Durban - The argument has raged for decades about the varietals on which South Africa should be hanging its hat in the international arena.
Everyone has an opinion, and every one of those viewpoints are valid, making it essentially a personal choice often based on individual style and preference for wines.
However, there is a strong argument that those varietals should hinge on South Africa’s history, which involves pinotage (the grape varietal proudly produced in this country) and chenin blanc (the country has more hectares planted to the varietal than does its traditional home in the Loire Valley, France).
Spier was among the first wineries to hang their hats on those two varietals when it launched the 21 Gables range several years ago.
Today that range includes cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc, but the original thinking was in honouring the varietals that could be South Africa’s niche market.
Now L’Avenir has come out brandishing pinotage and chenin blanc in its premier tier. While French-owned, L’Avenir has remained committed to maintaining a focus on South Africa’s signature varietals. The premium single block range is the farm’s flagship featuring wines made with care from select, mature single vineyard blocks consistently producing quality fruit in limited volumes.
Made to age in a style accentuating the fruit’s complexity, they are individually numbered and signed by the current winemaker, but dedicated to the legendary Francois Naudé.
The L’Avenir Single Block Chenin Blanc 2014 (retail price: R180) comes from a 2ha block, the oldest on the farm and among South Africa’s oldest chenin blanc blocks still used. Only 3 000 bottles were produced.
The L’Avenir Single Block Pinotage 2013 (R300), of which only 5 000 bottles were made, comes from a 1.2ha block of dryland bush vines ranging in age from 15 to 30 years. Until recently the fruit from these vines was blended with fruit from other pinotage blocks, but in 2012 the farm decided to bottle the individual block “to showcase the finest traits of the variety”.
The wine spent 18 months in wholly new French oak, and is powerful and intense, yet restrained, and will certainly be a worthy prize for cellaring over the next decade. The previous vintage received a double gold at last year’s Vitis Vinifera Awards, and four and a half stars in Platter’s wine guide.
The Mercury
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