visiting De Grendel. If I run over the dog I’ll just bung him in the box, make a u-turn and head for the hills.

Usually though, the box is filled with wine, a dead Dachshund not in sight. (Not yet, that is.) De Grendel is one of my coolest wine places to visit as the enjoyment is not limited to one aspect. I dig the views and I like the people. Carlos Hopkins, one of South Africa’s finest winemakers, is skilled in allowing his infectious likeability to spill-over into the appreciation of the stunning wines he churns out. His assistant, Elzette du Preez, is equally charming and warm, and I always leave De Grendel with the words of American columnist Ernie Pyle resonating in my head: “People, in general, are good.”

I haven’t been to De Grendel for some time, but Elzette dropped me a bottle of the Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc 2010 the other day. This is De Grendel’s top-end Sauvignon, made from the farm’s grapes, as well as some Darling fruit. The wine is also a result of Carlos’s attempts to suck more out of the grapes: longer skin and lees contact, but everything revolves around capturing the essence of the fruit.

Fresh it is, brimming with steely minerality and a bright keenness from the front-palate to the finish. No fruit salad here: bracing grassiness, quartz stone and sagebrush. Cool, fresh and lingering.

A passion fruit and gooseberry element is there, but only slightly and somewhat suppressed by the wine’s youth. The wine should be splendidly opulent in a few months’ time. Pity about the screw-cap, though. I would hate to see the wine spoilt by a yukkish reductiveness which is so often the case with Sauvignon Blancs that are bottle-matured under screw-cap.

My bet is to get going, grab this wine and enjoy until the end of summer 2011.

But watch out for the dog, please.

South Africa might have put on a successful World Cup, but when it comes to cocking-up wine competitions, we are in a real class of our own. 2010 has already seen its set of clangers, and the season has still to get into full-swing.

First-up was the Old Mutual Trophy boobie with a Zonnebloem wine being stripped of its award because it was not deemed to be a proper Bordeaux-style blend. Get this: You can chuck 15% Chardonnay into a Sauvignon Blanc and enter the Sauvignon Blanc category with legit. But put in a percentage point of Shiraz into a Bordeaux-style blend, and we’ll show you the door old boy.

Recently, then, there was the Woman Winemaker of the Year hoax where the winning winemaker did not, well, make all of the wine all by herself and after some reporting on the issue, she and her bosses spread the love and announced, yes, well, it was a team effort and her R25 000 prize money will be spread around with much love to all concerned who have skill and love and assisted her with making the……

Struth, and we haven’t even hit the Guarantee a Balls-Up Diner’s Club Competition yet!

Nor that dud of all dud competitions, the Michelangelo Wine Awards. Judged by a gaggle of foreign palates ranging from waiters in off-track Copenhagen gay bars to Indian spark-plug salesmen who head-up the Rangoon Rover Wine Society.

A gong, a gong, my kingdom for a gong.

On the newsfront, copy is awash with the Government’s idea of a media tribunal to assist journalists in refraining from being too harsh on public figures and state matters. A better idea would be to create some body overseeing the competence of those organizing local wine shows?

In any event, after copious research and exhaustive newshounding, it has been established that this year’s Terroir Wine Awards went off without a glitch. All kosher on that front. Herewith the dope:

PRESS RELEASE

After a record 239 entries for the fifth annual SA Terroir Wine Awards, three wine estates stood out with two National Certificate winners each, Kaapzicht, Wildekrans and Klein Constantia. Kaapzicht in the Bottelary ward was the top performer with the two national winners, Kaapzicht Steytler Vision 2007 for Top Red Blend and Kaapzicht Merlot 2007 for Top Merlot, as well as two top wines in the Stellenbosch district, Kaapzicht Steytler Pinotage 2007 and Kaapzicht Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 – all from the same vintage.

Wildekrans in the Bot River ward entered National Certificate winners for Top Chenin Blanc, the Wildekrans Chenin Blanc Barrel Select 2009, and Top Sparkling Wine, the Wildekrans Chenin MCC 2008. The National Certificate winners from Klein Constantia in the Constantia ward are the Klein Constantia Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 for Top Cabernet Sauvignon and the Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2006 for Top Natural Sweet Wine.

The other 2010 National Certificate winners are the Plaisir de Merle Cabernet Franc 2008 (Paarl-Simonsberg ward) for Top Cabernet Franc, Bartinney Chardonnay 2008 (Banghoek ward) for Top Chardonnay, De Grendel Winifred 2009 (Durbanville ward) for Top White Blend, Diemersfontein Carpe Diem Pinotage 2008 (Wellington ward) for Top Pinotage,  Bloemendal Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Durbanville ward) for Top Sauvignon Blanc, Neethlingshof Malbec 2009 (Stellenbosch estate wine) for Top Malbec, Bon Courage Inkará Shiraz 2008 (Robertson estate wine) for Top Shiraz, Fort Simon Platinum Collection Viognier 2009 (Bottelary ward) for Top Viognier, Signatures of Doolhof Petit Verdot 2008 (Wellington ward) for Top Petit Verdot, David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2009 (Elim ward) for Top Semillon and Slanghoek Red Muscadel 2009 (Slanghoek ward) for Top Muscat.

For the first time ever a trophy was awarded to the top wine area in South Africa, based on a specific winegrowing terrain that produced most of the wines that went to the final round for a SA Terroir National Certificate, as well as the number of wines that received a National Certificate. The first winner of the Novare Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine Area is the Wellington ward, with seven finalists and two national winners (Diemersfontein Pinotage and Doolhof Petit Verdot). Welbedacht of Schalk Burger & Sons produced three of the seven national finalists from Wellington.

Ends

I like this part about Wellington coming to the fore. Like the cool dudes out Paardeberg way, Wellington has been making a huge effort to try new varieties and improve vineyard practices.

Diemersfontein and Doolhof have brought two hot brands to the region with luscious, appealing New World wines. And Schalk Burger’s Welbedacht makes some extremely interesting wines in a classic, elegant old style.

A region to watch – great for Lappies and the Terroir team to reaffirm this.

 - Adrian Morgan

Like many folk with a similarly sensitive constitution, I tend to be particular about the Sauvignon Blanc I select to chuck down the old bung-hole. Some of the stuff is so acidic that drinking it feels like having a rusty steel vuvuzela shoved down your throat by a Zimbabwean refugee.

The addition of Semillon to cut the rapier-like acidic thrust has always been welcomed. And lately another soothing nuance has cropped up in the Sauvignon Blanc spectrum: Muscat Blanc.

Giorgio Dalla Cia’s Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was the first such model to come my way. As a regular visitor to the Dalla Cia eatery Pan E Vino in Bosman’s Crossing I try most of Giorgio’s booze. The Sauvignon Blanc has usually been what one might describe as ordinarily quaffable. But the 2009 has a delectable honey-melon juiciness, the result of a glug of Muscat and I find it most enticing.

Of course, using Muscat to cast a sensual veil over the leanness of a virginal white wine is not new. I was waltzing through Danie de Wet’s wine library a while back when Danie hauled out a Steen (Chenin) and Muscat wine his dad had made on De Wetshof in the 1970’s. We pulled the cork, and the wine was stunning after almost 40 years in the bottle. Nutty, bracing, fresh.

Petrus de Waal, he of Hermit on the Hill fame, also saw it fit to employ a wash of Muscat in his new label, The White Knight, a very pleasant little wine that is achieving a bit of cult status.

The base of the wine is, of course, Sauvignon Blanc as De Waal is both a disciple of and a preacher on this grape variety. He is, after all, secretary of the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group, along with the Pinotage Association and Jeff Grier’s band of MCC brewers the only such interest group that actually seems to do something on the subject it represents.

The White Knight’s two-third Sauvignon is fleshed out with one-third Semillon, both from the Stellenbosch region. And then just a splash of Muscat Blanc is added to the mix, although the influence of the splash is huge.

The result is an extremely enjoyable example of polished vinous purity, with the Muscat just adding a bit of sluttish delectability to the mix. No, Muscat is not adding residual sugar or piercing sweetness. The grape elevates the flavours of the Sauvignon Blanc, especially and gives the wine a colourful spiciness and a teasing flash of exotic flesh.

I like this wine because it’s interesting, challenges convention and makes the offerings on the white wine front a bit more exciting. Let’s face it, Sauvignon Blanc is becoming like Cameron Diaz’s acting: everybody likes it at some time or another, but you can’t help thinking that there must be more.