South
African Chardonnay has been through ups and downs in popularity and quality over
the last 20 years and, thankfully, now seems to be firmly entrenched as one of
our best producing noble varieties, as long as wood is used judiciously. But is
it better grown in some areas of the Cape than others? We were invited to this
Celebration last weekend and certainly it does shine in the Hemel and Aarde
Valley with quality, great purity of fruit and finesse. Regardless of which
part of the valley it is grown in, it thrives and produces great wines if
handled correctly and this the valley is doing
In need of a large venue, the Hemel-en-Aarde Wine
Growers’ Association found one outside the valley in Voëlklip, a five star
luxury property with plenty of space and a lovely site, The Thatch House. It is
midway between Voëlklip at the end of Hermanus and Stanford, on the lagoon
There were two levels for the tasting. You could
come along and picnic on the lawn and do an informal tasting of wine on the
terrace, or you could do what we did, the formal guided tasting inside the
hall, followed by lunch outside around the pool
Tables and chairs or blankets and cushions were
provided. as well as umbrellas
The views from the lawn are lovely
A brisk wind, good for sailing, calmed down later
in the day. The jetty got a little wet
Winemakers making sure their wines were on their
stations for the informal tasting and picnic
Canapés on arrival for the guided tasting were
pork and cape gooseberry sticks...
... and pear and blue cheese slices
Claudia 2010 MCC from Domaine des Dieux was the
welcome bubbly
Nice generous glasses poured by Megan Parnell of Domaine des Dieux. Lynne chatting to Gordon
Newton Johnson
We take our places for the guided tasting. All the wines are from the 2015 vintage, which is turning out to be a really great one, especially for white wines and Chardonnay. It is difficult to express how good the tasting was without going into overdrive on adjectives. These wines will win awards and international recognition, some have already. Seldom have we been privileged to taste such a great bouquet of clarity, quality and finessed Chardonnays from one area and been so impressed. Our average score for the 12 wines was 17.5 and there was one 19 and five 18s. Hemel en Aarde surely can count itself as one of South Africa's major Chardonnay producing areas
The wines from the three wards: Hemel en Aarde
Valley, Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley and Hemel en Aarde Ridge are incredibly
good and are beginning to win major local and international awards. Several of
the winemakers are members of the Cape Winemakers Guild
This is a list of
scores awarded by Tim James MW, one of Britain's leading wine writers and
judges on international wines, and Wine correspondent for the Observer
add @@@ from below here This was a box of one
Chardonnay from each the 10 farms participating which was on a silent auction. Every
bottle was signed by the winemaker. the proceeds of the auction will go to the
Ellen Gordon Community school
Dieter Odendaal, Sales and
marketing manager of Creation, starts the tasting
Chairman of the Hemel-en-Aarde Wine Growers’
Association, Peter Clarke, said: “The valley has the finest grapes, water,
great soil, climate and big characters. It is wonderful the results the
winemakers have been achieving. We must celebrate the achievements of the
others as that brings us strength". He has great enjoyment interacting
with them
Dr Winnie Bowman CWM said: "It is an
exciting journey for Chardonnay, especially in 2015 which is a great vintage. South African Chardonnays are winning Trophies or high awards in international competitions,
making sure SA wines are recognised in the wine world. 79 entries for
Chardonnay in Platter this year 17 got 5 stars, four are from the valley. Kevin
Grant from Ataraxia says that, formerly, Chardonnay was avoided. ABC (Anything But
Chardonnay) was the buzz word, but now it stands for Absolutely Brilliant
Chardonnay.
Anthony Hamilton Russell told us that this is the first
time the valley has sat down together and tasted all the chardonnays. The three
appellations have real and positive differences which are highly desirable and
show expression of place
Gordon Newton Johnson introduced his Chardonnay
The packed hall
Four winemakers from the valley waiting to pour
their wines: Emul Ross of Hamilton Russell, Reino Thiart of Bottega Family Wines, Gordon Newton Johnson and Hannes Storm
The tasting finished, we moved to the outside
terrace for lunch
Natalie Opstaele of Almenkerk chats with Anne
Wessels of Restless River
One the verandah, all the wines were available to taste. These ladies were showing the Bouchard Finlayson 2014 Missionvale Chardonnay
Nathalia Ventura with the Storm Chardonnay
The busy outside tables and the picnickers
Kevin Grant was abroad on business but his
Ataraxia Chardonnay showed very well. This was a barrel sample of the unreleased 2016, hence the inexpensive screw top bottle
Extra food available for the picnickers
"I love my Granny!"
Chocolate anyone?
Creation wine being poured into the sensible
glasses provided for the picnic. Stems don’t work on the lawn
Anne Wessels from Restless River showing their wine
Newton Johnson, poured for guests
Roberto Bottega from Whalehaven had their 1996 and 2016 Chardonnays to taste
The guided tasting and lunch wines
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016
