A Grand Finale to the year
How could we resist an invitation from Mark le
Roux, Waterford's wine maker, to come, with other media members, to a tasting on
the farm, of recent releases and some of his special selections from the
Waterford cellar. We were also to do a short vineyard visit which would be
followed by lunch. And they organised a pick up from everyone's home, so no
problems with drinking and driving. Thank you Waterford
It is high summer, the weather
is fantastic and Waterford is a green oasis They recycle all the water on the
farm so they have enough to irrigate the gardens of lavender and citrus.
Waterford Estate is in the Blaauwklippen Valley in Stellenbosch. They have 120
hectare, half of which is plated with vines, the other half is not, as they
want to preserve and maintain the natural flora and fauna. You can explore
yourself on their Porcupine Trail Wine Walk for R350 per person which includes
a light lunch and a wine tasting.
The entrance with a welcoming hound and their iconic water fountain in the courtyard. All the Table Mountain
sandstone on the building was taken from the land surrounding the farm. There
was lots of it when they had to clear the vineyards when they began the
building
A great way to start the day was
a glass of Waterford’s 2009 MCC bubbly, clean and crisp, its 100% Chardonnay, a
Blanc de Blanc. An amazing seven years on the lees and another year under cork,
but still amazingly fresh
We had an early start, so a
quick brunch of ham and cheese croissants was very welcome
Kevin Arnold who started the
farm in 1997 from scratch with partner Jeremy Ord. Kevin is the managing
partner and Cellarmaster
He welcomed us in the Tasting
room
And others, younger and more
nimble, climbed into the lug boxes on the tractor train
The team: Assistant wine maker
Jamie Luckhoff, wine maker Mark le Roux, viticulturist Dawie van Schalkwyk
Off we go with the old girl in
the front seat! Requires no climbing or clambering
Enjoying the bumpy ride through
the vineyards are Fiona McDonald, Guy McDonald (no relation) and Lucille Botha
First top was high up on the
mountain side in their special vineyard planted in 1988 which grows the
Waterford Estate Single Vineyard Chardonnay
Mark told us all about the
vineyard, the terroir and the plantings
It is an unusual clone of
Chardonnay
Then it was time to taste it.
Lovely to do this in the vineyard
Waterford Estate Single
Vineyard Chardonnay 2015. The wine is crisp and lean, with good minerality and
only a minute whiff of wood on the nose. It has a lovely silky mouth feel, with
mixed citrus on a clean cool palate. Very French in style with restraint and
minerality. They give it only 9 months in time in French oak wood, mostly older
barrels, with 24% new. 12.6% alcohol. A thirst quenching delight and a great
food wine.
Mark talking about his wine
making, he prefers older barrels, and short exposure to wood and he tries to
keep the alcohols low
We moved to a different
vineyard and tasted the 2015 Grenache Noir. The colour is pale, like a Pinot,
but the similarity ends there. This wine is full of vanilla and spice on the
nose, cooked prunes and plums with just a little cherry. On the palate silky
with spice and vanilla, then loads of warm fruit, red and black cherries and
some typical Grenache wildness with long flavours and dark wood on the end with
pencil shaving. Yum. And so nice to have the proper glasses for each wine
Mark talking about the Grenache vines and the wine
The berries are
all pea sized at the moment, healthy and abundant. Looks like it’s going to
be a good harvest. They have not had to drop berries or strip leaves
They had done a 'rip out' in
the vineyard to see how the roots and soil are coping with the drought. The
vines are not stressed; they put down long roots and find water. This showed us
the different layers of the rock-topped soil, clay, chalk and finally rock at
the base
Back to the farm and lunch was
set out in the courtyard
But first a tasting of the
wines. The first flight was from the Library Collection and we began with the
2015 Grenache Blanc
It is perfumed with sweet floral notes, then herbal and
spicy. Full on the palate at first delicate then as it warms up the flavours of
sweet citrus and grapefruit, white cherries, melon and lime on the end. A
complete aromatic fruit salad. Probably go with smoked fish and possibly also
with dessert
Our helpful pourers
concentrating hard. Next came an oddity, an ancient Chenin, non vintage. Made
in 2001 by a French intern, this is from one barrel of naturally fermented
Chenin that lay forgotten until 2006. They have twice taken out some 50 bottles (37.5 litres) of the wine and bottled it, topping up the barrel with more Chenin, so almost a solera system going.
There is some oxidation, but it’s not unfriendly or sherried; it has the perfume
of yellow roses! Golden fruits, on the palate, loquats, peaches, mango, it is
interesting. They plan to keep this going..
The first line-up. The red wine
was the 2015 Cabernet Franc with 12.5% alcohol, it has wood wild red berries, vanilla
and rose and yes, some wet tea leaves that Mark suggested we would find. Sweet
red berries, cassis, tay berries, and a little morello cherry. Wild earthiness,
dark wood and some sweet salty liquorice 'drop' on the end. A food wine
Mark taking us through the next
three wines, which come from the Waterford range. All the grapes are bought in
from other vineyards where they have long term relationships. We began with the
2017 Sauvignon Blanc from Elgin. Green and
tropical notes on the nose of green pepper pyrazines and mango. The wine is
crisp and slightly spritzy at entry with a touch of peachy sweetness, Kept on
the gross lees for 6 months it is very satisfying. Then the 2016 Pinot Noir
from James Downes at Shannon Vineyards in Elgin, a single vineyard wine. Spicy
with wood smoke and vanilla and a red berry mix. The elegance on the palate
belies the massive nose, Raspberries and soft cherry flavours, long, warm, with
an end of toasted wood, soft chalky tannins and minerality . Very good indeed.
The last wines are all
signature wines from Waterford. The Shiraz and Cabernet account for 75% of their
local sales and dominate the market. First the 2014 Kevin Arnold Shiraz which
Kevin says saved the farm. Spicy nose, with fenugreek, black pepper, clove and
turmeric with a few green leaf notes. Juicy first, then full bodied, bold
fruit, a big attractive wine, full of mulberries and cherries and delicious to
drink. Then the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon with violets, incense French oak, roses
cassis and mulberries, a very delicate and softly attractive nose. Soft sweet
berry fruit with soft chalky tannins, some green cassis eaves, a food wine that
says Feed Me NOW. One of the best South African Cabernets we have tasted. So
buy some. They believe that the valley needs to upsell Cabernet, no longer the
place for good value they are going to showcase them in the coming year. The
style of the wines has changed a lot over the years; less wood is used and
older wood, so wines are softer sweeter, more integrated. (Note: we have not
mentioned fruit acid once)
Then the 2016 Grenache. Light
in colour, bruléed fruit on the nose with wood. warm sweet fruit on the palate,
needs time.
The final wine was the 2012 Jem,
the name by which owner Jeremy Ord is affectionately known to family and
friends. Elegant with good French oak, it has an intriguing nose, spice
perfume, cassis leaves, vanilla, lactic, violets, red and black cherries, this
is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Shiraz, 11% Merlot, 6% Mourvedre, 14%
Cabernet franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Barbera, 2% Sangiovese. "Wow"
said Lynne when she tasted it. Solid dark berry fruit, grippy chalky tannins,
build to last and it is still got years. A silky mouth feel and dark toasted
wood on the end. Kevin says they aim for 16 to 17000 bottles a year if they
can. There was no 2008 Jem, a difficult vintage for them, as it is all about
quality. He says he learned a lot from both Antinori and Mondavi. "It is
all about quality, length, texture and finish and they are there". Mark
says it is not about identifying varietals, but the whole wine
Time to repair to the courtyard
and get some lunch
Laid out on the buffet for us
to help ourselves
There were
tarragon chicken breasts in a cream sauce
A tomato and broccoli salad
with cream cheese
... and a mixture of raw old
variety tomatoes with red onion and sprouts
And plenty of wine to go with
the food. The Pinot Noir went very well with this food, so did the Chardonnay
Then a quick tour of the tank
and barrel cellar
We saw the new porcelain tank
in which Mark makes the Cabernet, as well as his egg fermenter and a glass
ended barrel so they can watch fermentation
We had a sample of the wine
from the egg
And went into the cool barrel
cellar
Which is rather impressive
And then it was time to board
our shuttle buses to go home after a really wonderful day and a great end to a
very busy media season. Thank you all at Waterford and Emil Joubert for arranging it
John liked this. But he lost
his Water.....
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
