Cape Town - The contrast could not have been greater. Returning to the Voor Paardeberg, that rustic region that shelters historic farms at the foot of its lone mountain, I went from the the giant production cellar of Perdeberg to the boutique operation at Scali, a few kilometres apart.
Budget-conscious consumers have long been fans of Perdeberg Winery’s ranges, which offer excellent value. Many chenin enthusiasts rate Perdeberg’s vintages more highly than some costing twice the price. (The 2013 chenin, boasting four awards, costs R36.)
Many of this 72-year-old co-operative’s growers are from the Voor Paardeberg which may account for quality chenin and shiraz, in particular. Heloise Smit from the marketing department took me inside where rows of giant stainless steel tanks disappeared into the gloom of the cellar, while reeling off mind-boggling statistics: They produce 18 000 tons for their own labels, along with wines for export, partners, and private customers, totalling 22 million litres a year.
Becoming aware that the latter wines were picking up accolades, Perdeberg decided to make their own superior range and the Dryland Collection was launched in 2013. As its name suggests, the grapes are sourced from unirrigated bush-vines.
Both the unwooded (R66) and wooded (R73) chenin meet expectations, and the 2013 chardonnay/-viognier (R73) and sauvignon blanc will both please fans of these varietals.
The maiden unwooded pinot/-chardonnay (R66) is already hugely popular while the 2011 cab, shiraz and enjoyable pinotage, all R80, sell well as does Joseph’s legacy, an impressive red blend at R86. The reds are available only from the cellar.
Look out for their intriguing new cap classique, which will be officially released next month. This deliciously fruity bubbly is an all-chenin 2012 vintage (R106) while a carbonated sparkling chenin is available for R42. Plans for a new tasting room and restaurant are taking shape and should be ready for their October festival, which will make Perdeberg the first cellar in the area where visitors can head to for a meal without prior arrangement.
Harvesting had just finished when I arrived at Scali, one of the 18th century farms clustered at Paardeberg’s base. It’s been in De Waal hands since 1877, when Willie de Waal’s great-great grandfather made his fortune at the Kimberley diggings, sold his claim and hurried back to the Cape to find a farm.
In the voorkamer, which doubles as an informal tasting area, there’s an ambience and ancestral presence of the past, in spite of the next generation of De Waals skipping in to hug their mother Tania and a Jack Russell wagging a greeting.
Low-key and unaffected, the hospitable De Waals process 20 tons annually, exporting 85 percent of production, while the rest is snapped up by top restaurants and an online retailer. Not only are their wines exceptional, but Scali has been certified organic since 2012, a process that slots in well with their minimal phil-osophy.
Their bubbly deserves more than passing attention. Called Ancestor in honour of the founding De Waal, chenin is fermented to a hard-to-define point after which it is bottled under crown cap and left for about 10 months to finish fermenting, before being degorged and bottled.
This tricky process has been used again in a second vintage that is fruity, rich and yeasty, gently fizzing. It will probably be released by the end of April, as will the 2010 vintage of Scali’s superb white blend, Blanc (R150). Chenin-led, enriched by chardonnay, roussanne, viognier and sauvignon blanc, this offers an intense, dry, complex mouthful of quality.
Their syrah (2009) R180, is an admirable expression of regional excellence and their pinotage another of beautifully balanced fruit with wood. No sulphur is added to any of these wines. Scali is open for tasting by appointment.
There’s also good news from Vondeling, the most sophisticated of the Voor Paardeberg wine farms, and now a BWI champion. A sound ecological management plan is active, more than 1 000 fynbos species on the Paardeberg have been identified and catalogued and a coffee table book on the flora will soon be launched.
New vintages include the 2011 wooded chardonnay, (R85) where whole bunch pressing, wild yeasts and a year in oak reward with layers of flavour, offset by a little waxiness. Even better is the Babiana 2011, a blend of chenin with viognier, chardonnay and grenache blanc: a complex wine where fruit and honey are balanced by flint and cream.
Coming up later this month is a maiden all-chardonnay MCC, produced by the methode ancestral, the technique employed by Scali. Perhaps we will see this intriguing ward become renowned for single cultivar, single fermentation bubblies along with fine chenin and shiraz.
Wine calendar
Pinot noir is the focus of the one-day festival at the Vineyard hotel on Sunday, April 13. Al fresco tastings, canapés and mellow music are on the menu, as 18 renowned Cape estates pour their vintages of this trendy and tantalising wine. The event starts at 2pm and tickets cost R180. E-mail [email protected] to book. - Weekend Argus